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Hey neighbors,
For about four years, “negotiating” in Orange County real estate mostly meant deciding how far over asking you were willing to go. That era is quietly ending, and the newest national and local numbers agree on it, so let’s talk about the concessions buyers are actually getting right now, and what that means if you own a home here in Laguna Niguel.
The numbers behind the shift
The National Association of Realtors reported in August that contract signings fell 2.3% from June to July, and sit about 2.2% below last year. Affordability is doing the dragging: prices near record levels, and a 30-year rate that averaged 6.65% in Freddie Mac’s latest weekly survey (August 20), which was actually the second small weekly decline in a row.
Here in Orange County, homes are taking about 99 days to go from listing to open escrow per the latest Orange County Housing Report, with houses moving in about 87 days and condos stretching to 118. And before anyone reads doom into any of this, the county’s median price stands at $1,475,000 per the California Association of Realtors’ July report, up 5.4% from a year ago. What’s changed is simply how many buyers are in the room at any given moment, and that changes how deals get made.
The concessions buyers are winning right now
With fewer bidding wars, NAR reports buyers are increasingly negotiating for things that were off the table two years ago: seller-paid closing costs, mortgage rate buydowns, and repair credits. A rate buydown deserves a special mention because it can matter more than a price cut of the same size: a seller credit that trims your rate for the first year or two lowers the payment you actually live with, which is the number that decides whether a home fits your life.
The catch, and it’s a big one, is that this leverage is not spread evenly. It concentrates in two places: condos, where market time has stretched to 118 days and sellers are competing hard for a smaller buyer pool, and listings that have sat 90 days or more, where a seller has usually made the emotional shift from “testing the market” to “let’s make a deal.” A turnkey, well-priced house in Laguna Niguel is still a different animal entirely. Those regularly sell in under 30 days here, sometimes with multiple offers, and walking into one of those waving a list of demands is how you lose the house.
What I’m seeing at the table
Buyers are bold right now, and I mean that as an observation, not a complaint. I’m also seeing a lot of investment buyers out fishing with genuinely lowball offers, hoping to catch a worn-down seller before fall. So if you’re a seller and a number comes in that makes you laugh (or cry), take a breath: an investor’s opening lowball is not the market’s verdict on your home, it’s one fisherman testing the water. The offers worth engaging with are the ones looking for a deal that works on both sides.
Because here’s the version of this market I actually like: it’s still a seller’s market for great houses, and at the same time buyers have real leverage to negotiate concessions that are mutually beneficial. A seller who holds a strong price while crediting toward the buyer’s rate buydown, next to a buyer whose monthly payment finally pencils, is not a compromise. That’s both sides winning at the same time, and those are my favorite escrows to run.
If you’re selling: a well-placed credit can protect your price
Sellers sometimes hear “credits and buydowns” and picture surrender. I’d frame it differently. Buyers shop by monthly payment, so a seller who offers a buydown can often hold a stronger sale price than one who slashes the list number, and the comps in your neighborhood will thank you for it. The sellers struggling in this market are mostly the ones pricing with a cushion and conceding nothing, which is how you end up in the 99-day club watching the fall slowdown arrive.
The window point, one more time
Buyer demand in OC has now risen two reports in a row, and the serious late-summer buyers are out looking right now. But school routines are taking over, some sellers are pulling listings rather than negotiating, and September always scatters everyone’s attention. Whichever side of the table you’re on, the next few weeks are the ones to use.
Updates
August 27, 2026: first published version, based on NAR’s July pending home sales data, the August 17 Orange County Housing Report, Freddie Mac’s August 20 rate survey, and C.A.R.’s July report.
Thinking about buying or selling and wondering what leverage you actually have? Call or text me at (949) 257-2276, or book 15 minutes here. And as always, nothing here is financial advice, just a neighbor who reads the reports so you don’t have to.
Sincerely,
Amanda Christine Sturges, Realtor® DRE #02348474 · Coldwell Banker Realty
Sources: National Association of Realtors, July 2026 Pending Home Sales Index (contract signings down 2.3% month over month; buyer concessions reporting), August 2026; Orange County Housing Report, August 17, 2026, Steven Thomas, Reports on Housing (reportsonhousing.com); Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, August 20, 2026; California Association of Realtors, July 2026 Home Sales and Price Report, released August 17, 2026. Market observations from my own recent showings and offers. Analysis and opinions are my own.
