Sweet Orange

If you are fortunate enough that you are able to invest in foreclosures and are interested in pursuing this in Costa Mesa, here is some information that might help.

Costa Mesa is partnering with Fullerton and La Habra to apply for a grant from the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Neighborhood Stabilization Program. This program is part of the federal Recovery Act.

If the grant is approved, Costa Mesa will receive $303,749 that the city will use to improve areas that are suffering from high foreclosure rates and to provide counseling to those who are interested in buying homes in those areas.

A joint public hearing of all three cities will be held at the Fullerton city council meeting on June 2. For more information, see the Costa Mesa public notice.

Also, the California Foreclosure Institute is providing ongoing free seminars at various Orange County locations.

As I mentioned before, Irvine’s Northwood neighborhood has a mix of housing types. The following list gives a representation of  this mix.

These photos of  54 Monroe, a condo, and 4 Carlyle, a detached home, are good examples of the older homes that are part of the Northwood housing stock. See yesterday’s post for a picture of a newer Northwood home, or click on the link for 59 Wonerdand (Northwood II).

At 173 Pineview is a 1978 condo with 2 bedrooms and an asking price of $320,000 ($266). The homeowners association fee is $299 per month. After listing this home for $349,000 on February 1 and repeatedly lowering the asking price, these homeowner decided to try a different tactic. On May 11, the homeowners increased the asking price from its previous price of $300,000 ($250/SF). I am not sure what the marketing strategy is with this move.

At 54 Monroe #73 is a 1985 condo with two bedrooms that has an asking price of $329,000 ($336/SF).This home sold in March 2005 for $403,000; however, in March 2001, this home sold for $192, 000. Also, this home is near the 5 freeway. The homeowners association fee is $175 per month.

At 17 Freemont is a 1978 detached, 5 bedroom home that had an asking price of $523,000 ($262/SF). This home sold in March 2009 for $494,902. The odd number makes me think that this is a bank takeover. No homeowners association fee was listed.

At 6 Carlina is a 1978 detached, 4 bedroom home with an asking price of $609,900 ($339/SF). This price is a recent reduction from the previous price of $628,888 or $349/SF. This home sold in 2004 for $590,000. There is no homeowners association or Mello Roos fees.

At 4 Carlyle is a 1978 detached, 4 bedroom home with an asking price of $779,000 ($311/SF). This home sold in 2003 for $590,000.There is no homeowners association or Mello Roos fees.

At 59 Wonderland is a 2004 condo with 3 bedrooms and an asking price of $660,000 ($307/SF). This home in card-gated Northwood II sold in December 2004 for $760,000. The homeowners association fees are $128 and $144.

At 2 Mahogany is a 1998 detached, 5 bedroom home with an asking price of $1,599,000 ($457/SF). This home in guard-gated Northwood Pointe sold in 2003 for $960,000. The homeowners association fees are $40 and $100.

As I stated in the past, two types of areas were particularly appealing to flippers: low-end homes such as many found in Santa Ana and newly built tracts with high price tags. Northwood II is in the second category. Larry Roberts (IrvineRenter) highlights this in one of his post (S.O.S The Market is Sinking), and a discussion on the Redfin Orange County forum also highlights this. I have also highlighted this in past posts.

The Northwood area has some of the lowest priced homes in Irvine. These are homes found on Streamwood, Pineview, Lakepines, Monroe and Remington. A few examples are 25 Streamwood, 76 Lakepines, 217 Pinewood, 69 Remington, and 460 Monroe.  (Note: Orangetree is another area that has some of the most affordable housing in Irvine.)

With an asking price of $1,799,000, the most expensive home on the Northwood market is 20 Canyonwood, which is in guard-gated Northwood Point. Right behind that is 22 Purple Moor, which is  in newly built, highly flipped Northwood II and has an asking price of $1,497,000.

Although many of the older Northwood homes have homeowners association fees, some do not. In other words, if no HOA fee and no HOA restrictions are important to you, the older homes in this area might give you this option.

