A large city in the southern portion of Orange County, the city of Mission Viejo, California, lies in the Saddleback Valley and is one of the largest master-planned communities ever constructed via a single project nationwide. In 2009, the city was home to a population of more than 100,000 and it is mostly a suburban, residential community, with mostly single-family homes but also a number of condos. The city has a high median household income level, measured at more than $93,000 in 2008, and Mission Viejo real estate prices are correspondingly high, though they are considered in the low to mid range compared with other Orange County cities.

At the end of last year, the median price for homes sold in Mission Viejo was $425,000 in one zip code and slightly higher at $463,500 in its second zip code. These figures were both down annually from the medians at the end of 2008 by 9.5% and 9.1%, respectively. However, sales levels were up in both areas as homebuyers moved in to snatch up the many deals on Mission Viejo homes for sale available. There were 567 homes sold in the city’s first zip code, an increase year-over-year of 4.4%, and 610 home sold in the second zip code, an 18.4% yearly increase.

More recently, the Orange County Register’s monthly chart for March showed more positive signs in the Mission Viejo market. The median prices for homes sold in the month was $475,000 in one zip code, a 30% increase yearly, and $440,000 in the other zip code, a 5.5% rise. Meanwhile, sales continued to stay strong, with 50 and 53 in each zip code, rises of 10.4% and 4%, respectively, in Mission Viejo during March.

That trend continued for one zip code but fell back for another more recently. According to the OC Register’s real estate blog, statistics for the most recent three-week period ended April 27 showed the median prices at $440,000 and $410,000, a rise of 24% in the first case but a decline in 2.4% in the latter. Sales are continuing to surge, with 44 and 57 homes, rises of 42% and 21% annually, respectively.

Real estate in Mission Viejo

According to a September 14, 2009 article in the Mercury News, home sales for a broader region – Southern California – dropped substantially in the month of August. The article, which was originally reported in the Associated Press, noted that “Home sales in the six-county Southern California region declined 10.8 percent in August compared with July, while the median price rose slightly, a real estate information service said Tuesday. San Diego-based MDA DataQuick attributed the sales dip to thinning inventory of foreclosure properties and financial uncertainty among potential buyers.” Jonathan Lansner of the Orange County Register took the news a step further, saying in a September 15, 2009 article that “Local housing’s recovery may have wilted a bit in the summer heat.”

Mission Viejo homes for sale declined slightly in terms of median home price, according to a September 25, 2009 article in the Orange County Business Journal. The article, written by Mark Mueller, stated that “The price of an existing Orange County home inched back below the $500,000 mark in August, the California Association of Realtors said on Friday. The median price for an existing stand-alone OC home sold in August was $499,440, about an $800 drop from July and a 2.3% decline from a year earlier. Last month’s modest decline reversed a rally that had seen the county’s median price increase by more than $60,000 since April.”