The Irvine Market,
Beyond the Headlines
MLS-backed market insight for buyers, sellers, and homeowners navigating Irvine, updated monthly and paired with a seasonal calendar built from three years of Zillow Research data. Read locally.
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Who this market update is for
- Irvine homeowners deciding which month to list, and which to avoid
- Buyers who have watched Irvine soften and want to know when the leverage is real
- Newport Beach and Corona del Mar owners weighing an Irvine right-size under Proposition 19
- Relocating buyers comparing Irvine villages and trying to read the market from out of the area
- Investors and 1031 buyers who want the seasonal pattern alongside the monthly numbers
- Generic national market predictions with an Irvine zip code attached
- Crash or boom commentary
- An automated estimate for your home
- A replacement for a street-level comparable analysis
One email a month on what actually closed in Irvine, what sat, and what it means for the decision in front of you. No listing dumps, no pressure.
Irvine is where buyers have the most room this month
Irvine closed 171 homes in September, essentially level with August, but at a $1.44M median that was about 5 percent lower, and the typical sale took 48 days to go under contract against 30 a month earlier. With 4.2 months of supply and 234 newly listed homes still active against 171 closings, new supply is arriving faster than it is selling.
Comparing markets? All five current updates live on the market update hub →
The numbers, for those who want depth
| Metric | All Irvine | Detached | Attached |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes for sale (as of October 1) | 719 | 416 | 303 |
| Coming soon | 11 | 7 | 4 |
| Under contract (offer accepted, not yet closed) | 175 | 116 | 58 |
| Newly listed in September, still active | 234 | 142 | 92 |
| Closed sales (September) | 171 | 95 | 76 |
| Median sold price | $1,443,000 | $1,827,713 | $1,062,500 |
| Median price per sq ft (sold) | $752 | $813 | $700 |
| Median home size sold (sq ft) | 1,966 | 2,387 | 1,535 |
| Median days to sell (closed) | 48 | 51 | 45 |
| Median asking price (actives) | $1,625,000 | $1,998,444 | $1,098,000 |
| Median price per sq ft (asking) | $802 | $859 | $742 |
| Median days on market (current listings) | 61 | 65 | 52 |
| Months of supply | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.0 |
| Top September sale | $10,200,000 | $10,200,000 | $3,100,000 |
Source: CRMLS, pulled October 1, 2026 for closings dated September 1–30, 2026. Coverage: the CRMLS city area of Irvine, all residential property types. Medians shown. Months of supply is homes for sale divided by September closings. Detached means a standalone house; attached covers townhomes, condominiums and attached single-family homes. This is the first monthly edition for this market, so inventory and escrow comparisons begin next month. A small number of listings do not specify detached or attached, so those two columns can differ from the All column by a listing or two.
Contracts are the early read on October. With 175 homes under contract against 171 September closings, the pipeline is about a month deep, in line with the current pace rather than ahead of it. Rates are the new variable: the 30-year fixed averaged 7.28% in Freddie Mac’s survey for the week of October 1, up from 6.66% in late August. September’s closings were mostly contracts signed before that move, so October and November are where any effect will show. For the year-over-year picture, Zillow Research’s home value index (typical values, not sale prices) put Irvine down 1.8% over twelve months as of August 2026, against a 2.8% gain for Orange County as a whole.
Irvine is the busiest city in Orange County by closed sales, and it has the sharpest seasonal calendar of any market on this site. Three years of Zillow Research data averaged by calendar month show a city that goes from a competitive spring, when four in ten homes close above asking, to a winter where buyers hold nearly all the leverage.
Irvine's competition curve is steep. The share of homes closing above asking nearly doubles between December and April, then falls back through the summer and autumn.
