Homebuying slump: Sales in Irvine, Tustin drop 23% to start 2019

Homebuying in Irvine and Tustin fell 23% in what was Orange County homebuying’s slowest start to a year since 2009.

CoreLogic stats show the lowest countywide sales count for any first three months of a year since the Great Recession. It also was the third-slowest-selling first quarter in the real estate tracker’s database that dates to 1988. At the community level, sales rose in only one-sixth of Orange County’s 83 ZIP codes. With the slump, prices fell countywide, too.

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CoreLogic found these 17 trends in 11 ZIP codes covered by the Orange County Register’s Irvine World News weekly, …

1. Purchases: Home sales in the first quarter totaled 962 vs. 1,246 a year earlier, a decline of 23% in a year.

2. Who’s up: Prices increased in 4 of the 11 ZIPs as sales rose in 1 ZIPs.

3. Countywide: $710,000 median selling price, down 2.1% in a year. Orange County sales totaled 6,211 residences, existing and new, vs. 7,804 a year earlier, a decline of 20.4% in a year. Prices rose in 36 out of 83 Orange County ZIPs and sales were up in 13 out of 83 ZIPs.

Here is how prices and sales moved in Irvine and Tustin …

4. Irvine 92602: $1,380,000 median, down 28.9% in a year. Price rank? 8th of 83. Sales of 123 vs. 66 a year earlier, a gain of 86.4% in 12 months.

5. Irvine 92603: $995,000 median, down 12.7% in a year. Price rank? No. 11 of 83. Sales of 45 vs. 54 a year earlier, a decline of 16.7% in 12 months.

6. Irvine 92604: $762,500 median, down 5.9% in a year. Price rank? No. 30 of 83. Sales of 44 vs. 58 a year earlier, a decline of 24.1% in 12 months.

7. Irvine 92606: $800,000 median, down 8% in a year. Price rank? No. 22 of 83. Sales of 23 vs. 25 a year earlier, a decline of 8% in 12 months.

8. Irvine 92612: $645,000 median, down 9.2% in a year. Price rank? No. 55 of 83. Sales of 71 vs. 96 a year earlier, a decline of 26% in 12 months.

9. Irvine 92614: $677,000 median, up 2.3% in a year. Price rank? No. 45 of 83. Sales of 34 vs. 48 a year earlier, a decline of 29.2% in 12 months.

10. Irvine 92618: $963,500 median, up 23.8% in a year. Price rank? No. 12 of 83. Sales of 248 vs. 356 a year earlier, a decline of 30.3% in 12 months.

11. Irvine 92620: $1,052,500 median, up 4.6% in a year. Price rank? No. 10 of 83. Sales of 172 vs. 300 a year earlier, a decline of 42.7% in 12 months.

12. Tustin 92780: $615,000 median, up 1.7% in a year. Price rank? No. 58 of 83. Sales of 62 vs. 86 a year earlier, a decline of 27.9% in 12 months.

13. Tustin 92782: $777,500 median, down 6.3% in a year. Price rank? No. 28 of 83. Sales of 54 vs. 71 a year earlier, a decline of 23.9% in 12 months.

14. Santa Ana-North Tustin 92705: $853,750 median, down 3.5% in a year. Price rank? No. 18 of 83. Sales of 86, flat in the period.

Plus, three more countywide trends found in first quarter 2019 vs. 2018’s first three months …

15. Single-family-home resales: 3,784 Orange County sales vs. 4,570 a year earlier, a decline of 17.2% in the period. Median: $760,000 — a dip of 1.9% in the period.

16. Condo resales: 1,721 sales vs. 2,108 a year earlier, a decline of 18.4% in 12 months. Median: $485,000 — a dip of 3.0% in 12 months.

17. New homes: Builders sold 706 residences vs. 1,126 a year earlier, a decline of 37.3% in 12 months. Median: $1,017,500 — a rise of 15.8% in a year.