Reality Check: Costa Mesa Condo & Detached Stats, May 2008

Note: The Altos graphs and numbers, which are for detached homes, provide a good overview of market trends in each city. However, condos also play a big role in the Orange County housing market, so it is helpful to take a look at these numbers in combination with the detached home numbers. That is what we will do with the following housing numbers.

I also like these numbers for another reason: Comparing the average listing price to the average sales price reveals if sellers are being realistic with their asking price. In other words, it provides a reality check for homesellers and homebuyers.

For comparison, I included the numbers from five years ago (2003). Some predict that Orange County housing prices will eventually return to these levels.

Here are the condo+detached Costa Mesa housing numbers for this May 2008. Another title for this post might be “Going the Wrong Way in Costa Mesa.” Homeowners in Costa Mesa who have their homes for sale are listing them even higher than the Costa Mesa homes that were listed last month. However, the average price that homes in Costa Mesa sold for decreased by over $16,000. With an average asking price of $696,330 and an average sales price of $575,432, market reality still hasn’t struck many of the hopeful homesellers in Costa Mesa.

• Average Listing Price for:
  • Week Ending May 07: $696,330
  • Week Ending April 09: $677,338
  • Week Ending March 05: $678,172
  • Week Ending Jan 30: $701,471
• Average Sales Price for:
  • Feb 2008-April 2008: $575,432
  • Jan 2008-Mar 2008:$591,601
  • Dec 2007-Feb 2008: $589,408
  • Nov 2007-Jan 2008: $620,022
  • One year ago (Feb-April 2007): $760,259
  • Five years ago (Feb-April 2003): $449,272
• Median Sales Price for:
  • Feb 2008-April 2008: $530,150
  • Jan-Mar 2008: $540,000
  • Dec 2007-Feb 2008: $540,000
  • Nov 2007-Jan 2008: $565,000
  • One year ago (Feb-April 2007): $720,000
  • Five years ago (Feb-April 2003): $413,500
• Average Price/SF for:
  • Feb 2008-April 2008: $440
  • Jan-Mar 2008: $444
  • Oct-Dec 2007: $450
  • One year ago (Feb-April 2008): $560
  • Five years ago (Feb-April 2003): $320

• Number of Sales from:
  • Feb 2008-April 2008: 171
  • Jan-Mar 2008: 164
  • Dec 2007-Feb 2008: 134
  • Nov 2007-Jan 2008: 133
  • One year ago (Feb-April 2008): 209
  • Five years ago (Feb-April 2003): 279

Source: Trulia

Note: For more information on the Costa Mesa housing numbers, see tomorrow’s post “The Costa Mesa Market Report: Detached Home Stats, May 2008.“