The median price of regular houses and pre foreclosure homes is showing signs of strengthening in Orange County, California. Price data covering 22 business days ended March 23, 2011 showed that median selling rates are still in decline, but with a narrower difference compared with last year. Non-foreclosed and foreclosed homes for sale in Irvine and in the rest of Orange County that were sold during the 22-day period had a median selling rate of $425,000. The figure represents a decline of a mere 0.1% compared with the same period of 2010. According to housing industry analysts, the latest decline is a considerable improvement, given that median rates for the past three months had been posting huge differences when compared with year-ago levels. In addition, the latest price is actually 3.7% better than the median rate of $410,000 recorded in December of last year. Meanwhile, California foreclosed homes for sale and non-foreclosed dwellings that were sold in the county went down over the same period, with the 22-day period recording a total of 2,456 residential sales. The total, local realtors have reported, is down by 4.3% compared with the same 2010 period. In terms of local areas, 15 of the county's 83 zip codes reportedly posted increased prices and sales during the time. Housing reports for Orange County showed that the median selling rate of regular houses and pre foreclosure homes sold during the period in focus was 34% off when compared with the peak median selling rate of $645,000 recorded in June of 2007. Last year, the median price peaked at $450,000 during the months of May and July, which means that the latest median rate is not that far off. In terms of the lowest median rate recorded in the county, this happened in January of 2009 when house foreclosures for sale were also starting to flood the market. During that time, the median rate was $370,000 which, when compared with the June 2007 peak, had a difference of $275,000. The latest median rate then, analysts have reported, means that prices of dwellings have already recouped 20% of the difference between the lowest and the highest median price posted in one cyclical period in the county. Majority of market analysts believe that this shows that median selling prices in Orange County is starting to stabilize. They stated that although pre foreclosure homes and distressed properties are set to rise again in the coming months, stabilizing prices will help keep the market in check. Tweet