Share of Irvine homes that closed above their list price, three-year average by month of closing. Source: Zillow Research. Darkest bar is the seasonal high; the outlined bar is the low.
| The question | The month | What the data shows |
|---|---|---|
| Best month to sell for top dollar | April and May | Sale-to-list peaks near a quarter of a percent over asking; median prices peak later, in August, about 6% above the February trough. |
| Best month to buy with the least competition | December | About 21% of homes close above list, versus 41% in April and May. |
| Best month for a buyer to negotiate | December | The average home closes close to two percent under its final list price. November and October are next. |
| Best month to list for the fastest sale | Mid March | April pendings take about 16 days at the median. December pendings take about 41. |
| Most price cuts on the market | August and September | About one in four active listings has been reduced, double the February share. |
| Most new listings | July | New listings run more than double the December level. Inventory peaks in August at about 1.85 times the January low. |
Irvine is a planned city with a large stock of similar homes, and that is why its seasonality is so pronounced. When buyers compete, they compete for the same floor plans in the same villages, and the premium shows up everywhere at once. When they step back, the whole city softens together. There is very little of the street-by-street variation that makes Newport Beach so hard to read.
Over the past three years Irvine has moved further toward buyers than any other market on this site. Active inventory has more than doubled, the share of homes selling above asking has fallen from more than half to roughly one in five, and the typical time to contract has roughly tripled. The seasonal shape is still there, but the spring peak that once produced bidding wars now produces a modest premium, and the winter trough is deep.
For Newport and Corona del Mar owners considering an Irvine right-size, that shift is the opportunity. A city that was almost impossible to buy into a few years ago now has real selection and real negotiating room, especially from October through January. Pair that with a spring sale on the coast and the Proposition 19 two-year window covers the sequence comfortably.
Watching an Irvine village or a specific floor plan? Ask for coming-soon alerts, or start with the Irvine neighborhood guide.
Because the years before them do not describe a normal calendar. Between February 2020 and the end of 2023, Zillow's home value index for Irvine rose about 55% after two nearly flat years, mortgage rates went from under three percent to over seven, and in the spring of 2022 85% of homes here closed above their asking price with the typical sale going under contract in about 8 days. Fold those months into a seasonal average and every spring reads like a frenzy and every winter like a collapse. Neither describes the market you are in now.
The averages on this page start in January 2024, the first year after that window, and gain a year each time a normal one is added. The full series from 2018 onward, with every chart, is here for anyone who wants to check the reasoning.
What is the best month to sell a house in Irvine?
Based on three years of Zillow Research data for Irvine, April and May are the strongest months to close: the sale-to-list ratio peaks at about a quarter of a percent over asking and 41% of homes close above list. To close in April or May, list from late February through April. Homes going under contract in April move fastest, so mid March is the window for speed.
What is the best time of year to buy a house in Irvine?
December, with November and October close behind. Only about one in five Irvine homes closes above list in December, and the average sale runs close to two percent under asking, the widest gap of the year. Inventory is lower than in summer but price reductions are common.
Are Irvine home prices dropping?
Irvine has softened more than any other Orange County city over the past three years. Active inventory has more than doubled, the share of homes selling above asking has fallen from more than half to roughly one in five, and the average sale has moved from about two percent over asking to about two percent under. Median prices have eased modestly. Whether that continues depends on the season you are reading it in; the winter trough and the spring peak are far apart.
How long does it take to sell a house in Irvine?
It varies more by season in Irvine than almost anywhere else in the county. Zillow's median days to pending averages a little over two weeks for homes going under contract in April and about six weeks for December. Over the past three years the typical time to contract has roughly tripled.
Seasonal figures on this section are three-year averages by calendar month, calculated from Zillow Research's published monthly series for the city of Irvine (city series): median sale price, mean sale-to-list ratio, share of homes sold above list price, median days to pending, share of active listings with a price cut, new listings, and active inventory. Zillow's monthly series are smoothed three-month averages, which is why they are used here for pattern rather than for any single month's headline. You can chart the same series yourself in Zillow's Market Explorer.
