How Strategic Pricing Helped This Costa Mesa Condo Sell in a Softening Market

By Ramez Malki, Broker — C&R Properties  |  2026-06-28

Not every market is a seller’s market, and not every listing is a bidding war. The challenge of selling a condominium in Costa Mesa when the condo market was softening — with comparable units sitting 45-90+ days and undergoing repeated price reductions — required a different strategic approach: not a rush to market, not a high opening price, but a disciplined analysis of buyer psychology and competitive positioning that created a sense of urgency where the market wasn’t naturally providing one.

The Market Context: OC Condo Headwinds in 2026

The Orange County condominium market has faced specific headwinds in 2026 that don’t affect single-family homes equally. Rising HOA dues (driven by insurance cost increases, reserve fund requirements, and deferred maintenance in older buildings), lender scrutiny of HOA financial health and litigation status for conventional and FHA financing, and a buyer pool that has shifted preference toward single-family homes or attached condos in newer buildings — these factors have pushed OC condo days-on-market significantly above the single-family average in many submarkets.

In Costa Mesa specifically, a wave of condominium listings in the $650,000-$800,000 range had accumulated 6-8 weeks of market time with prices declining. Buyers were aware of the inventory glut and were waiting for further reductions rather than acting on listings that seemed reasonably priced. The key challenge: how do you create urgency in a buyer’s market?

Positioning Against the Competition

The first step was a ruthless analysis of the competing inventory. Of the 11 active comparable condos in our target neighborhood, 7 had been reduced at least once, 3 had been on market over 60 days, and only 1 had sold in the past 45 days. The sold comp closed at $698,000 — 4% below its original list price after 38 days on market. The market was telling a clear story: buyers had leverage and were using it.

Our seller’s unit had one meaningful advantage over most of the competing inventory: a completely renovated interior (new kitchen with quartz countertops and stainless appliances, updated bathrooms, LVP flooring throughout, fresh paint) that had been completed 18 months prior. We needed to price in a way that made this renovation premium obvious and immediately compelling — not priced at the top of the range where buyers expected to negotiate down, but priced at a level that made the renovation value unmistakable.

The Pricing Strategy: Creating Urgency Through Value

We listed at $679,000 — $19,000 below the one recent sold comp at $698,000, and $16,000-$36,000 below the 3 active competing listings with pending price reductions. This was a deliberate underpricing strategy: in a buyer’s market, the listing that represents the most obvious value closes first and closes at or above list, while listings that attempt to hold a price premium sit and reduce.

The $679,000 price point created a clear narrative: this is the best unit in the complex (fully renovated) at the lowest price of comparable inventory. We reinforced this narrative in the listing description, in agent remarks, and in our open house messaging. Within 5 days of launch, the listing had 14 showings — compared to the competing units averaging 2-3 showings per week. The concentration of showings in the first week was the urgency trigger we needed.

The Result: First Offer, Clean Close

On day 8 of the listing, we received an offer at $672,000 — $7,000 below list. We countered at $678,500, which the buyer accepted the same afternoon. Total days on market: 9. Final sale price: $678,500 — essentially list price, $19,500 below the previous sold comp, but achieved in 9 days versus 38 days with no price reductions in the process.

The seller’s net outcome compared to the likely alternative: if we had listed at $715,000 (the seller’s initial instinct), we would have joined the inventory glut, undergone 2-3 price reductions over 60-90 days, and likely closed around $685,000-$690,000 — barely more than our final price with weeks of additional carrying costs, insurance, HOA dues, and stress. Strategic underpricing in a softening market delivered essentially the same closing price in 9 days instead of 90.