What can help sell a house in Orange County nowadays are homes with bonus rooms or flexible space that can be turned into a room. This aspect has become increasingly popular with buyers in recent years.
The reason may be attributed to lessen commute times to work from buying a quaint-sized home in Orange County vs. a larger spacious home in Corona or Murrieta/Temecula where employees have to deal with traffic on Ortega highway or use the 91 freeway.
Homebuyers want flexibility in how they can use their home during the last few years. Living space that can be transformed into an office, a guest room, for multiple purposes at any point in time. This has become especially important with the change in family living as aging baby boomers, retirees, and young single adults may choose to live with family members but only if there is a separate independent space.
A lack of square footage is not a deterrent if the home can be redesigned to accommodate areas which can be adjusted to the new homeowner’s objectives. For example, a house with a separate den or dining area can be made into a separate office or sleeping room and the owner can use the living room as a dining area. If the kitchen area is large enough, a den or dining area may not be needed at all.
Seasoned professionals and young adults may find a quicker commute to their jobs in Irvine, a mecca for those working in technology, finance and health industries, if they have a living space in Laguna Beach, Mission Viejo, and other south OC cities.
Buyers may be getting more creative when they view a home for sale. Orange County real estate transactions were at their highest level in a decade. In 2015, 30,337 houses, condos and townhomes were sold that were listed in the MLS. The average price of an Orange County residential transaction rose to $741,109, the highest dating back to the housing crisis in 2007.