Every month I pull the closed sale data for South Orange County and break down the numbers. Here's May.
The short version
South OC is still a seller's market, but it depends on where you are. Mission Viejo is steady and quick. Dana Point is climbing hard. San Clemente is up big on price but homes are sitting longer, which means buyers there are negotiating again. Three cities, ten miles apart, three different scenarios.
Mission Viejo
The median sale price came in around $1.2 million, up 4.2% from a year ago. Homes are selling in about a month.
That's steady appreciation on tight inventory. Well priced homes under $1.4 million are still drawing multiple offers and moving fast. The homes that sit are the ones priced off last summer's comps instead of this spring's.
If you own here, your equity continued growing while the headlines talked about a cooldown.
Dana Point
The median hit $2 million in May, up 15.5% year over year, with homes selling in roughly five to six weeks.
That's a big number, and coastal premium is the whole story. The buyers coming for Dana Point are coming for the view, the harbor, and the lifestyle, and they're paying for it. High end sales are pulling the median up, but even the middle of this market is firm.
One caution, homes that need a price cut sit for months. The premium is real, but you have to price into it, not past it.
San Clemente
This is the most interesting read of the month. The median sale price was about $2.05 million, up 13.3% from last May. But homes averaged 72 days on market, the longest of the three cities by far.
Prices up double digits while homes sit longer sounds like a contradiction. It isn't. It means the homes that sell are selling well, and the homes that don't are teaching their owners an expensive lesson about pricing. Buyers in San Clemente have time to be selective, and they're using it.
If you're selling in San Clemente right now, pricing discipline decides everything. Priced right, you're in the strongest coastal market in years. Priced wrong, you're the listing everyone watches get stale.
This means to come to market priced for this spring, not last one. In all three cities, the penalty for overpricing is measured in months, not weeks. The first three weeks decide your outcome, so preparation and launch matter more than they have in years.
This means buyers have more room than the headlines suggest, especially on anything that's been sitting past 45 days. Rates in the low to mid 6s have pulled move up buyers back in, so the well priced homes still go fast.
This means investors have more equity than they may realize. If your rent hasn't moved in years but your property value has, you're leaving money on the table. This is exactly the analysis we run for owners, and it's worth running annually whether you work with us or not.
The bottom line
Three healthy markets, three different tempos. The data changes monthly, and it's my job to keep up, because averages across South OC hide more than they show. If you want to know what your street is doing rather than your city, that's a conversation, not a chart.
Questions about your home, your rental, or your timing? Reach out. This is what we do.
Tyler Raynard, Broker
Raynard Real Estate · DRE #02213778
Data reflects May 2026 closed sales from MLS derived public records. Figures are city level medians and averages; individual neighborhoods vary. June data posts mid July and next month's report will follow.
“People never forget how you make them feel.”
Start a conversation