Seller's Market? Real Estate Prices On The Rise In Orange County

Home prices are up in Orange County according to recent reports. The median sales price of a house was $745,000 last month, up 0.7 percent from the prior month and 5.7 percent above the level of February 2016, according to CAR.

The median price of a single-family home that changed hands in Los Angeles County last month was $470,060, down 7.7 percent from January but 5.7 percent higher than February 2016, the California Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.

The real estate trade organization said that statewide, a house's median sales price in February was $478,790, down 2.2 percent from the prior month, but 7.6 percent above the same period last year, according to CAR.

The number of homes that sold statewide in February decreased by 4.7 percent from January, but was 4.9 percent higher than February of last year.

"Despite a strong sales start for the year, the housing supply shortage in California continues to cast doubt on whether the sales momentum can be carried forward into the spring home-buying season," said CAR Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young.

"The number of active listings has been on a downward trend for the past 20 months and has shown no signs of improvement," she said. "As we move into the spring home-buying season, we should see a marginal increase in listings, which will be offset by a pickup in sales. The inventory level is not likely to get better in the upcoming months."

CAR said the number of new listings fell 13.9 percent from the same time last year, the largest year-over-year decline since May 2013. It took an average of four months to sell a home, per CAR data.

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