Why Orange County Home Prices Have Skyrocketed
The median price for a house in Orange County climbed to $1,020,000 in March. The OC is the first county in Southern California to cross the threshold into seven digits. In February, the median price for a home in Orange County was $985,000.
Orange County home prices have jumped 22% in the past year. Los Angeles County real estate is also up, but not as much. The median price for an LA home increased 12% between March 2021 and March 2022.
Experts say a number of factors have contributed to skyrocketing housing prices, especially in Orange County. These include an ongoing housing shortage, speculation, low interest rates, and higher incomes.
“Though home prices were lower during the early 2000s housing bubble, more Orange County residents can afford a purchase today, a reflection of rising incomes and lower mortgage rates,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“Back in the second quarter of 2006, the median price of an existing single family house in Orange County was in the $700,000s — a price only 10% of households in the county could afford, according to the California Assn. of Realtors.
By the fourth quarter of 2021, the median price of an existing single family house had already surpassed $1 million, according to the association’s calculations, and 17% of Orange County households could afford it.”
Read more about the steep rise in home prices here.
