Published November 1, 2026 in Market Update

Buying costs more than renting, and some parts of this market are adjusting

By Chris Robertson

Real estate, Primary Buy Box (Still Orange County)

Realtor.com reported that buying costs $4,716 more per month than renting in Los Angeles County in the third quarter of 2026. That is the number that changes what you should think about next. Whether you own or rent right now, that gap shapes every decision in this market.

Realtor.com also reported that the median asking rent in Los Angeles County fell 3.6% from a year earlier, landing at $2,554 in Q3 2026. For 0 to 2 bedroom units, that figure was $2,239, also down 3.8% year over year. Renting got a little cheaper. Buying did not.

Freddie Mac put the 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 7.24% as of October 29, 2026. That is the cost of borrowing sitting behind every purchase price you see below. It matters when you read the numbers for each ZIP code.

Where prices fell, and where they rose

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted sales across this market for the three months ending August 31, 2026. The picture is not the same in every ZIP code. Some areas saw prices climb. Others pulled back. Owners need to know which side their street is on.

The biggest drop was in 92663 (Newport Beach). The Real Estate Data Aggregator recorded a median sale price of $2,685,000 there, down 18.7% from a year earlier. Fewer homes sold too, down 23.3%. Days on market edged 1 day longer, to 68 days. Prices are still high, but the adjustment is real.

92602 (Irvine) also saw a meaningful drop. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median sale price at $2,180,000, down 13% from a year earlier. More homes sold, up 14%, and more new listings arrived, up 19%. More supply with a lower price means buyers had more room to compare.

92612 (Irvine) fell 11.4%, to a median of $1,100,000. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 80 homes sold, up 33.3%. More buyers found a deal at the lower price. Only 3.8% of homes sold above list, down 6.2 points from a year earlier. That tells you the leverage shifted a little toward buyers.

92614 (Irvine) dropped 9.6%, to $1,050,000. Homes sold faster, 8 days shorter than a year earlier. But fewer went above list, down 9.2 points to 15.8%. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 38 homes sold, down 13.6%. Prices eased, but volume fell with them.

92610 (Foothill Ranch) and 92620 (Irvine) each fell roughly 7 to 8 percent. In Foothill Ranch, the median landed at $1,202,000, down 7.5%. In 92620, it was $1,615,000, down 7.4%. Both areas sold homes faster than a year earlier. That is a small comfort for owners there.

Where prices held or climbed

Not every ZIP code pulled back. 92660 (Newport Beach) posted the biggest gain. The Real Estate Data Aggregator recorded a median sale price of $3,650,000, up 30.9% from a year earlier. Still, only 9.2% of homes sold above list, down 9.6 points. A higher median with fewer bidding wars tells a nuanced story.

92603 (Irvine) rose 27.9%, to a median of $2,750,000. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 51 homes sold, up 50%, and 58 pending sales, up 65.7%. Demand was clearly there. But only 20.7% went under contract within two weeks, down 13.6 points. Buyers took more time before committing.

92630 (Lake Forest) gained 12.1%, reaching a median of $1,300,000. Nearly 1 in 3 homes sold above list, up 7.6 points. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 152 homes sold, the highest volume in this group. Days on market fell 7 days shorter. That is a steadier picture than most ZIP codes here.

92606 (Irvine) gained 14.1%, to $1,460,000. The average sale price hit exactly 100% of list, up 1.1 points. That means sellers there got every dollar they asked for, on average. Still, only 18.2% went under contract within two weeks, down 4.5 points. It was not a one-sided market.

A closer look at speed and supply

Speed to contract varied widely. In 92610 (Foothill Ranch) and 92672 (San Clemente), the Real Estate Data Aggregator found that 45.8% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing. In 92676 (Silverado), only 12.5% did, and the median days on market was 116 days. That is a very different pace.

Supply tells a similar split story. 92618 (Irvine) had 5.8 months of supply, the highest in this group. 92626 (Costa Mesa) had just 2 months. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 326 homes for sale in 92618 versus 58 in 92626. More supply gives buyers more choices and owners less pricing power.

What the national picture adds

Realtor.com reported that price cuts hit 20.8% of listings nationally in September 2026, the highest share since October 2022. Active listings topped 1.16 million homes nationally. That broader softening is part of why some Orange County ZIP codes are adjusting too.

Freddie Mac put the 15-year fixed rate at 6.60% as of October 29, 2026. CNBC reported the average contract rate on 30-year loans fell slightly to 7.41% from 7.50%. Rates are still high. That keeps the monthly cost of buying elevated even when asking prices dip.

One more note: the story for ZIP codes 92678 and 92617 comes from the websites alone. The Real Estate Data Aggregator has no home-count data for those parts of the market.