Is It a Good Time to Sell a House in Irvine?
It depends on pricing and timing more than on the market itself. Irvine's quarterly median close price has stayed between $1.44 million and $1.65 million since the start of 2024, though the last six quarters each came in below the same quarter a year earlier. Conditions have shifted toward buyers since late 2024, and more sharply since mid-2025: of the 546 homes that closed in Q3 2026, 20% sold at or above their original list price and the median home took 33 days to reach contract, against 53% and 12 days in Q3 2024. Over 2023 to 2025, homes listed February through May closed at a median 100% of original list price, measurably better than later-year listings.
Are Irvine home prices dropping?
Modestly. Since the start of 2024, the quarterly median close price for Irvine residential sales has stayed between $1,436,500 and $1,647,500, but each of the last six quarters (Q2 2025 through Q3 2026) came in below the same quarter a year earlier, by 2% to 7%. The median for October 2025 through September 2026 was $1,495,100 across 2,056 sales, about 4% below the prior twelve months ($1,560,000, 1,979 sales). Condominiums were about half of sales in both periods, so the dip is not a shift toward cheaper property types. The most recent quarter, Q3 2026 (July through September, 546 closed sales), came in at the bottom of that range and is the lowest quarterly median since Q3 2023 ($1,403,000). A quarterly median reflects which homes happened to close that quarter as well as the level of prices, so a single quarter is not a trend.
| Quarter | Closed sales | Median close price |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 Q1 | 492 | $1,519,000 |
| 2024 Q2 | 634 | $1,647,500 |
| 2024 Q3 | 516 | $1,584,000 |
| 2024 Q4 | 490 | $1,572,495 |
| 2025 Q1 | 449 | $1,550,000 |
| 2025 Q2 | 506 | $1,591,500 |
| 2025 Q3 | 534 | $1,549,004 |
| 2025 Q4 | 497 | $1,526,500 |
| 2026 Q1 | 477 | $1,495,000 |
| 2026 Q2 | 536 | $1,542,500 |
| 2026 Q3 | 546 | $1,436,500 |
Prices have slipped a few percent. The bigger change is in how much negotiating room buyers have.
Is Irvine a buyer's or seller's market right now?
Conditions have moved clearly toward buyers. Comparing the same quarter across four years removes the seasonal swing:
| Third quarter (July–September) | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Closed sales | 580 | 516 | 534 | 546 |
| Median close price | $1,403,000 | $1,584,000 | $1,549,004 | $1,436,500 |
| Median close as % of original list | 100.4% | 100.0% | 95.7% | 96.1% |
| Closed at or above original list | 66% | 53% | 19% | 20% |
| Median days to contract | 10 | 12 | 31 | 33 |
| Sold after a price cut (same listing) | 11% | 20% | 42% | 40% |
The slide began in late 2024 and deepened in mid-2025. The share of sales closing at or above original list price fell from 53% in Q3 2024 to 34% in Q4 2024, then from 35% in Q2 2025 to 19% in Q3 2025 and 15% in Q4 2025. It recovered to 29% in Q1 2026 and 28% in Q2 2026, then slipped back to 20% in Q3 2026. Over the same stretch, the share of sold homes whose final list price was below their original list price rose from 27% in Q2 2025 to 45% in Q4 2025, and stood at 40% in Q3 2026. That count misses homes taken off the market and relisted at a lower price, so the share of sellers who cut is higher still.
From Q2 2023 through Q2 2024, more than half of Irvine sales in every quarter closed at or above original list price, and the median home reached contract in 9 to 16 days. In Q3 2026, four in five sales closed below original list.
Why are so many Irvine listings not selling?
Supply rose sharply and closings did not keep pace. The table groups listings by the quarter they went on the market and shows how they ended:
| Listed in Q2 (April–June) | New listings | Closed | Canceled, expired or withdrawn | Still open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 641 | 561 | 77 | 0 |
| 2024 | 850 | 657 | 193 | 0 |
| 2025 | 1,117 | 556 | 556 | 2 |
| 2026 | 1,099 | 518 | 443 | 138 |
Q2 2025 brought 1,117 new listings, against 850 a year earlier, and as many of them ended canceled, expired or withdrawn (556) as closed (556). Some of those homes came back under a new listing and sold: counting each address once, about 69% of the homes listed in Q2 2025 (721 of 1,040) had sold by October 12, 2026, against about 88% (730 of 832) from Q2 2024. Q2 2026 brought almost as many new listings, 1,099. Across full calendar years, 1,545 of the 3,617 listings that went on the market in 2025 (43%) ended canceled, expired or withdrawn, compared with 740 of 2,912 (25%) in 2024 and 305 of 2,260 (13%) in 2023.
The 2026 rows are not final. Of the 1,042 listings that went on the market in Q3 2026, 612 were still open when this data was pulled, which is why the Q3 2026 figures elsewhere in this article use closed sales only.
When is the best time of year to list a house in Irvine?
