Orange County’s housing market is back.
The market has recovered from summer’s downturn, with the median price of homes sold in March reaching a new record of $565,000, according to La Jolla-based market tracker DataQuick Information Systems.
That price is up 16.5% from a year ago,not quite as dramatic as the 20% plus price appreciation at the market’s peak early last year.
DataQuick noted that the rate of price appreciation has slowed a bit across Southern California.
“Everyone expects some cooling off,” said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president, in a statement. “The bigger question is whether there will be a so-called soft landing or a crash. As things look right now, the soft landing scenario looks more likely.”
In OC, sales numbers are back in the black as well. Nearly 3% more homes were sold last month, for a total of 5,033 houses and condominiums, than a year earlier.
The market has benefited from the persistence of low interest rates.
Some market trackers have speculated that home buyers are rushing in before rates spike. In its last statement the Federal Reserve Bank noted that signs of inflation have ticked up in recent months.
