The Seal Beach real estate market saw a boost in the higher median price during the most recent tracking period. The increased average price correlated with a drop in the number of units sold throughout the entirety of Southern California. According to an October 19, 2010 report from the Orange County Business Journal, “The median price of an existing Orange County home sold in September rose to $445,000, an increase of more than $16,000 or 3.7% from a year earlier. Prices inched up $5,000 from August levels, according to a report Tuesday from San Diego-based MDA DataQuick, a unit of Canada’s MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates. OC median prices have been hovering at $440,000 to $450,000 for the past five months. The number of local sales took a nearly 11% slide in September from a year earlier, but the 2,524 sales reported in OC during that period were flat from a month earlier. About 4% of local homes sales in September were “flips” or homes that have traded hands twice in the past six months. That’s the highest rate of flipping of any Southland county in the past month, according to MDA DataQuick’s figures. The median price for a Southern California home sold in September was $295,500, a $7,500 or 2.6% increase from a month ago and a 7.5% increase from a year ago. Homes prices in the Southland have regained about one-fifth of its peak-to-trough loss, according to MDA DataQuick.”
The number of Seal Beach homes for sale that were actually purchased in the month of September decreased substantially. According to figures from MDA DataQuick, 11 percent fewer homes were sold in Orange County during the month compared to year ago levels. Throughout the broader Southern California market, approximately 16 percent fewer homes were purchased compared to last year’s levels. A relatively larger proportion of the homes sold in the month of September were so-called “flips,” which might be indicative of investor’s willingness to re-enter the market. Compared to the absolute lows reached by the market during the recession, however, Southern California has not entirely recovered, remaining about a fifth off of its peak.