Sweet Orange

The Irvine Business Complex (IBC) is often called the airport area on real estate maps. This area was originally the light-industrial area in Irvine, but has been evolving into a mixed-use area for some time now. The IBC is envisioned as a location that allows residents to live, work, and play without the necessity of a car. Young professionals and empty nesters are particularly attracted to living in the IBC.

The name for this area comes from its industrial past, but the city council is contemplating a name change that would be more in line with its current use. Expect the change in the not to distant future.

In addition to being close to the John Wayne Airport, the IBC is near UCI, the San Joaquin Marsh, Newport Beach, and Costa Mesa’s theatre and arts district. This area is served by the iShuttle. Also, all the homes on the market in the urban IBC are condos. (Note that almost 50% of all Orange County homes are multi-dwellings.)

For more information on the IBC, see yesterday’s post about the San Joaquin Marsh Reserve and the following posts:

Tomorrow: A look at the Irvine Business Complex housing numbers

Photo of IBC and the San Joaquin Marsh Courtesy R.L. Kenyon and Sea and Sage Audubon Society

The Audubon Society is hosting gourmet lunches at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary throughout the spring season (last lunch is Saturday, June 6). The lunches at the marsh include a “truly gourmet” meal and a “leisurely stroll through the marsh to see it at it most colorful best.” The San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary is part of Irvine’s IBC area and is near Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.

If you are interested in going, here is what you need to know:

Dates:

Saturday, April 4

Saturday, April 18

Sunday, May 3

Sunday, May 17

Saturday, June 6

Time: 10 a.m. to Noon

Cost: $24 per person

Location:  5 Riparian View, Irvine CA 92612

Reservation: reservations and prepayment is required, also a 48-hour cancellation is required

PHOTOS COURTESY Rudy M Photography and UC Natural Reserve System

Tomorrow: A closer look at Irvine’s mix-use district, the Irvine Business Complex (IBC)

Following are the Irvine condo numbers that cover the last six months. Since condos play a significant housing role in Orange County, they are worth tracking separately. For example, Irvine has slight more condos on the market than detached homes. For previous Irvine  condo stats, see  my post from my past life as a Redfin blogger. More later on what these housing numbers mean.

Median List Sales Price:

• March 20, 2009: $500K/$351 per square foot
• February 22, 2009: $499K/$357 per square foot
• January 30, 2009: $479K/$356 per square foot
• December 31, 2008: $490K/$357 per square foot
• November 30, 2008: $499K/$357 per square foot
• October 27, 2008: $500K/$366 per square foot

Median Sold Price*:

• March 20, 2009: $415K/$310 per square foot
• February 22, 2009: $425K/$315 per square foot
• January 30, 2009: $425K/$315 per square foot
• December 31, 2008: $435K/$344 per square foot
• November 30, 2008: $465K/$346 per square foot
• October 27, 2008: $472K/$349 per square foot

Median Days on Market*:

• March 20, 2009: 98
• February 22, 2009: 93
• January 30, 2009: 88
• December 31, 2008: 88
• November 30, 2008: 93
• October 27, 2008: 89

Number of Homes on the Market (Inventory):

• March 20, 2009: 511 (22 foreclosures)
• February 22, 2009: 483 (30 foreclosures)
• January 30, 2009: 439 (33 foreclosures)
• December 31, 2008: 421 (37  foreclosures)
• November 30, 2008: 457 (23 foreclosures)
• October 27, 2008: 477 (16 foreclosures)

*Based on homes sold or taken off market in the previous 90 days. These include MSL-listed, for-sale-by-owner, and bank-foreclosure homes.

Source unless otherwise noted: Redfin

Following are the Irvine detached home numbers that cover the last six months. For previous Irvine detached home stats, see  my post from my past life as a Redfin blogger. More later on what these housing numbers mean.

