Orange County’s housing inventory continued to rise in July, following historical seasonal trends. Inventory tends to peak in July, which appears to be the case this year. The number of homes for sale has trended lower over the past three years and settled at historically low levels. There were nearly 2,500 fewer homes on the market in July 2022 than in July 2020. Although 2022 has had one of the lowest inventories on record, we were pleased to see that inventory has increased every month so far. With the drop in sales and new listings in July, the peak inventory levels for 2022 will undoubtedly be the lowest on record.
The decline in sales, despite rising inventory, indicates that demand is softening. We aren’t saying that demand is low, but it’s trending closer to balanced between buyers and sellers than we’ve seen in years.