When it comes to the more newly built homes, count on an HOA fee and the restrictions that come with them. On the other hand, if you like the idea of the extra amenities and reduced amount of maintenance that you will have to deal with, Northwood has those options available in the new and some of the older developments.

Finally, Northwood has a mix of detached homes and condos. There are currently a little more than double the number of detached homes on the Northwood housing market than there are condos.

In the queue: a look at a sample of the Northwood housing stock

Recently, I wrote that the Altos Market Action Index is showing Costa Mesa has a healthier housing market than Irvine does. This was something to note since this has not been the case for some time.

So I was wondering what the Altos Research indexes might tell us about the high-end of the Orange County housing market. Here is what I found out. Remember above 30 is a sellers’ market, and below 30 is a buyers’ market. For comparison, Irvine is currently 15.97, and Costa Mesa is currently 16.29.

Altos Market Action Indexes

• Corona Del Mar: 12.28
• Dana Point: 12.16
• Laguna Beach: 10.38
• Newport Beach: 10.11
• Newport Coast: 10.18
• Villa Park: 7.36

Now compare those numbers to the number for the often disparaged Santa Ana housing market, which currently has an Altos index of 18.48. By these numbers, Santa Ana housing is still a buyers’ market but is in better condition than many high-end areas as well as in better condition than Costa Mesa and Irvine’s housing market.

Santa Ana to high-priced home areas: Come in; the water is, well….

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.

Note that the Altos numbers are for detached homes only (condos are not included). Irvine has slightly more condos on the market than detached homes.

Following are the Altos Market Action Index numbers for Irvine. According to these numbers, the Irvine housing market is declining deeper out of the sellers’ favor. Of course, if you want to buy in Irvine, you would use different words. In that case, you would say that the market is improving in the buyers’ favor.

As I noted in the Costa Mesa housing index report, for the first time since I have been watching the Altos index, the index is showing that the Irvine housing market is lagging behind the Costa Mesa housing market. The lag is slight, but it makes me wonder if this is the start of a fall for Irvine housing prices, which have held up relatively well so far.

If so, this could be a sign of a significant change in the Orange County housing market. It could be the signal that the mid- and high-end of the market is about to take price drops similar to what the low-end of the Orange County housing market has already experienced. We will see what happens in the coming months.

Altos Market Action Index for Irvine, CA:

• May 17, 2009: 15.97
• 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

Source:  Altos Research

This is a follow up on the post that I published earlier today. In that post, I wrote about enjoying the long-holiday weekend by taking a day trip to one of the sites in the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmark. As mentioned before, the Irvine Ranch is a National Natural Landmark as well as California’s first Natural Landmark site. Since Orange County is heavily populated and both a suburban and an urban area, the designation as California’s first Natural Landmark is significant.

However, if you feel like getting a little farther away from home, here is a list of some other locations designated as National Natural Landmarks that are suitable for a day- or long-weekend trip.

• Ano Nuevo Point and Island - California
• Audubon Canyon Ranch - California
• Mount Shasta-California
• Torrey Pines State Park-California
• La Brea Tar Pits - California
• Imperial Sand Dunes - California
• Mitchell Caverns - California

To see additional National Natural Landmark sites located in California, see the National Landmark map.

PHOTO COURTESY TORREY PINES STATE PARK

Memorial Day, the traditional, if not scientific, first day of summer, will be here soon. The Memorial Day holiday will give most an extra day off and, therefore, a long weekend. Here is an Orange County style suggestion on how you might enjoy the extra time off.

Previously, I wrote about the Irvine Ranch land that has been designated as both a National Natural Landmark and a California Natural Landmark. The Irvine Ranch Natural Landmark includes the Mountains to Sea Trail, Anaheim Wilderness Area, Boomer Canyon, Crystal Cove State Park, Fremont Canyon, Irvine Lake, Irvine Regional Park, Laguna Coast, Limestone Canyon, Mason Regional Park, Orchard Hills, Peters Canyon, Quail Hill, Round Canyon, San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, Santiago Canyon, Upper Newport Bay, and Weir Canyon. All these locations are suitable for an Orange County day-trip.

