‘Bargain’ housing under $500,000 now twice as hard to find

It’s doubly hard to find Orange County housing priced under $500,000.

The supply of listings of existing homes and condos in that price range is just 42 percent of what it was in April 2012, according to ReportsOnHousing.

In the biweekly newsletter’s latest issue, Steve Thomas has a worrisome analysis for house hunters seeking relative bargains – residences listed for resale under $500,000. The overall supply of all listings hasn’t changed much this year vs. a year ago and April 2012. But thanks to a steep price recovery, the choices of lower-priced homes shrank dramatically.

“The astonishing rebound in housing has almost completed its fifth year; as a result, there are fewer affordable choices,” Thomas wrote.

Overall, inventory in mid-October was the lowest level since mid-May. New escrows took their biggest two-week drop of the year but still ran 6 percent above a year ago.

That means that in the past two weeks, Thomas’ estimated market time to get a home into escrow rose by five days to 77 vs. 84 days a year ago. Meanwhile, time to sell residences under $500,000 fell: 48 days last week vs. 57 days a year ago.

Limited low-price listings are a drag on the overall market. Orange County closings slowed in late summer as bargain hunters seemed frustrated.

Rising prices didn’t help. Orange County’s median selling price for all residences was $639,750, up 4 percent compared with a year ago. Prices were up in 49 of 83 ZIP codes.

It’s doubly hard to find Orange County housing priced under $500,000.

The supply of listings of existing homes and condos in that price range is just 42 percent of what it was in April 2012, according to ReportsOnHousing.

In the biweekly newsletter’s latest issue, Steve Thomas has a worrisome analysis for house hunters seeking relative bargains – residences listed for resale under $500,000. The overall supply of all listings hasn’t changed much this year vs. a year ago and April 2012. But thanks to a steep price recovery, the choices of lower-priced homes shrank dramatically.

“The astonishing rebound in housing has almost completed its fifth year; as a result, there are fewer affordable choices,” Thomas wrote.

Overall, inventory in mid-October was the lowest level since mid-May. New escrows took their biggest two-week drop of the year but still ran 6 percent above a year ago.

That means that in the past two weeks, Thomas’ estimated market time to get a home into escrow rose by five days to 77 vs. 84 days a year ago. Meanwhile, time to sell residences under $500,000 fell: 48 days last week vs. 57 days a year ago.

Limited low-price listings are a drag on the overall market. Orange County closings slowed in late summer as bargain hunters seemed frustrated.

Rising prices didn’t help. Orange County’s median selling price for all residences was $639,750, up 4 percent compared with a year ago. Prices were up in 49 of 83 ZIP codes.