Published October 25, 2026 in Market Update

More Irvine sellers are waiting longer, and price cuts matter more

By Jason & Susan Zwolak

Real estate, Expired Listings

I was driving through a few neighborhoods this week and noticed a handful of signs that have been up a while. That got me pulling the numbers. Here is what the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted for the three months ending August 31, 2026, and what it means for you.

The one fact that changes what sellers should do right now: in 92604, the median home sat on the market for 57 days. That is 13 days longer than the same period a year ago, according to the Real Estate Data Aggregator. And Realtor.com reported that mortgage rates topped 7% nationally in September 2026. Buyers are slower. That means your price has to do more work from day one.

Nationally, Realtor.com reported that 20.8% of listings had price reductions in September 2026, the highest share since October 2022. That is not just an Irvine story. It is the backdrop every seller here is working against.

How each ZIP code looked

The picture is not the same everywhere. Some parts of Irvine and the coast moved faster than a year ago. Others slowed down noticeably. Here is what the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted, ZIP by ZIP, for the three months ending August 31, 2026.

In 92604, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 32 homes sold, down 27.3% from a year before. The median sale price dipped to $1,380,000, down 1.4%. Homes are still selling close to list, at 98.8%, but fewer are selling above list. That share fell 13 points to 18.8%.

In 92618, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 171 homes sold, up 3%. The median sale price slipped to $1,475,000, down 4.5%. At 5.8 months of supply, this ZIP has the most inventory of any Irvine ZIP in the data. That gives buyers more room.

In 92602, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 65 homes sold, up 14%. Days on market actually fell by 6 days to 54. Pending sales rose 10.9%. That part of Irvine moved better than most.

In 92620, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 98 homes sold, up 15.3%. Median days on market fell 11 days to 44. Pending sales jumped 23.7%. Prices dipped 7.4% to $1,615,000, but the pace of sales picked up.

A few Irvine ZIP codes worth a closer look

In 92614, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 38 homes sold, down 13.6%. The median sale price fell to $1,050,000, down 9.6%. That is a real dip. Still, 33.3% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing, up 9.3 points from a year ago. Price matters, and the right price still moves homes.

In 92606, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 25 homes sold, up 47.1%. The average sale price hit exactly 100% of list. That is the strongest sale-to-list ratio of any Irvine ZIP in the data. And 36% of homes sold above list price, though that share did slip 5.2 points from a year ago.

In 92612, prices fell 11.4% to $1,100,000, but 80 homes sold, up 33.3%. More sales at a lower price tells you buyers responded when sellers adjusted.

Newport Beach and the coast

Newport Beach and the nearby coast tell a mixed story. In 92660, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 87 homes sold, down 9.4%. The median sale price rose 30.9% to $3,650,000. Days on market held steady at 49, unchanged from a year ago. The share of homes that sold above list fell 9.6 points to 9.2%.

In 92663, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 66 homes sold, down 23.3%. The median sale price fell 18.7% to $2,685,000. Homes averaged 95.4% of list price, the lowest sale-to-list of any Newport Beach ZIP in the data. Fewer sales and a bigger gap from list to sale price are signs buyers pushed back.

In 92661, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 14 homes sold, up 7.7%. The median sale price jumped 59% to $6,875,000, and days on market fell 33 days to 47. That is a small sample, so one or two big sales can move the median a lot.

In 92662, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 14 homes sold. Median days on market were 83, the longest of any ZIP in the data. The sale-to-list ratio was 96.8%. Year-over-year change data is not available for 92662, so the story there comes from the current period alone.

Newport Coast and Laguna Beach

In 92657 (Newport Coast), the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 27 homes sold. The median sale price rose 100.3% to $8,800,000. That is a big jump, and with only 27 sales, a few high-end closings can move the number sharply. Days on market were 64, up 5 days. The sale-to-list ratio was 94.4%, the lowest in the data.

In 92651 (Laguna Beach), the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 94 homes sold, up 10.6%. The median sale price rose 14% to $3,375,000. Days on market fell 30 days to 69. Pending sales rose 9.6%. More homes sold, prices moved up, and things moved faster than a year ago.

In 92625 (Corona Del Mar), the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 69 homes sold, up 30.2%. The median sale price rose 9.1% to $4,250,000. Months of supply fell to 3.2, down 2.2 months from a year ago. That is the tightest supply on the coast.

Costa Mesa and Aliso Viejo

In 92626 (Costa Mesa), the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 89 homes sold, up 11.3%. The median sale price edged up 1.6% to $1,575,000. Days on market fell 3 days to 38. At 2 months of supply and 40.5% of homes going under contract within two weeks, this ZIP moved faster than most in the data.

In 92627 (Costa Mesa), the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 86 homes sold, down 18.9%. The median sale price rose 19% to $1,584,500, but the sale-to-list ratio slipped 1.2 points to 98.3%. Fewer sales, more listings up 36.1%, and a slightly wider gap from list to sale.

In 92656 (Aliso Viejo), the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 104 homes sold, up 2%. The median sale price held nearly flat at $940,000, up just 0.6%. The sale-to-list ratio was 99.3%, and 27.9% of homes sold above list. At 3 months of supply, inventory is manageable.

What the national picture adds

Realtor.com reported that active listings nationally grew to 1.16 million homes for sale year over year in September 2026. More supply nationally means buyers have more options and less urgency. That feeds into what we are seeing locally: sellers who price too high are waiting longer.

CNBC reported that a monthly payment on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage on a median-priced home was roughly 33% of a median family's income in 2025, up from 26% in 2022. That affordability squeeze is real. It shapes what buyers will pay and how long they will wait before they walk.

What this means if you own a home here

Some ZIPs moved faster this period. Some slowed down. The ones that slowed share something: prices that did not reflect what buyers would actually pay in a 7% rate world. The ones that moved share something too: they were priced where buyers said yes.

Not every home sold fast, and not every price held. But the data shows that well-priced homes still found buyers. In 92606, sellers averaged exactly 100% of list. In 92626, 40.5% of homes went under contract within two weeks. Pricing right still works.

One more thing: the numbers above cover whole ZIP codes. One street can read very differently from the ZIP around it. If you want to know what the data says about your specific block, text me.