Sweet Orange

Can this 1982 condo with 1400 square feet at 33 Christamon S in Irivne’s Northwood sell with an asking price of $429,000 or $307 per square foot? The reason that I am wondering is that some brand new condo’s in Ivy Woodbury East are selling for $400,990. The Ivy homes have three bedrooms and 1397 square feet. However, the Ivy homes have a Mello Roos tax of about $3,971 per year, and this Northwood home has none. Also, the Ivy HOA fee is $134 for the master association and $175 for the sub-association; the Northwood has an HOA fee of $248 per month.

Ivy is within walking distance of the very nice and new Woodbury Town Center. The Christamon home is within walking distance of the Northwood Shopping Center–not so new and a little run down. (But you can get some very cheap fresh fruit and some other interesting things in the Korean supermarket that is located in the former Von’s location.)

Ivy is near the Jeffery Open Space Trail. Christamon is within walking distance of the picturesque Hick Canyon Trail. What I like about the Hicks trail is that in addition to the paved trails–which Irvine seems to likes so well–there is a dirt trail. This dirt trail is particularly popular with runners and bike riders.

33 CHRISTAMON Irvine, CA 92620 (near Irvine Boulevard and Yale Avenue)

• 1985 Northwood condo with two stories
• 1400 SF with 2 beds/2.5 baths
• Asking Prie: $429,900 ($307/SF)

Note: The Ivy homes are near Irvine Boulevard and Sand Canyon. And the Ivy homes also have two stories.

Here is a look at some Woodbury condos that are listed for under $300,000. The bad news is that these are all short sales. (Sales transactions for short sales are difficult to complete, and the price might be bid up before a final sale is made.)

In fact, many of Woodbury’s two-bedroom condos that are on the market are short sales. For that matter, many of the homes in Woodbury are short sales.

To check for yourself, see the map of Woodbury homes currently on the market.

40 Concierto, Irvine

• 2 beds/2baths, 1146 SF
• HOA fees: master–$152; sub–$105
• $275,000 ($240/SF)

17 Costa Brava, Irvine

• 2 beds/2baths, 1000 SF
• HOA fees: master–$105; sub–$93
• $290,000 ($290/SF)

3 Costa Brava, Irvine

• 2 beds/2baths, 1075 SF
• HOA fees: master–$105; sub–$93
• $299,900 ($279/SF)

Related posts:

• Comparing Prices: Three-Bedroom Woodbury Condos vs Three-Bedroom Woodbury East Ivy Condos
• Market Watch: Housing Stats for Irvine’s Woodbury Neighborhood

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