Tomorrow: a look at the Irvine condo statistics

Median List Sales Price:

• March 20, 2009: $850K/$370 per square foot
• February 22, 2009: $849K/$375 per square foot
• January 30, 2009: $859K/$376 per square foot
• December 31, 2008: $850K/$370 per square foot
• November 30, 2008: $875K/$375 per square foot
• October 27, 2008: $899K/$378 per square foot

Median Sold Price*:

• March 20, 2009: $700K/$326 per square foot
• February 22, 2009: $710K/$326 per square foot
• January 30, 2009: $743K/$328 per square foot
• December 31, 2008: $730K/$332 per square foot
• November 30, 2008: $690K/$327 per square foot
• October 27, 2008: $699K/$330 per square foot

Median Days on Market*:

• March 20, 2009: 91
• February 22, 2009: 96
• January 30, 2009: 92
• December 31, 2008: 85
• November 30, 2008: 82
• October 27, 2008: 83

Number of Homes on the Market (Inventory):

• March 20, 2009: 448 (17 foreclosures)
• February 22, 2009: 434 (17 foreclosures)
• January 30, 2009: na
• December 31, 2008: 351 (24  foreclosures)
• November 30, 2008: 386 (17 foreclosures)
• October 27, 2008: 383 (6 foreclosures)

Market Action Index (Source: Altos Research, see note below) :

• March 22, 2009: 16.35
• February 22, 2009: 16.85
• January 30, 2009: 16.48
• December 31, 2008: 19.31
• November 30, 2008: 18.93
• October 26, 2008: 19.32

Note: The Altos Market Action Index shows the balance between potential buyers and sellers, in other words, the balance between supply and demand. Above 30 is a sellers’ market; below 30 is a buyers’ market. Also, note that the Altos numbers are for detached homes only (condos are not included) and that the Altos median sales price and median price per square foot are for the list price, not the sold price.

*Based on homes sold or taken off market in the previous 90 days. These include MSL-listed, for-sale-by-owner, and bank-foreclosure homes.

Source unless otherwise noted: Redfin

Following are the Costa Mesa condo numbers that cover the last six months. Note that condos play a significant housing role in Orange County. However, in Costa Mesa this is less so than for some other areas. For example, Irvine has slightly more condos on the market than detached homes, whereas Costa Mesa has approximately 2.5 detached homes on the market for every condo.

For previous Costa Mesa condo statistics, see my post from my past life as a Redfin blogger.

Tomorrow: a look at some recent Irvine housing statistics

Median List Sales Price:

• March 20, 2009: $315K/$264 per square foot
• February 22, 2009: $315K/$254 per square foot
• January 30, 2009: $355K/$272 per square foot
• December 31, 2008: $336K/$269 per square foot
• November 30, 2008: $350K/$280 per square foot
• October 27, 2008: $342K/$284 per square foot

Median Sold Price*:

• March 20, 2009: $251K/$206 per square foot
• February 22, 2009: $273K/$229 per square foot
• January 30, 2009: $255K/$198 per square foot
• December 31, 2008: $275K/$213 per square foot
• November 30, 2008: $247K/$208 per square foot
• October 27, 2008: $218K/$203 per square foot

Median Days on Market*:

• March 24, 2009: 95
• February 22, 2009: 91.5
• January 30, 2009: 107
• December 31, 2008: 93
• November 30, 2008: 75
• October 27, 2008: 79

Number of Homes on the Market (Inventory):

• March 20, 2009: 100 (12 foreclosures)
• February 22, 2009: 103 (11 foreclosures)
• January 30, 2009: 117 (15 foreclosures)
• December 31, 2008: 119 (21  foreclosures)
• November 30, 2008: 132 (9 foreclosures)
• October 27, 2008: 156 (8 foreclosures)

*Based on homes sold or taken off market in the previous 90 days. These include MSL-listed, for-sale-by-owner, and bank-foreclosure homes.

Source unless otherwise noted: Redfin

Following are the Costa Mesa detached home housing numbers that cover the last six months. For previous Costa Mesa detached home stats, see  my post from my past life as a Redfin blogger. More later on what these housing numbers mean.

Tomorrow: a look at the Costa Mesa condo numbers

Median List Sales Price:

• March 20, 2009: $640K/$352 per square foot
• February 22, 2009: $650K/$352 per square foot
• January 30, 2009: $630K/$342 per square foot
• December 31, 2008: $629K/$343 per square foot
• November 30, 2008: $630K/$345 per square foot
• October 27, 2008: $674K/$352 per square foot

Median Sold Price*:

• March 20, 2009: $466K/$299 per square foot
• February 22, 2009: $460K/$307 per square foot
• January 30, 2009: $470K/$334 per square foot
• December 31, 2008: $499K/$343 per square foot
• November 30, 2008: $504K/$341 per square foot
• October 27, 2008: $525K/$338 per square foot