Averaging window: January 2024 through July 2026 for sale figures and through August 2026 for listing figures. January through July average three years; later months average two. The section is refreshed as Zillow publishes new months; last refreshed October 2026. The monthly snapshot elsewhere on this page comes from CRMLS and is rebuilt every month. Zillow is an independent source and is not affiliated with Jade Larney or Anvil Real Estate.
What the numbers actually say
Three things stand out this month. First, price and speed both moved toward buyers. Detached homes carried most of the move, at $1,827,713 against $1,938,000 in August.
Second, new supply is outrunning sales. 234 homes were listed in September and are still on the market, against 171 closings. Irvine has the loosest supply of the markets I track, about 4.2 months, which is where buyers start to negotiate rather than compete.
Third, Irvine’s listing history is the messiest on this site. 27 of 171 closings (16 percent) had a prior listing period, with a median 19 days shown against 95 actually on the market. In a market with this much new construction and this many condos, ask for cumulative days on any home you are weighing.
Want this read for your street and price band? Request a private home value review →
Irvine is several markets wearing one city name
The first-time-buyer band, dominated by attached homes. Plenty of supply and the most rate-sensitive buyers in the city, so condition and HOA terms decide who sells.
The tightest band in Irvine and where most closings landed. Prepared listings here still draw competing offers.
Deep supply relative to sales. Buyers have room to compare, and sellers who price past the last comparable are the listings sitting.
Deep supply relative to sales and the longest time on market in the city. Negotiation is the norm here rather than the exception.
Every link opens the live MLS feed right here on jadelarney.com. Tap Save Search on any band and you'll know the day something new hits the market. The full band table is in the data set below.
What this means for you
"Is this the year to buy in Irvine?"
The data says buyers have more room in Irvine than in any other market I track this month. Selection is deepest above $1.5 million; the $1 million to $1.5 million band remains competitive. Newer construction and attached homes behave differently from resale houses, so compare like with like.
The signal to watchMonths of supply in your band, and whether the listing has a prior listing period.
Buyer strategy →Browse every Irvine listing →"Should I list now or wait for spring?"
Irvine’s calendar is the sharpest on the coast, and September’s softening is consistent with the start of that slide. A correctly priced home can still sell in the fall, but the seasonal data below argues for pricing to today’s comparables, not to the spring market you remember, or planning a late-winter launch.
The signal to watchThe ratio of new listings to closings. If it keeps running above one, prices keep adjusting.
Seller strategy →"I'm 55+, selling coastal, and Irvine is on my list."
Irvine is a common right-sizing choice for Newport-area owners who want newer construction, community amenities and single-level living. Under Proposition 19, an eligible owner 55 or older can carry their property-tax base to the new home, and buying at equal or lesser value keeps that math clean. The two-year window makes timing part of the strategy. General education, not tax or legal advice — we plan this with your CPA or attorney.
The signal to watchAttached supply under $1.5M. It is where most right-sizers land, and it is deep this month.
The Prop 19 downsizing plan →Selling on the Newport side first? The Newport Beach update →Every Irvine closing, examined
Below is the distribution behind this month's headline: 171 closed sales in Irvine from September 1 through September 30, broken out by price band, days on market and property type. Computed from the raw CRMLS export. Method and limits are documented at the bottom.
What price range is actually selling in Irvine?
The $1M–$1.5M band is the tightest in Irvine this month.
| Price band | For sale | Closings | Share | Median price | Median days | Months supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | 139 | 34 | 19.9% | $749,500 | 54 | 4.1 |
| $1M to $1.5M | 177 | 64 | 37.4% | $1,276,950 | 40 | 2.8 |
| $1.5M to $2M | 183 | 33 | 19.3% | $1,729,000 | 40 | 5.5 |
| $2M and up | 220 | 40 | 23.4% | $2,810,000 | 59 | 5.5 |
Your price band is one row in that table. Where your own home sits inside it is the difference between a three-week sale and a three-month one. Get a read on your specific home →
How long do Irvine homes take to sell?
| Days on market | Closings | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 14 days | 40 | 23.4% | |
| 15 to 30 days | 21 | 12.3% | |
| 31 to 60 days | 42 | 24.6% | |
| 61 days or more | 68 | 39.8% |
27 of 171 closings carried a prior listing period: they displayed a median of 19 days but had actually been on the market a median of 95, and the longest carried 309 hidden days. County-wide figures are on the Orange County update.
