Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688 housing market
Data through Aug 2026 · Balanced market · leverage 37
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Home Value
$1M
−0.4% vs. a year ago
Buyer Leverage Score
37
Sep 2026
Months of Supply
2.7 months
Aug 2026
Days on Market
53 days
Sep 2026
Price Cut %
39%
Sep 2026
Sale-to-List Ratio
100.1%
Aug 2026
Mtg Payment as % of Income
47%
Aug 2026
Rental Rate
$2,871/mo
Aug 2026
Overvalued %
35%
Aug 2026
Expected Disaster Loss
$220
Dec 2025
What this means
- Valuation. Prices are 35% above what local incomes have historically supported (this area's pre-2020 price-to-income ratio).
- Prices. Home values are flat over the past year (U.S.: +1.2%).
- Supply. Listings are 12% below the 2017-19 norm and rising (+7% vs. a year ago), still somewhat tight.
- Negotiating. Buyer leverage is moderate (37/100; U.S.: 54): homes typically sell at or above asking (100.1% of list); 39% of listings had a price cut (U.S.: 26%).
- Affordability. A mortgage on the typical home takes 47% of the median household income (U.S.: 35%); it takes about $237k a year to keep the payment at 30% of gross pay. That includes about $2,260 a year for home insurance (U.S.: $1,790).
- Buy vs. rent. Buying costs about $3,057/mo more than renting a typical home (mortgage payment vs. typical rent).
- Disaster risk. FEMA expects about $220 a year in natural-disaster damage per $100k of building value (U.S.: $155), mostly from flooding.
- Outlook. Leaning up: likely −6% to +10% over the next 12 months (69% chance of a rise).
Next 12 months
Leaning up
Prices are more likely to rise than fall over the next year. Likely change: −6.3% to +10.0% (80% range; middle estimate +3.0%), chance of a rise 69%, of a 5%+ drop 12%.
HouseVane's model, refit every month on local market signals and national ones, trained only on data known at the time. How accurate it has been.
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