Orange County real estate questions, answered Short answers from broker Greg Toussieng, each linked to the full guide.
To choose a realtor in Orange County, check the licence on the California DRE's free lookup, meet two or three agents, and ask each for recent nearby sales, the comparable sales behind their price and a written marketing plan. Below are short answers to that and the other Orange County real estate questions sellers and buyers ask us most.
Updated October 28, 2026
Start with the licence: the California DRE's free public lookup shows whether an agent's licence is current and which broker they work under. Then meet two or three agents and ask each the same things. Which homes near yours have they sold in the past year, and at what prices? How did they arrive at your list price, and can you see the comparable sales behind it? What will the marketing look like, and can you see a past listing's photos and plan?
Ask who will run your showings and take calls from buyers' agents, and how often you will hear from them. A strong answer is specific and written down. Be careful with the agent who suggests the highest price without comparables, or who wants a long listing agreement with no way to end it. Then pick the agent whose price you can check and whose plan you can see. Our guide to choosing a listing agent has the full list of questions.
What do Orange County sellers ask before they list?
Sellers mostly ask what the home is worth, how long it will take to sell and what to fix first. Each answer below links to the guide that covers it in full.
How do I find out what my home is worth?
A home's value comes from similar homes that sold nearby in the last few months, adjusted for size, condition, lot, view and water. Online estimates are a starting point, but they cannot see inside the home or the kitchen you redid. The Gregory James Group prepares a written comparative market analysis for any Orange County address. Read more: what's my home worth?
How long does it take to sell a home in Orange County?
The time to sell an Orange County home depends on price, condition, location and the season, and the county's median days on market for the latest month is in the figures below, with its source. Coastal and luxury homes often take longer because fewer buyers shop at those prices. Each city guide shows its own figure. Read more: the monthly market report
Orange County · September 2026 · Source: Redfin Data Center
What should I fix before selling my house?
Fix what a buyer's inspector will flag and what shows in photos: leaks, worn paint, broken fixtures and tired landscaping. Large remodels rarely pay for themselves before a sale. A walk-through with your listing agent should give you a written list ranked by cost and by the difference each item makes to buyers. Read more: selling with Greg
How long do you have to live in a house to avoid capital gains in California?
Under the federal home-sale exclusion, you must have owned the home and lived in it as your main home for at least two of the five years before the sale. Single sellers can then exclude up to $250,000 of gain and married couples filing jointly up to $500,000, per IRS Topic 701. Ask a tax professional about your own numbers, including the California return. Read more: selling with Greg
Can I sell my house to my son for $1?
Selling a house to a child for $1 is legal, but the IRS treats most of the value as a gift, which may mean filing a gift tax return, and the child usually takes over your original tax basis. Under Proposition 19, the county may also reassess the property tax unless the child moves in and qualifies for the parent-child exclusion. A tax adviser can run the numbers before you sign anything. Read more: Prop 19 in California
Should I list my house or take a cash offer?
Listing on the open market usually brings the higher price, because every buyer can compete for the home. A cash offer trades some of that price for speed and certainty: no showings, no loan contingency and a closing date you pick. Comparing both, in writing, on the same home is the honest way to decide. Read more: list it or take a cash offer
What do buyers ask before they start?
Buyers mostly ask where to begin, how much to put down and how to buy before they have sold. Financing comes first in nearly every answer.
How do I start buying a home in Orange County?
Start with financing, because a pre-approval sets your price range and makes an offer credible to a seller. Then narrow down the areas and the kind of home you want. Buyers now sign a written agreement with their agent before touring homes, which sets out what the agent does and how the agent is paid. Read more: buying with Greg
Can I buy a new home before I sell my current one?
Buying before selling is possible with some planning. Common routes are an offer that depends on your current home selling, a loan against the equity in your current home, or a sale with a short rent-back so you can stay while you buy. The right route depends on your equity and on how competitive the home you want is. Read more: homes and loans under one roof
How much do I need for a down payment?
The minimum down payment depends on the loan program, the price and your own finances. HUD's FHA program asks for a smaller down payment than most conventional loans, and loans above the local conforming limit usually need a larger one. Esther Buede at Choice Home Mortgage, or any lender you choose, can give you the exact figures for your price range. Read more: homes and loans under one roof
What is a mortgage pre-approval?
A mortgage pre-approval is a lender's written statement of how much it is prepared to lend you, after it has checked your income, assets and credit. Sellers in Orange County usually expect one with an offer. A pre-qualification is weaker, because it rests on what you tell the lender rather than on documents. Read more: buying with Greg
Is it cheaper to buy a house without a realtor?
Buying without an agent can save the buyer's agent fee, but only if the seller or the price reflects it, and you take on the pricing, the contract, the inspection negotiation and the deadlines yourself. Since August 2024 the buyer's agent fee is agreed in writing between buyer and agent, and it is negotiable. Read more: realtor commission in California
What does it cost to sell or buy?
Commission is negotiable in California, and the other costs are mostly fixed by the county, the escrow company and the title company. A written net sheet is the way to see your own numbers.
How much does a realtor cost in California?
California has no standard commission rate. Commission is set by agreement between you and the broker, and it is negotiable. Ask any agent to put the fee in writing and to show what it pays for before you sign a listing or buyer agreement. Read more: realtor commission in California
Who pays the buyer's agent now?
How the buyer's agent is paid is now agreed in writing between the buyer and that agent, and the amount is negotiable. A seller can still agree to cover some or all of it as part of the deal, and many offers ask for that. Greg walks buyers and sellers through the choices before they start. Read more: realtor commission in California
What closing costs does a seller pay in Orange County?
