Orange County coastal real estate for sale in Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach & Newport Coast

Here is a quote from the September 1, 2010  New York Times article by Karl E. Case titled “A Dream House After All”.  Karl E. Case is a professor emeritus of economics at Wellesley and co-creator of Standard & Poor?s Case-Shiller housing index.

This financial crisis has made us all too aware that we live in a Catch-22 world: the performance of the housing market drives the economy, and the performance of the economy drives the housing market. But housing has perhaps never been a better bargain, and sooner or later buyers will regain faith, inventories will shrink to reasonable levels, prices will rise and we?ll even start building again. The American dream is not dead ? it?s just taking a well-deserved rest.

via Op-Ed Contributor – A Dream House After All – NYTimes.com.

What are your thoughts?

The following OC Register article, based on information from DataQuick, outlines the recent housing price increases in the Newport Beach area.  Now might be a good time for those wishing to own a home in the Newport Beach area to start looking at the available inventory.

Newport among state?s top home gains

July 30th, 2010, 12:01 am ·  posted by Jon Lansner

Newport Beach cracked the Top 10 list of California cities with the largest year-over-year home prices gains, based on changes in the median selling price as tracked by the California Association of Realtors. June?s list ?

1. National City, up 59 percent
2. Newport Beach, 52 percent
3. Richmond, 52 percent
4. San Bernardino, 47 percent
5. San Pablo, 38 percent
6. Fairfield, 37 percent
7. Walnut, 34 percent
8. Colton, 32 percent
9. Imperial Beach, 31 percent
10. Poway, 30 percent

CAR notes: ?Large changes in local median home prices typically indicate both local home price appreciation, and often, large shifts in the composition of housing market activity.?

Statewide, CAR said the median selling price of an existing home rose 13.6 percent vs. June 2009. In Orange

…

The OC Register article shown below indicates the Orange County Coastal areas continue to experience an improving housing market. Both prices and the number of sales have increased over last month and over last June.

Home sales up in 59 O.C. ZIPs

June 25th, 2010, 9:01 am . posted by Jeff Collins

For the 22 business days ending June 7 ? DataQuick?s freshest stats ? Orange County home buying patterns showed:

• Fifty-four of O.C.?s 83 ZIP codes had gains in their respective median selling price. (Highlighted in green below!) Overall, prices were up 7.1% vs. a year ago.
• Five of O.C.?s ZIPs had median sales prices above $1 million in the period vs. 11 million-dollar ZIPs when the county median price peaked in June 2007. Since that pricing pinnacle, there?s been a 30% drop in the countywide median price!
• Fifty-nine of O.C.?s ZIPs had year-over-year sales gains in the period. Overall, sales were up 11.5% vs. a year ago.
• Thirty-seven ZIP codes had gains in both sales and prices.
• Three of O.C.?s ZIPs has sales gains of 100% or more in the period.

Here?s a

…

Below is an OC Register article which points out a continuing upward trend of the Orange County Coastal area housing market.

Beach town home sales up 40%

June 13th, 2010, 12:33 am · posted by Jon Lansner

For the 22 business days ending May 25 ? DataQuick?s latest stats ? the 17 ZIPs located in beach towns communities showed ?

• 587 homes sold, that is +40.1% vs. a year ago.
• The median selling price of these ZIPs was $719,000 ? that is +7.1% vs. a year ago.
• The beach towns ZIPs comprised 18.5% of the recent home sales in Orange County vs. 15.2% a year ago.

A little geographical context ?

• 36 ZIP codes in beach towns and inland South County communities had 1,523 homes sales. That?s up 38.6% vs. a year ago.
• 47 ZIP codes in mid-county and inland North County communities had 1,657 homes sales. That?s down 0.4% vs. a year ago.
• Thus, the share of Orange County homes sold in mid-county and inland North County neighborhoods was 52% vs. 60% a year ago.

The ZIP-by-ZIP results for beach towns

…

Orange County home prices continue to strengthen according to the following OC Register article.

O.C. home median price at 21-month high

June 4th, 2010, 9:09 am · posted by Jon Lansner

For the 22 business days ending May 18 ? DataQuick?s latest real estate buying report ? Orange County saw ?

For the 22 business days ending May 18

Slice	Price	Yr. ago	Sales	Yr. ago
Houses	$515,000	+15.7%	1,935	+7.0%
Condos	$295,000	+13.5%	926	+18.9%
New	$640,000	+34.9%	195	+61.2%
All O.C.	$440,000	+12.8%	3,056	+12.8%

• $440,000 median selling price that is up 12.8% vs. a year ago yet -32% below June 2007?s peak of $645,000.
• A median of $440,000 was last seen in Orange County in August 2008.
• The most recent median is 19% above the cyclical low hit in January 2009 at $370,000 ? a current bottom that was 43% below the peak.
• The median selling price of an Orange County

…

Below is an interesting OC Register article pointing out how the Newport Beach area housing market has improved over the last quarter.

Newport Beach homes own the most zip

June 3rd, 2010, 12:01 am · posted by Jon Lansner

Newport Beach 92660 had Orange County?s zippiest housing market in the most recently concluded quarter.

