The Buena Park real estate market, found in Orange County, California, saw some unfortunate economic news in the month of July. The number of Buena Park homes for sale which were purchased by investors or residents decreased almost twenty percent over that period, while the second quarter of the year saw a large proportion of distressed homeowners. According to an August 17, 2010 article from the OC Metro, "Home sales in Orange County fell by the largest amount in more than two years in July as federal tax credits for buyers ran out, but the median price for a residence in the region rose over the same time last year, according to stats released by San Diego-based MDA DataQuick. Home sales declined 19.2 percent to 2,527 in July, down from 3,128 at the same time last year. The number also dropped from 3,423 in June, when sales hit their highest level in the month since 2006...Meanwhile, Orange County's median home price jumped 7.1 percent in July over the same period in 2009, marking the 11th straight month of yearly gains. The number hit $450,000, up from $420,000 a year earlier. The median also rose slightly from $445,000 in June. For the entire Southern California region, the median home price increased 10.1 percent in July to $295,000, up from $268,000 in 2009. However, the number dropped from June."
The number of distressed homeowners in Orange County, including Buena Park, actually fell from year-ago levels, although that was likely the result of more foreclosed properties. According to an August 26, 2010 article from the Orange County Register, "Fewer Orange County homeowners were under water last spring than in the winter, according to CoreLogic, a Santa Ana real estate data firm. But that decline was due mainly to distressed homeowners losing their homes to foreclosure than to rising home values. CoreLogic reported: More than 102,000 Orange County mortgages — 18.1% — were under water during the second quarter of the year, meaning that the owners owed more than their homes were worth — also known as having “negative equity” or being upside-down. That’s down from 19.2% during the first quarter, CoreLogic reported. An additional 4.1% of homeowners with mortgages were on the verge of going under water, with less than 5% equity in their homes."