Below are numbers provided by Redfin for Irvine’s July housing market. The numbers are broken down so that the statistics for condos and houses can be seen. The number of homes on the market in Irvine appears to be leveling off. And the number of homes sold has decreased when compared to previous months this year.

Also note that Altos Research states that the Market Action Index (MAI) for Irvine’s single-family housing market was 35.13 on August 8, 2014. According to Altos, above 30 indicates a sellers’ market, below 30 indicates a buyers’ market.

Following is Irvine’s 2014 housing market data as provided by Redfin.

“The entire state has been in severe drought since May, but more of it has since fallen into more severe categories – ‘extreme’ and ‘exceptional.’ Nearly 22% more of California was added into the exceptional drought category in the last week alone.”—Joseph Serna, “California breaks drought record as 58% of state hits driest level,” Los Angeles Times

“Not everybody in California understands how bad this drought is … and how bad it could be. There are communities in danger of running out of water all over the state.”— State Water Resources Control Board Chairwoman Felicia Marcus

Intensity Levels:

Yellow – Abnormally Dry

Peach – Moderate Drought

Orange – Severe Drought

Red – Extreme Drought

Maroon – Exceptional Drought

The Drought Monitor focuses on broad-scale conditions. Local conditions may vary. See accompanying text summary for forecast statement.

The U.S. Drought Monitor reports that California is experiencing the worst drought since the federal government started releasing drought reports in the 1990s. And according to Mark Svoboda, a climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center, this is the worst level of drought that California has had since the 1970s and 1920s.

Earlier this year Governor Brown asked California residences, businesses and public entities to voluntary reduce their water use by 20%. How did we do? Not so good. Most areas did reduce their water consumption, but not by 20%. The area with the largest reduction had a 13% water-use reduction. Unfortunately, the Orange County area was one of the few that increased, rather than decreased, its water use. Overall water use in California went up by about 1%. These are not good statistics, especially since we are in a severe drought that doesn’t show signs of letting up soon.

The result has been that the State Water Resources Control Board recently adopted new regulations that could result in fines for those who use water wastefully. These regulations, which go into effect in August, give cities and local areas the leeway to determine how to put these regulations into effect. However, local water agencies could receive fines of up to $10,000 per day if they are not implementing water-storage contingency plans, and individuals could be fined up to $500 per day by their local water agency if wasteful water practices are used. Some of the actions that could result in fines are allowing water from outdoor sprinklers to run onto streets or sidewalks, hosing down driveways and sidewalks, washing cars with hoses that do not have shutoff nozzles, and using water in decorative fountains that don’t recycle the water.

With all this in mind, now Is a good time to review some information from past posts that could help us all reduce our water use: IRWD Rebates for Outdoor Water-Saving Devices and IRWD Indoor Water-Use Rebates.

Below are numbers provided by Redfin for Irvine’s June housing market. The numbers are broken down so that the statistics for condos and houses can be seen. As has been true for recent months, the number of homes on the market in Irvine during June is continuing to rise. However, the number of homes sold shows a more mixed outcome.

Also note that Altos Research states that the Market Action Index (MAI) for Irvine’s single-family housing market was 35.82 on July 25, 2014. According to Altos, above 30 indicates a sellers’ market, below 30 indicates a buyers’ market.

Following is Irvine’s 2014 housing market data as provided by Redfin.

“The Healthy City Healthy Planet initiative is an affirmation of Irvine’s long-held commitment to health, fitness, well-being and the sustainability of our community.

Through the integration of multiple practices into all aspects of City planning and the delivery of municipal services, we are actively supporting the health of our City, our citizens and our planet on a daily basis.”—City of Irvine, Healthy City Healthy Planet webpage

Now and then, it is helpful to zoom out and take a look at the larger picture. And then zoom back in to see how that applies at home. That is what we are going to do in today’s post. We are going to take a look at what panelists and speakers at the 48th conference of National Association of Real Estate Editors said are the top five trends in today’s real estate market. They point out that being aware of these trends and adjusting your buying or selling strategy to take advantage of these trends will be beneficial whether you are planning on being a buyer or seller in today’s real estate market.

You can answer for yourself if you think that these trends apply to Irvine’s current real estate market—and, if Irvine is a healthy city that contributes to a healthy planet.

Energy Efficiency

One of the hottest topics at the conference was energy efficiency, “which has become one of the most coveted features among home buyers. That’s true even at the upper end of the market, where wealthy homeowners don’t have to sweat steep utility bills, but still they want their homes to run at optimal efficiency.” The suggestion to buyers looking to optimize the value of their home purchase was to look for energy-efficiency features. Energy Star appliances, high efficiency windows, and well-insulated attics are a few energy-efficient items a prospective buyer might look for. The prospective buyer might even ask for a year’s worth of utility bills to better gauge what the cost of owning the home would be.

Credit

“Most Americans still can’t afford a mortgage, according to Anthony Hsieh, CEO and founder loanDepot. The average FICO score on mortgages stands above 750, compared with 710 in 2010. If you have solid credit, you’ll be able to take advantage of the still historically low interest rates. If not, you need to get your score up, and quick, since economists expect mortgage rates to tick above 5 percent in 2015”.

If you currently have a good interest rate that is locked in, advice was given to reconsider selling your home at this time. It might make more sense to hold on to your home, and if you really want those new features, consider remodeling.

Lifestyle Amenities

“For the first time ever, today’s kids might have shorter lifespans than their parents.”–Rachel MacCleery of the Urban Land Institute.” And the way we have built our communities, which discourages walking, is part of the problem. The result is that the old model for building neighborhoods is losing favor: “People want to live closer to work and they’re looking for modes of transportation that don’t involve getting in their car.”–Bob Eury, executive director of the Houston Downtown Management District. Walkable residential development and transportation options that involve more than The-Car-Is-All model are becoming more popular. Smooth sidewalks, tree-lined streets and paths, bike trails and lanes, and easy access to playgrounds and nature are some of the features that today’s buyers are finding more and more desirable.

Water Efficiency

Water efficiency is becoming just as important as energy efficiency. (Actually, it takes a lot of energy to move water from one location to another, so energy efficiency and water efficiency are intertwined.) “Nearly 2 billion people are projected to live in scarce-water regions by 2015. In the U.S., groundwater depletion rates are accelerating at a rapid clip, and the western drought is creating severe stress for farmers and cities alike, according to the Counselors of Real Estate.” This is making water-efficient homes more desirable. Some water efficient features that home buyers might look for are water-smart landscaping (even for people who don’t live in a drought zone) as well as water-efficient fixtures, such as toilets, faucets, and showerheads.

Online Real Estate

With easy access to the online world, including the online real estate world, some are questioning if a need for real estate agents still exist. Rick Sharga, executive vice president at Auction.com, has some encouraging but cautionary words for today’s real estate agents: “This is an opportunity for agents to reinvent themselves and figure out what their value proposition is for consumers on a go-forward basis.”

What do you think? Do these five nationwide trends as stated at the National Association of Real Estate Editors conference, apply to Irvine? And is Irvine a healthy city that provides its citizens and, by extension the planet, a healthy, happy life?

Source: Consumer Reports

Here are some housing market statistics for Irvine and some surrounding cities. When I reviewed these numbers, two points stood out. First, the average down payments for houses in Lake Forest and Santa Ana have increased greatly from the numbers of about a month ago. Second, when compared to numbers from about this time last month, the number of homes that sold in every one of these cities has increased.

The following numbers are for the ninety days that precede July 11.