So says our Zippy rankings that weigh pricing and sales momentum plus foreclosure frequency as measured by DataQuick stats.

This ZIP ? running from Back Bay to around Fashion Island up to the toll road ?ranked 7 of 83 for pricing; 2 for sales; and 6 in terms of foreclosures frequency in the community. In the previous quarter, this ZIP ranked 19 of 83 overall.

Second strongest was Newport Beach 92663 ? from the pier to around the bay up to Hoag Hospital ? followed by Irvine 92614 as third best. The beach theme in the Top10 also included Laguna Beach 92651 (#5); Newport Coast 92657 (#6); and Newport Beach 92661 ? basically, most of the Balboa Peninsula (#8).

When you look at the 83 major ZIPs in the county and their Zippys rankings, you see these trends for the best-performing communities:

* The

…

It is that time of year again. Put on your walking shoes, sun glasses and hat. Enjoy an afternoon viewing fine art from local artists and fine food from the great Balboa Island restaurants. The excerpt below is from the Balboa Island Art Walk web site:

The 2010 Balboa Island Artwalk Sunday May 16, 2010 9am-5pm, Free Admission

This year’s event will feature over 90 artists exhibiting original oil paintings, acrylics, watercolors, glass, ceramic, sculpture, jewelry and photography along the South Bayfront of Balboa Island.

The Balboa Island Artwalk is the premier showcase for talented local artists and marks the start of the Island’s summer season. Celebrating its sixteenth anniversary, the Artwalk will take place on Sunday, May 16th, from 9am to 5pm along the South Bayfront Promenade of Balboa Island. Admission is free.

This fine art show features artists exhibiting paintings, fine jewelry, blown glass, sculpture, and photography. Spectators will enjoy live music throughout the day on four stages along the walk. Performing musicians include the Retros, Don Ross Duo, Garry Gould, Rick Sherman and Alan Remington, Jim Roberts, and Grant Peakcock.

Limited-edition Artwalk posters and t-shirts will be available at Sapphire & South Bayfront.

A comfortable

…

According to the below excerpts from this article on MarketWatch, John Paulson is adjusting his investment strategy to take into account an improving housing market.

By Alistair Barr, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — John Paulson, the hedge-fund manager famous for betting against mortgage securities, is now bullish on the U.S. housing market and the economy.

During a conference call with investors Wednesday, Paulson said he was concerned earlier this year about a potential double-dip recession.

“I’m not concerned about that at all today,” he said. It’s more likely there could be a V-shaped recovery, Paulson elaborated.

House prices have stabilized and could climb 8% to 10% nationwide in 2011, he added.

Corporate earnings are coming in ahead of expectations, the stock market is stronger and there’s a “vibrant” credit market. With the “final leg” of a rising housing market, “the outlook for 2011 could be very strong,” Paulson said.

Paulson oversaw $32 billion in assets at the start of 2010, making it the third-largest hedge-fund firm in the world behind J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.  and Bridgewater Associates.

The firm grew quickly after it made billions of dollars betting against mortgage-related securities before the housing market collapsed in 2007.

…

Here is a short article from the OC Register indicating the improving housing market in the Orange County Coastal areas.

Homebuying up 52% at beach, south O.C.
April 18th, 2010, 7:58 am
posted by Jon Lansner

For calendar month March ? freshest numbers from DataQuick ? our region-by-region analysis of homebuying shows Orange County slices up geographically speaking this way ?

• DataQuick identified 704 homes selling in Orange County?s north-inland ZIP codes in this most recent period, +6% from a year ago.
• Median selling price? $448,000 in these 23 ZIPs. This most recent median price change was +11.0% vs. a year ago.
• Mid-county ZIPs ? median selling price $347,000 ? had 762 sales, -10% from a year ago. In these 24 ZIPs, the freshets median price change was +7.2% vs. a year ago. Combined, total homes sales in ZIPs in the north and mid-section of Orange County were -2.7% vs. a year ago as homebuying the the rest of the county ran +51.6% vs. 12 months earlier.
• North/mid-county homes accounted for 54% of residences sold in the most recent period vs. 65% a year ago. 460 homes sold in beach cities? 17 ZIP codes in

…

Get ready for a great weekend!

It is here. The 37th Annual Newport Beach In The Water Boat Show.
Spend a day viewing the large array of vessels and then enjoy a pleasant dinning experience along the waterfront in the Lido Village area of Newport Beach.

More Big Boats

The Newport Boat Show is the premier in-water big-yacht show of the West. No PWC or runabouts. The Newport Boat Show is one show that features big boats along with the gear and equipment that makes owning one more enjoyable. With more than 300 boats on display and no limit on the size of bigger vessels, this is the one show serious buyers won’t want to miss. And neither will you!

Beautiful Newport Beach, California is the ultimate location for a big-boat show. Spend the day outside touring some of the finest yachts in the world at the Lido Marina Village where you’ll also enjoy easier access, free off-site parking and shuttle service and a collection of excellent waterfront restaurants. No other show can compare to everything the Newport Boat Show has to offer. And there's no better place to see the latest and greatest models from the world’s finest

…