Published October 25, 2026 in Market Update

Coastal Orange County - Central has fewer homes for sale, but more deals are moving

By Jason & Susan Zwolak

Real estate, Coastal Orange County - Central

Rates crossed 7% again. Realtor.com reported that mortgage rates surged above 7% for the first time since January 2025. That kind of headline makes a lot of people pause. But the numbers here tell a different story.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 403 homes for sale across Coastal Orange County - Central in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is down 17.9% from the same three months in 2025. Fewer choices for buyers means the homes that are priced and presented well are getting real attention.

Here is what that means for you. If you own a home here, serious buyers are still out there. Pending sales rising 4.9% while inventory fell tells you demand did not dry up. If you are buying, you have fewer homes to choose from. Clean terms and good timing matter more than they did a year ago.

What each ZIP code showed

The market is not moving the same way everywhere. Each ZIP had its own story in the three months ending August 31, 2026, and the differences are worth knowing.

Corona Del Mar (92625): supply tightest, pending sales surging

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted just 3.2 months of supply in Corona Del Mar, the tightest of any ZIP here. Pending sales jumped 38.2% from a year ago. The median sale price came in at $4,250,000, up 9.1%. Homes took a median of 65 days to sell, which is 11 days longer than last year. Not every home moved fast, but the pipeline of buyers is clearly growing.

Newport Beach 92661: fastest sales, biggest jump in quick contracts

The Real Estate Data Aggregator showed a median of just 47 days on market in ZIP 92661, the quickest of any ZIP in this market. That is 33 days shorter than a year ago. More striking: 33.3% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing, up 20 points from last year. Pending sales rose 40%. The median sale price was $6,875,000, up 59%. With only 14 homes sold, small sample sizes can move that number a lot, so read the price shift with some caution.

Laguna Beach (92651): most homes sold, speed improving fast

Laguna Beach had the most activity. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 94 homes sold, up 10.6%. Pending sales rose 9.6% to 103. The share of homes going under contract within two weeks jumped 12.7 points to 22.3%. Median days on market fell 30 days shorter than a year ago, landing at 69 days. The median sale price was $3,375,000, up 14%. New listings rose 19.2%, giving buyers more to look at than in the other ZIPs.

Newport Coast (92657): prices doubled, but watch the supply

The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median sale price in Newport Coast at $8,800,000, up 100.3% from a year ago. With only 27 homes sold, a few very high-priced sales can move that figure sharply. Supply fell 18.5%, but 5 months of supply is still more than most ZIPs here. Pending sales dipped 3.6%. The sale-to-list ratio slipped 1.9 points to 94.4%, meaning sellers are giving a little more ground on price.

Newport Beach (92663): the one ZIP where things softened

ZIP 92663 is the outlier. The Real Estate Data Aggregator showed the median sale price fell 18.7% to $2,685,000. Homes sold dropped 23.3%. Pending sales fell 23.1%. The share of homes selling above list dropped 7 points. Months of supply ticked up 0.9 months. This ZIP did not follow the area trend. That does not mean it is broken, but pricing carefully matters more here right now.

How rates fit into this picture

Realtor.com reported that mortgage rates surged above 7% for the first time since January 2025. Nationally, Realtor.com also reported that 20.8% of listings had their price reduced in September, the highest share since October 2022. That is the national picture. Here, inventory fell and pending sales rose. The two things can both be true at once.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that 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. Coastal Orange County prices are well above the national median, so those figures set context, not a direct comparison.