The median price of a Fountain Valley home for sale increased considerably in the month of May along with other Orange County properties. This increase was possibly a result of the federal tax credit, which provided a considerable boost to the Fountain Valley real estate market as well as other across the country. According to a June 22, 2010 article from the Orange County Business Journal, “The median price of an existing Orange County home increased by more than $14,000 in May from April, the California Association of Realtors said Tuesday. The median price for an existing stand-alone OC home sold in May was $505,750, a 3% increase from a month ago and a 6.7% jump in median pricing from a year ago. The area’s median sales price now is up nearly 20% from the recent bottom of the market, seen in January 2009.”
The report by Mark Mueller went on to note that “Including condos, the median price of an OC home sold in May was $450,000, a $40,000 or 9.8% increase from a year ago, and a $20,000 increase from April levels, according to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick, a unit of Canada’s MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates. The median sales price of an existing home in California was $324,430 in May, about a 6% increase from April and a 23% increase from a year ago, according to the Realtor association. Statewide median prices are up about 32% from the bottom of the market, but still stand 45% below the peak mid-2007 median price of $594,530.” Fountain Valley condos and homes for sale still have a distance to go before reaching earlier record highs.
The role of government action in encouraging the recovery of the Fountain Valley real estate market was emphasized in a June 15, 2010 article in the OC Metro. The piece by Kristen Schott stated that “Orange County's median home price and sales numbers got a welcome boost in May, partly due to government tax credits, low mortgage rates and more activity in higher-priced areas, according to a new report from MDA DataQuick. The median home price rose to $450,000 in the county, up about 10 percent from the same time last year. It's the ninth consecutive year-over-year gain, according to the real estate information service. The price also increased from April when it hit $430,000.”