According to a recent report as seen on CNBC, 33% of all Homeowners nationwide have more mortgage debt than their home is worth… otherwise known as being upside down on their mortgage. Other local reports have estimated that more than 33% of Orange County homeowners are upside down on their homes as well. Below is a table showing home sales in Orange County for the past 5 years. This tabulation below shows all home sales, as compared to financially distressed homes sales for each calendar year, and the ratio of distressed sales to all sales.
ORANGE COUNTY HOMES SALES AND DISTRESSED HOME SALES
| Year | All Home Sales | Distressed Home Sales | Ratio of Distressed to All |
| 2009 | 27,789 | 13,180 | 47% |
| 2008 | 23,650 | 8,902 | 37% |
| 2007 | 21,388 | 617 | 2.8% |
| 2006 | 29,227 | 114 | 0.30% |
| 2005 | 42,253 | 89 | 0.20% |
As can be seen, distressed sales have grown exponentially since 2005′, and now represent almost 50% of all home sales in Orange County. The question most people ask is when will it end?… No one knows for sure, but based upon my experience and survey of the market, I expect distressed sales to possibly rise a bit further in 2010, and then slowly decline in volume in the following 3 years after 2010.
Orange County Short Sale Experts