What kinds of homes are selling in Irvine?
| Sub-type | Closings | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Condominium, attached | 65 | 38.0% | |
| Single family, detached | 62 | 36.3% | |
| Condominium, detached | 32 | 18.7% | |
| Single family, attached | 6 | 3.5% | |
| Townhome, attached | 5 | 2.9% | |
| Manufactured, detached | 1 | 0.6% |
Detached homes were 95 of 171 closings and attached homes 76. The full detached and attached comparison is in the numbers table above.
What do these numbers actually mean?
Months of supply. How long it would take to sell every home currently for sale, at the pace homes are actually selling. Under four months favors sellers. Four to six months is balanced. Above six favors buyers.
Median, not average. The median is the middle sale: half sold for more, half for less. An average is pulled upward by a handful of very expensive sales, which is why published Irvine figures can differ meaningfully depending on which one a source used.
Days on market. The days between a home coming to market and going under contract, counted cumulatively so it carries forward if a property was relisted. Sources differ on how they count it, which is why the same city can be quoted at wildly different figures in the same month.
Attached and detached. Detached means a standalone house. Attached means it shares at least one wall: townhomes, condominiums, co-operatives, and attached single-family homes.
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DAYS ON MARKET Days on market is the cumulative figure. It is the more conservative of the two measures the MLS reports and it is used throughout this page.
SAMPLE SIZE 171 closings is a small sample, because this is one city in one month. Any row with fewer than eight sales should be read as directional. Medians are unweighted and move with the mix of what happened to sell.
DEFINITIONS Detached covers detached single-family and detached multi-unit structures. Price per square foot uses recorded living area and excludes records with no square footage. This data is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed.
Questions I hear every week
Is Irvine a buyer's market or a seller's market right now?
By months of supply it is the closest to balanced of the markets I track, about 4.2 months, and in the bands above $1.5 million supply runs about five and a half months, which is balanced and gives buyers room to negotiate. Under $1.5 million the market is more competitive, and the answer also changes between resale houses and new attached homes.
How fast are Irvine homes actually selling?
The typical September sale took about seven weeks to go under contract, up from about one month in August, and about one in four closings took more than three months. Among the markets on this site, only Newport Beach, at a much higher price tier, takes longer to sell.
Why does Irvine have so many homes with a prior listing history?
A large inventory of newer condos and resale homes, sellers who relist after a price change, and listings that expire and return all contribute. The practical point for buyers is to ask for cumulative days on market, which tells you how long a home has really been trying to sell.
Can I really move from Newport Beach to Irvine and keep my property taxes?
If you are 55 or older and the move qualifies under Proposition 19, you can generally transfer your existing taxable value to a replacement primary residence anywhere in California, and buying at equal or lesser value than your sale keeps the transferred base intact. The rules on timing, value tests, and filing are specific, so we plan the sale and purchase together with your CPA or attorney before anything is listed. This is general education, not tax or legal advice.
Should I wait for rates to drop before buying in Irvine?
The 30-year fixed averaged 7.28% in Freddie Mac’s survey for the week of October 1, up from 6.66% in late August. Waiting for a lower rate is a bet on timing you cannot control. The better plan is usually to buy the right home at a defensible price and refinance if rates improve.
What is my Irvine home actually worth right now?
More than a portal estimate knows and less than the neighbor’s asking price, usually. The number that holds up comes from the last 90 days of true comparables for your specific street, condition, and lot, which is exactly what a private home value review covers. Request one here.
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