Orange County seller costs usually include the agreed commissions, escrow and title fees, the county documentary transfer tax of $1.10 per $1,000 of the price, prorated property taxes and any HOA fees. Your agent should give you a net sheet that sets these against your expected sale price. Read more: selling with Greg
What does Prop 19 mean for a seller or an heir?
Proposition 19 lets homeowners who are 55 or older, severely disabled or wildfire victims carry their property tax base to a replacement home anywhere in California, and it narrowed the parent-child exclusion for inherited homes. An heir who does not move in usually sees the property reassessed. Read more: Prop 19 in California
How do homes and loans work together here?
The Gregory James Group and Choice Home Mortgage are trade names of one corporation, so a client can have the sale and the loan handled in one office, and nobody has to.
Can my agent and my lender be the same company?
An agent and a lender can be the same company here. The Gregory James Group and Choice Home Mortgage (NMLS #2629064) are both trade names of Montana Real Estate Inc, so the offer, the appraisal and the loan approval can run on one calendar. Using both is your choice. Read more: homes and loans under one roof
Do I have to use Choice Home Mortgage?
Buyers working with the Gregory James Group can use any lender they like, and Greg works with outside lenders the same way. Choice Home Mortgage is there for clients who want the sale and the loan handled together. Comparing loan estimates from more than one lender is worth the hour it takes. Read more: homes and loans under one roof
How do I check an agent's licence?
Every California agent's licence is a public record on the DRE's free lookup, and checking takes about a minute.
How do I check a realtor's licence in California?
Search the agent's name or licence number on the California Department of Real Estate's free public licence lookup. The record shows the licence type, whether it is current, when it expires and, for a salesperson or broker associate, the broker they work under. Mortgage loan officers are on NMLS Consumer Access. Read more: licences and credentials
Is the Gregory James Group licensed?
The Gregory James Group is a trade name of Montana Real Estate Inc, California DRE #01822046. Its broker, Greg Toussieng, holds California real estate broker licence #01495415. Both records are on the DRE's public lookup, and our licences page links to each one with the date we last checked it. Read more: licences and credentials
What is the difference between a real estate broker and an agent?
A California real estate salesperson must work under a licensed broker. A broker has passed a separate exam after two years of full-time licensed experience within the last five years, or a qualifying degree, plus eight college-level real estate courses, and can run a brokerage. A broker associate holds a broker licence but works under another broker. Read more: licences and credentials
Who is the top realtor in Orange County?
No public ranking settles who the top realtor in Orange County is, and most "top agent" lists are paid placements or sales-volume tallies. For your home, the right agent has sold homes like yours nearby, shows the comparable sales behind the price and puts the plan in writing. The licence check on the DRE lookup comes before any of that. Read more: how to choose a listing agent
Which areas do your guides cover?
The Gregory James Group works across Orange County, with written guides for Newport Beach, Irvine, Santa Ana and the luxury communities, and more added each month.
Which areas does the Gregory James Group cover?
The Gregory James Group works across Orange County. Guides for Newport Beach, Irvine and Santa Ana are live first, along with an overview of the county and a guide to the luxury coastal and canyon communities. Each guide covers the homes, the streets and the latest monthly prices. Read more: Orange County
Are house prices dropping in Orange County?
Whether Orange County prices are falling depends on the month and the city, so the answer comes from the latest closed sales rather than a forecast. The monthly market report shows the median sale price and its change from a year earlier for the county and each guide city, with the source and month on every figure. Read more: the monthly market report
How do you get to Balboa Island?
Balboa Island sits in Newport Harbor and is reached by car over a short bridge from the mainland, or by the Balboa Island Ferry, which carries cars, bikes and people across the harbor to the Balboa Peninsula. Many of the island's homes sit on small lots a few steps from the water. Read more: Newport Beach
Can a realtor tell you if an area is good or bad?
A real estate agent should not tell you an area is good or bad for people like you, because fair housing law bars steering buyers toward or away from neighborhoods. An agent can give you facts: recent sale prices, the school district a home is in, HOA rules, commute routes and where to find public crime data. Read more: fair housing
Didn't see your question? Send it to Greg and he will answer it himself.
Common questions
What is a comparative market analysis?
A comparative market analysis, or CMA, is an agent's written estimate of a home's likely sale price, built from similar nearby homes that sold recently, homes under contract and homes still for sale. A good CMA shows each comparable sale and the adjustments made for size, condition, lot and view. It is an estimate, not an appraisal.
What does escrow do in a California home sale?
Escrow in a California home sale is a neutral third party that holds the buyer's deposit and the documents, follows the written instructions both sides sign, collects the loan funds and pays everyone at closing. In Orange County the escrow company is usually chosen by agreement between buyer and seller and named in the purchase contract.
How do I ask Greg Toussieng a question that is not answered here?
Greg Toussieng answers questions sent through the form at the bottom of this page or by phone at (949) 868-8820. Questions that many people ask are added to this page as new answers, without the name of the person who asked, and each answer links to the guide that covers the subject in full.
- California DRE public licence lookup · checked 2026-10-28
- California DRE: broker licence requirements · checked 2026-10-28
- IRS Topic 701: sale of your home (ownership and use tests, $250,000 / $500,000 exclusion) · checked 2026-10-28
- HUD: FHA minimum credit score and maximum financing · checked 2026-10-28
- HUD: FHA and other home loan programs · checked 2026-10-28
- Orange County Clerk-Recorder fee schedule (documentary transfer tax, $0.55 per $500) · checked 2026-10-28
- 24 CFR 100.70: prohibited sale and rental conduct, including steering · checked 2026-10-28
- Balboa Island Ferry · checked 2026-10-28
Start with the address. Greg does the rest.
A written valuation from recent sales near you, prepared by a licensed broker. Or call (949) 868-8820.