Over the three years of listings from January 2023 through December 2025, February through May has been the strongest window. Homes listed in those months that went on to close sold at a median 100% of original list price, reached contract in a median 11 to 13 days, and closed at or above original list price 54% to 57% of the time. Homes listed June through December closed at 98.0% to 98.8% of original list, took 17 to 23 days, and closed at or above original list price 36% to 43% of the time.
| Month listed | Listings that closed | Median % of original list | Median days to contract | Closed at or above original list | Share of listings that closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 489 | 99.8% | 13 | 50% | 77% |
| February | 496 | 100.0% | 12 | 57% | 75% |
| March | 619 | 100.0% | 11 | 57% | 75% |
| April | 585 | 100.0% | 12 | 55% | 71% |
| May | 585 | 100.0% | 13 | 54% | 67% |
| June | 604 | 98.8% | 17 | 43% | 67% |
| July | 670 | 98.2% | 17 | 41% | 67% |
| August | 559 | 98.0% | 23 | 37% | 67% |
| September | 487 | 98.4% | 21 | 38% | 68% |
| October | 476 | 98.5% | 20 | 42% | 69% |
| November | 352 | 98.1% | 23 | 36% | 72% |
| December | 238 | 98.6% | 21.5 | 38% | 69% |
The last column is the share of all listings from that month that closed rather than being canceled or expiring. It was highest for January through March listings (75% to 77%) and lowest, 67%, for May through August listings. These are three-year figures that include the faster market of mid-2023 to mid-2024 as well as the slower 2025, so they show a seasonal pattern, not a guarantee for any one spring.
The spring advantage also shows up within each of 2023, 2024 and 2025 taken separately, though the 2023 gap was near zero. Among 2025 listings alone, those from February through May closed at a median 97.2% of original list in 22 days, with 31% at or above original list, against 95.9%, 34 days and 18% for June through December listings.
How do conditions differ by price range?
Every price band slowed over the last year. The table compares the twelve months from October 2025 through September 2026 with the prior twelve months (each cell shows last 12 months / prior 12 months):
| Price band | Sales | Median % of original list | Median days to contract | Closed at or above original list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | 363 / 327 | 96.6% / 97.7% | 36 / 26.5 | 21% / 33% |
| $1M–$1.5M | 668 / 591 | 96.7% / 98.2% | 27 / 21 | 26% / 37% |
| $1.5M–$2M | 495 / 511 | 96.9% / 97.9% | 27.5 / 21.5 | 25% / 32% |
| $2M–$3M | 350 / 368 | 95.9% / 97.0% | 27 / 25 | 19% / 27% |
| $3M and up | 180 / 182 | 94.9% / 96.8% | 38 / 26 | 13% / 19% |
Homes at $3 million and up were the slowest: a median 38 days to contract, 94.9% of original list price, and 13% closing at or above original list price, across 180 sales. The under-$1 million band was nearly as slow at 36 days. The middle bands, $1 million to $2 million, closed closest to original list and most often at or above it, but still lost ground on every measure.
Do condos or houses sell faster in Irvine?
Detached houses reached contract faster over the last twelve months, though both closed at about 96% of original list price.
| Property type, Oct 2025–Sep 2026 | Sales | Median close price | Median % of original list | Median days to contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Condominium | 1,032 | $1.26 million | 96.5% | 32 |
| Detached single-family | 840 | $2.16 million | 96.0% | 26.5 |
| Townhouse | 153 | $1.18 million | 97.0% | 28 |
| Manufactured home on land | 29 | $535,000 | 94.6% | 38 |
Condominiums were half of all Irvine sales in the period (1,032 of 2,056) and took a median five and a half days longer than detached homes to reach contract.
So is now a good time to sell in Irvine?
The data no longer describes the market of mid-2023 to mid-2024, when more than half of sales closed at or above original list price regardless of season. It describes one where two things the seller controls make a measurable difference.
Price. Price to the last 90 days of comparable closings, not to 2024 sale prices and not to active listings that have not sold. In Q3 2026, at least 40% of the homes that sold had cut their price, and the days spent at the first price count toward the total. The timeline article covers why the first price drives how long a sale takes.
Timing. For a seller with flexibility, February through May listings have closed closer to original list price, faster and more often than listings from later in the year. A seller listing in summer or fall is not shut out, but should expect more negotiation and price accordingly.
Whether it is a good time for a particular household also depends on where the household is going next, which no market statistic answers. What the numbers do show is that homes are still selling: the 546 closings in Q3 2026 were more than in the same quarter of 2024 (516) or 2025 (534). The cost-to-sell breakdown covers the other half of the net-proceeds math.
For the last 90 days of comparable closings near a specific address, call the Lee Liu Vu Real Estate Group at (949) 241-2596.
Contact the TeamMarket figures are derived from closed sales recorded in the California Regional MLS (CRMLS) and are current as of October 12, 2026. Quarterly figures cover Irvine residential sales closed through September 30, 2026. Listing outcomes group listings by the quarter they went on the market, and listings that were still active, pending or on hold when the data was pulled are counted as still open. Days to contract runs from the on-market date to the accepted offer. Sample sizes are stated. These figures describe past sales and are not a forecast of prices.