Published October 25, 2026 in Market Update

Laguna Beach moved faster even with mortgage rates above 7%

By Jason & Susan Zwolak

Real estate, Laguna Beach

Mortgage rates topped 7% for the first time since January 2025, Realtor.com reported in September 2026. That kind of rate usually slows things down. In Laguna Beach, it did not.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 103 pending sales in ZIP 92651 for the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 9.6% from the same months a year before. Serious buyers are still making moves.

Homes are going faster than they did a year ago

The Real Estate Data Aggregator shows the median days on market dropped to 69 days. That is 30 days shorter than the same period in 2025. One month faster is a real shift.

And 22.3% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That share jumped 12.7 points from a year before. Nearly 1 in 4 homes found a buyer almost immediately.

Fewer homes for sale, higher prices

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 163 homes for sale in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is down 22% from a year before. Less supply with steady demand pushes prices up.

The median sale price in ZIP 92651 came in at $3,375,000, up 14% from the same period in 2025, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That is a big jump in one year.

For context, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. house prices rose just 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. Laguna Beach ran well ahead of that national pace.

More homes came to market, and most still sold

New listings rose 19.2% to 124 homes, the Real Estate Data Aggregator shows. More sellers stepped up. Yet the Real Estate Data Aggregator also counted 94 homes sold, up 10.6% from a year before. Supply grew, and so did closings.

Months of supply fell to 5.3 months, down 2.2 months from a year ago, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That still leans toward a balanced market, not a runaway one.

What about the rate picture?

CNBC reported the average contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 7.41% as of late October 2026. That is real money on a $3 million-plus home.

CNBC also noted that a monthly payment on a median-priced U.S. home now takes roughly 33% of a median family's income. That is up from 26% in 2022. Affordability is tighter everywhere.

Even so, Laguna Beach buyers kept moving. The average sale came in at 95.9% of list price, up 1.1 points from a year before, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Sellers are not giving away much.

One thing worth knowing: these numbers cover all of ZIP 92651. One street can read very differently from the ZIP code as a whole. If you want to know what is happening on your block, send me a note.