Sweet Orange

Can you make sense of the price increases and decreases for the home at  1174 Boise Way in Costa Mesa’s South Coast Metro area?

Here is what is so confusing: At 1174 Boise Way is a1964 detached house with 3 bedrooms/2 baths, 1291 square feet, and no homeowner association fee. This home has been on the market for almost 500 days and is a short sale. In October 2004, this home sold for $540,000.

On July 10, 2008, it went on the market for $450,000, then, just two days later, it was relisted with a whopping $150,000 increase. This brought the price up to $600,000, but seven months later (January 16) the price was decrease to the previous $450,000.

So when this home didn’t sell, what did the owners do (or the bank required the owners to do)? Decrease the asking price? No, on September 15, 2009, they increased the price by $25,000. However, by October 25, 2009, the home had not sold at the new listing price of $475,000 and was relisted at $460,000

This was a lot of ups and downs just to arrive at an asking price that was near the original asking price that was listed over a year ago. The current list price is $460,000 or $356 per square foot.

A year ago the original price of $450,000 probably looked like a lot better deal than it does today. Perhaps if this home was left at the original list price of $450,000, it would have sold by now.

Listing History

• Oct 25, 2009 Price Changed $460,000 — CARETS #P646291
• Oct 25, 2009 Relisted — – CARETS #P646291
• Oct 20, 2009 Delisted — – CARETS #P646291
• Sep 15, 2009 Price Changed $475,000 — CARETS #P646291
• Sep 14, 2009 Relisted — – CARETS #P646291
• Jan 16, 2009 Delisted — – CARETS #P646291
• Jan 13, 2009 Price Changed $450,000 — CARETS #P646291
• Jul 12, 2008 Price Changed $600,000 — CARETS #P646291
• Jul 10, 2008 Listed $450,000 — CARETS #P646291
• Oct 20, 2004 Sold $540,000 20.6%/yr Public Records
• Mar 06, 2003 Sold $398,000 — Public Records

Here is a look at which three-bedroom condos with a list price under $450,000 are available in Costa Mesa. They are listed from low to high. Four of these eight homes are short sales, and one is bank owned.

Note that no three-bedroom Eastside Costa Mesa homes are available at this price. The lowest-priced three-bedroom homes in Eastside Costa Mesa are two homes listed under $500,000: a condo and a single-family home. The condo is listed at $475,000, and the single-family home is listed at $499,000. Both are short sales.

114 Yorktown Lane, Central Costa Mesa, CA 92626

• Asking price: $264,000 ($214/SF)
• What: 1967 condo with 1240 SF
• HOA: $220
• This is bank-owned

3430 Hollow Brook Circle #115, South Coast Metro, CA 92626

• Asking price: $299,000 ($226/SF)
• What: 1976 condo with 1325 SF
• HOA: $320 and $175

377 Avocado Street Unit E, Central Costa Mesa, CA 92627

• Asking price $325,000 ($262/SF)
• What: 1991 condo with 1240 SF and two-car garage
• HOA: $156

380 W Wilson Street Unit A103, Central Costa Mesa, CA 92627

• Asking price: $355,000 ($215/SF)
• What: 1980 condo with 1650 SF
• HOA: $225
• This is a short sale.

543 Victoria Unit O, Southwest Costa Mesa, CA 92626

• Asking price: $375,000 ($288/SF)
• What: 1989 condo with 1300 SF
• HOA: $265
• This is a short sale.

Address not listed, Central Costa Mesa, CA 92627

• Asking price: $385,000 ($242/SF)
• What: 1994 4-unit PUD, From the listing description: “The property is located in a small 4 unit PUD at the end of a cul de sac street that is close to shopping, freeways, restaurants and schools. It is in need of work but could be a good deal for an investor or someone who could do some fix up work.”
• HOA: $65
• This is a short sale.

908 Hyde Court, South Coast Metro CA 92626

• Asking price: $425,000 ($229/SF)
• What: 1979 condo with 1853 SF
• HOA: $360

2243 Pacific Avenue #14, Southwest Costa Mesa, CA 92627

• Asking price: $430,000 ($258/SF)
• What: 1980 condo with 1669 SF
• HOA: $218
• This is a short sale.

What’s up with these pictures of the home at 2628 West Palais Road in Anaheim? This short sale has been on the market for only a few days, but I have to wonder if the owner is really interested in selling with pictures like this showing on the MLS online site.

OK, I admit the first picture did get my attention, but not in a good way. And then there is the one of the in-construction bathroom. And the final two pictures: Why the bad lighting? In addition, if you click on the MLS link, you will see a picture of the bedroom curtains tied in a knot. Why?

The asking price is $355,000 ($224/SF) for this 4 bed, 1583 square foot, detached house that was built in 1956 in the Anaheim West of Harbor area. What do you think? Are you enticed to buy?

Note: According to Redfin, the median sales price in July for a detached house in the 92804 ZIP was $240 per square foot. This home sold on June 28, 2002 for $315,500.

Next week: a look at how home prices have changed recently, and over the years, in this low-priced ZIP

The flowchart found in the my next post will explain the foreclosure process, including the difference between a trustee sale and a bank (REO) sale. (If the flowchart image isn’t clear, try viewing  it at 125%, especially if you are using the Internet Explorer browser. Missing lines magically appear when viewed at the larger size. Or better yet, try using either the Mozilla FireFox or Safari browsers.)

For more information on understanding the foreclosure process, avoiding foreclosure, and investing in foreclosures, see these articles:

• Yahoo Real Estate Foreclosure Center— provides an overview of the foreclosure process, information on buying a short sale, information on buying at a trustee auction, and information on buying bank-owned property
• US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Guide to Avoiding Foreclosure—as the name implies, provides information on avoiding foreclosure
• Wikipedia’s Foreclosure entry—provides a overview of the process and  a link to information on how we got to where we are today (Real Estate Bubbles)
  

You might also be interested in California Foreclosure Institute’s free foreclosure investment workshops at the Irvine Heritage Park Library. The next Irvine workshop is scheduled for June 30 at 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Another workshop is scheduled for Brea on July 1 at 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. These workshops are ongoing; therefore,  if you can’t attend on these dates, more options will be available.

Finally, to get a sense of what is happening with foreclosures in Orange County, see these articles by The Orange County Register’s Matthew Padilla and Jeff Collins:

• “Banks holding more O.C. foreclosures“
• “Foreclosures filings hit record in O.C.“
• “Foreclosures account for 4 out of 10 O.C. home sales“

Tomorrow: the foreclosure flowchart

Chart Courtesy The Orange County Register