Absentee owners investing in O.C. [Southern California]
The true role of real-estate investors in the Orange County housing market is tricky to gauge.
One accounting of their activity – tracking folks who buy property but send the tax bills to another address – shows that these sales continue to be strong.
In 2005, market watcher DataQuick says 3,692 buyers paid $3.24 billion for Orange County homes that fall into this absentee-owner category. That’s 4 percent fewer deals – but 19 percent more money spent – compared to 2004.