08/30/2026
Orange County Market Report For The Week Ending Aug 30th, 2026
Another week of data that verifies we've likely reached our peak inventory levels for the year. (As I said it would back in Jan)
I suspect this week's new listings will be VERY low given the upcoming Holiday weekend. Then a little catch-up week from sellers who stalled listings over a Holiday weekend, followed by a slight decrease in inventory until usually Feb/Mar 2027.
What does this mean for sellers? Less supply is good, but demand is also lower. It's a cat-and-mouse game, and you need to know your product, the competition available, and either have the patience to wait for the right buyer or cut bait and find the bargain shopper.
These are personal decisions; however, the best example I can give is from one of our properties last week in Oceanside. We have a property that was hot the first week of open houses, and we chose an offer over list price (had to take it) that ultimately fell out. The momentum was no longer on our side. A bargain shopper came and offered roughly 100K less than list. We checked what other options they had, and there were none. (ex. Know your product). We countered them very aggressively. They countered back. We stood our ground. They accepted. You can't do that on all properties, but you need to know your competition, know your product, and then use that information to counsel the best decisions possible.
What does this mean for buyers? You are more in control than you have been in years. Especially this time of year. But some properties are still getting multiple offers, and lowballing because you think the market is weak may cause you to lose that dream property, which doesn't come up very often. Remember, we don't have much inventory, and it will keep dropping for the rest of the year. Rates are also pretty sticky right now, so buy-downs may not be a great option. Ask your agents how those could work for you.
Next week we have some job numbers that could impact rates. That's on Friday. Perfect for next week's update.
Until then, have a great rest of your weekend.
Brandon Brown
Broker/Owner
BayBrook Realty
DRE #01394509