ORANGE COUNTY IS NOT LOOKED AT AS A CHEAP PLACE TO LIVE, BUT COMPARED TO SILICON VALLEY, THE BAY AREA, AND EVEN WEST L.A., ORANGE COUNTY IS MORE AFFORDABLE
Don't compare Orange County real estate prices with other points of suburbia. It's not a fair comparison anymore. As more cities in Orange County grow urban, both in their appeal to the millenials, who aspire to live a lifestyle, and a cities density of housing for both tract single-family, and upward with condos and own your owns, Orange County is a metropolis, an end destination in itself, with still broad appeal for its closeness to L.A. (jobs), beaches, mountains, deserts, and airports. All of this spells a strong housing market with access to high level jobs and incomes, even as the county must come to grips with its need for affordable housing. Also, housing isn't the only game in town; almost 2.8 million square feet of commercial real estate is on the books, in all categories. Not only will this continue to support a strong construction job sector, but it also supports all the soft economies that grow with it from furniture to computers, to electrical engineering to HR and headhunting services, with everything in between. No wonder short inventories in most cities continue to plague the local real estate agent. In fact, commercial building is up 461% from the winter quarter of 2015 and we are sitting with the most on order since 2007. Housing will have a hard time staying up with that demand. Heed this advice, however: Interest rates rising, whenever they do, and this column will not attempt to predict that, but when that happens and it hits a full percentage point, there will be no choice but for the market to accept a correction, simply because the buyers qualification ratios will decline as rates rise. They simply won't qualify for as big a loan. Sellers who really need to sell, may find themselves adjusting. And that's not a bad thing. We must continue to bridge the gap of affordability as best we can in a very competitive housing market. Read on for what the experts are seeing...
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