Median Days on Market*:

• March 20, 2009: 109
• February 22, 2009: 118
• January 30, 2009: 117
• December 31, 2008: 110
• November 30, 2008: NA
• October 27, 2008: 89

Number of Homes on the Market (Inventory):

• March 20, 2009: 255 (19 foreclosures)
• February 22, 2009: 258 (17 foreclosures)
• January 30, 2009: 249 (33 foreclosures)
• December 31, 2008: 250 (35  foreclosures)
• November 30, 2008: 284 (31 foreclosures)
• October 27, 2008: 291 (17 foreclosures)

Market Action Index (Source: Altos Research, see note below) :

• March 20, 2009: 15.04
• February 22, 2009: 15.43
• January 30, 2009: 16.71
• December 31, 2008: 17.98
• November 30, 2008: 18.46
• October 26, 2008: 18.45

Note: The Altos Market Action Index shows the balance between potential buyers and sellers, in other words, the balance between supply and demand. Above 30 is a sellers’ market; below 30 is a buyers’ market. Also, note that the Altos numbers are for detached homes only (condos are not included) and that the Altos median sales price and median price per square foot are for the list price, not the sold price.

*Based on homes sold or taken off market in the previous 90 days. These include MSL-listed, for-sale-by-owner, and bank-foreclosure homes.

Source unless otherwise noted: Redfin

 Welcome to the Sweet Orange Housing Blog where I will be answering the question: Is the Orange County housing juice worth the squeeze? I’ll do this mostly by focusing on the housing numbers in Irvine and Costa Mesa (more later on why I choose these two cities). However, since the numbers don’t give the complete picture of a community, at times, I will write about the people, places, and things that make these cities what they are.

In some ways, this will be a continuation of my past life as a Redfin blogger. In that life, I wrote about development in Irvine and Costa Mesa, and I gained some insight into these two cities. During my Redfin days, when I was writing about Irvine and Costa Mesa, I noticed how very different these two Orange County cities are. However, in spite of that, they are also very much the same in some basic Orange County sort of way. I wanted to follow through with these two cities to see what these different-but-the-same cities might tell us about what makes a city what it is.

Another reason that I decided to continue with both the Irvine and Costa Mesa development news instead of concentrating on just one or the other brings me to another insight I gained from my Redfin blogging day: At times, these different-but-the-same cities give a view into Orange County as a whole and the country at large. The reverse is also true: what happens at the Orange County and national level can affects what happens in Irvine and Costa Mesa. For example, the crash of AIG is having financial consequences for Orange County, including Irvine and Costa Mesa, and the crash of the subprime mortgage industry in Orange County had national consequences.

I want to follow through with what I was learning about the interconnection between what happens in one location or part of the economy affecting what happens in another location or part of the economy. Therefore, that will all be in the mix on this blog. (Here are two examples that show that what happens locally and nationally are interconnected: “Good O.C. borrowers brought down by bank’s bad loans” and “Bear Stearns Wraps Buy of Subprime Lender.”)

Time to wrap up this introduction and start squeezing the housing numbers. So until tomorrow…

Today is the first day of spring, and since spring is a time for new beginnings, this is an appropriate day to begin this new blog, which I am calling The Sweet Orange Housing Blog. In this blog, I will provide insight into housing in Orange County, mostly by focusing on development issues in the cities of Irvine and Costa Mesa. But I will also discuss other issues—both local and national—that influence the housing market in Orange County.

I will concentrate on what the housing numbers are telling us, but since the numbers don’t tell the whole story of an area, I’ll be writing about the people, places and things that contribute to making an area what it is. More on all that on Monday, when I start posting on a routine basis. Monday’s post will also explain the “Blog Reborn” part of this post’s title. For now, here is a quote that is appropriate for the beginning of the spring season and that is relevant to our current financial difficulties.

“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renewed shall be blade that was broken, the crownless again shall be king.”—J.R.R. Tolkien

PHOTO: spring wildflowers blooming in the southern California desert courtesy DesertUSA. Click on the link to find the locations and dates that the wildflowers are in bloom.

Note: Just as the Tolkien quote shown above is a metaphor for an appropriate, long-term view of our current financial situation, so too is wildflowers blooming in the desert. All is not lost; spring will come again. When it does, hopefully, we will have learned from our mistakes and not repeat them.