The Hammond Real Estate Report

A mid-sized city located in the southwestern portion of Orange County, Laguna Niguel, California, is home to a population of more than 60,000 The city began as a master-planned community in the San Joaquin Hills. According to a 2008 estimate, the city’s estimated annual median household income was around $98,000, and housing prices are reflectively high, though in terms of Orange County, prices fall about in the mid-range. The Laguna Niguel real estate has suffered in recent years as the economy has tanked, forcing many homeowners into foreclosure and bringing down the values of many homes. However, other buyers have been able to hop into this market that they were previously priced out of, and sales volume has increased.

At the end of 2009, according to the Orange County Register’s annual zip code chart, the median annual price for homes in Laguna Niguel was $520,000, representing a 9.6% decrease from the 2008 annual median price. However, sales volume was up in 2009, with 972 Laguna Niguel homes for sale sold over the 12 months, a more than 27% increase year-over-year.

The Orange County Register’s monthly chart showed that in March, the median price in Laguna Niguel had fallen even further than its mark at the end of 2009, down to $518,750, though this was off a smaller percentage from March 2009, at a 7.4% drop. Sales volume continued to show more encouraging signs than price though, and in March, there were 97 homes sold, an increase of nearly 50% from the sales levels in March 2009.

In the most recent period for which statistics were available, a three-week period ended April 22, prices were down even further, at a median of $515,000, of 13% from the same time one year earlier, but sales were still up by a third annually, with 80 homes sold during those three weeks.