You can get a look at this area by viewing the video from The Irvine Company. However, I think that you get an even better idea of what is available by clicking on the Irvine Ranch website link.

PHOTO COURTESY CRYSTAL COVE STATE PARK

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.

Note that the Altos numbers are for detached homes only (condos are not included). Costa Mesa has approximately two and a half detached homes on the market for every condo.

Following are the Altos Market Action Index numbers for Costa Mesa. According to these numbers, the Costa Mesa housing market is improving. However, I should note that these numbers also show that the Costa Mesa housing market is still firmly in the buyers’ favor.

And here is another side note: For the first time since I have been following these numbers, the index shows that the housing market in Costa Mesa is healthier than the housing market in Irvine. I will post the Irvine numbers later this week.

Altos Market Action Index for Costa Mesa, CA:

• May 17, 2009: 16.29
• March 20, 2009: 15.04
• February 22, 2009: 15.43
• January 30, 2009: 15.71
• December 31, 2000: 17.96
• November 30, 2009: 18.46
• October 26, 2008: 18.45

Source: Altos Research

Orange County schools, as well as most schools nationwide, have been hoping that money from the American Recovery and Investment Act will help with budget shortfalls that are the result of our current economic difficulties. The following help is on the way for California schools: $2.56 billion for the school districts general funds will be delivered soon. $1.2 billion for special education and Title I will be delivered in a few weeks, and 1 billion for the school districts general funds will be delivered in the fall.

Orange County schools will receive in total $125.6 million in stimulus funds this month. The funding per district school is determined by the amount of budget cuts in each district.

So what are we to make of the fact that Newport-Mesa Unified School District, which includes both Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, is set to get zero stimulus money? The only other Orange County school district that will receive no stimulus money is high-income Laguna Beach.  Santa Ana Unified School District, one of the lowest-income districts in Orange County, will receive $14,320,048, which is the largest amount of the stimulus money going to any Orange County school district.

 Is the Newport-Mesa School District so financial sound that budget cuts were not necessary, or were other factors involved? If you have any insight on this, please leave a comment.

Note: The schools that serve Irvine will receive the following amounts: Irvine Unified School District, $2,936,940; Tustin Unified School District, $5,642,231. For a full list of the stimulus money that each Orange County school district will receive see “Money coming to schools.”

PHOTO COURTESY GREAT SCHOOLS

Yesterday we looked at Trulia’s numbers, which provided foreclosure information and the current overall median selling price of homes in Irvine’s Northwood area. Today, we’ll look at Redfin numbers for a breakdown of pricing information into the detached home and condo categories. Redfin numbers show the February median sold price per square foot in Northwood at $302 for detached homes and $312 for condos. The median sold price per square foot for all Northwood homes was $304.

The Redfin graphs also show some interesting information. According to these graphs, the recent median sold price per square foot for Northwood condos is declining; however, the median sold price per square foot for Northwood detached homes is on the upswing, slightly. (See the Northwood graphs found above. The condo graph is on the left, and the detached home graph is on the right.)

• List price: $651K/$343 per SF
• Sold price: $543K/$315 per SF*
• Median days on market: 87*
• Number of homes on the market: 100
  (74 detached/26 condos; 6 bank or MSL foreclosures)

February 27, 2009

• List price: $599,000/$343 per SF
• Sold price: $522K/$310 per SF*
• Median days on market: 91*
• Number of homes on the market: 92
  (66 detached/26 condos; 7 bank or MSL foreclosures)

January 31, 2009

• List price: $609,500/$331 per SF
• Sold price: $530K/$318 per SF*
• Median days on market: NA
• Number of homes on the market: 78

December 30, 2008

• List price: $649,000/$340 per SF
• Sold price: $606K/$332 per SF*
• Median days on market: NA
• Number of homes on the market: 93