Published October 23, 2026 in Market Update

Orange County listings rose, but contracts and sales still slipped

By Michelle

Real estate, Orange County

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 1,248 homes for sale across Orange County in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 4.7% from the same period in 2025. More supply means your home has more company right now.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows new listings rose 3.5% while pending sales fell 6.8%. More homes came in than went under contract. That is a small but real shift in who holds the cards.

Nationally, Realtor.com reported that active listings topped 1.16 million homes in September 2026. Price cuts hit 20.8% of listings nationally, the highest share since October 2022. Orange County is not alone in feeling this shift.

Mortgage rates are adding pressure too. CNBC reported the average 30-year fixed rate dropped to 7.41% from 7.50%, but applications to purchase a home still fell 7% for the week and were 18% lower than a year before. Fewer buyers are moving forward.

What this means for sellers right now

More listings and fewer contracts is a combination that gives buyers more time to choose. Not every seller is meeting the market the same way. Pricing carefully matters more than it did a year ago.

How each ZIP code read in the same period

The county-wide numbers hide a wide range. Some ZIP codes are moving quickly. Others are sitting longer. Here is how each area stacked up, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator for the three months ending August 31, 2026.

Speed: which ZIP codes moved fastest

Fountain Valley (92708) and Garden Grove (92844) both sat at 28 days median, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Newport Beach (92663) took the longest at 68 days. That is a 40-day spread across this one county.

Where buyers paid over asking

Not every ZIP saw bidding wars. The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows the share of homes that sold above list price ranged widely in the three months ending August 31, 2026.

Santa Ana (92703) saw 66.7% of homes sell above list, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Newport Beach (92663) was at 4.6%. Same county, very different experience for sellers.

Pending sales: the leading signal

Pending sales tell you where the market is heading. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 1,308 pending sales across Orange County, down 6.8% from a year before. Some ZIP codes bucked that trend.

Huntington Beach (92647) gained 11.8% in pending sales, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Garden Grove (92844) fell 32.3%. Those two ZIP codes are in the same county and telling opposite stories.

Supply: how many months of homes are sitting

Months of supply tells you how long the current stock would last at the current sales pace. Below 3 months tends to favor sellers. Above 4 tends to give buyers more room.

Santa Ana (92703) carried 6.3 months of supply, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That is the loosest market in this group. Garden Grove (92844) had just 1.8 months. Pricing in those two places calls for very different thinking.

The national picture behind the local numbers

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. Month over month, they rose 0.3% in July on a seasonally adjusted basis. Prices are still moving up nationally, just more slowly.

Realtor.com reported that 20.8% of listings nationally had price cuts in September 2026, the highest share since October 2022. That is a sign that some sellers are starting above where the market will meet them.