Sale of Repo at 1130 Summit Drive Fails - it Falls Out of Escrow

We've written about 1130 Summit Drive, which supposedly (according to comments posted on this blog) garnered offers in the neighborhood of $2 million and perhaps one offer with a higher amount that was chosen to go into escrow.

Well, so much for that - the home presumably fell out of escrow and was relisted at the end of December and the price was reduced by about $35,000, to $2.37 million.

Does anyone know what happened? Problems with the buyer? Cold feet? Something wrong with the house?

At a minimum, this price reduction may impact the home in escrow next door at 1289 La Mirada Street. This older home in need of updating is one lot up the hill but on a better, flat street, but now it may be worth less than its lofty listing price of nearly $2 million, given that the 1130 Summit Drive house is moving downward in the direction of that price. They are virtually the same square footage Both of these homes are in Arch Beach Heights area of Laguna Beach, which is one of the less desirable areas in Laguna Beach and is not known as an area packed with really expensive homes. I wonder if the La Mirada buyer will get cold feet.

The listing broker for both homes is the same - Prudential California Realty. I wonder if this broker will tell the buyer of the La Mirada home about the failed sale of the neighboring house? Or will the buyer's agent be smart enough to find out about it? This failed sale may provide a very relevant comp data point for the La Mirada house. And that comp data point has fallen in value judging from the recent price reductoin......tick, tick, tick.....will another price reduction come? Probably..........

Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, CDM and Newport Coast Lead County in Price Reductions

John Lansner's blog has a good posting identifying the communities with the greatest price reductions on MLS. Newport Beach is number 1, with the greatest price reductions and Corona Del Mar, Laguna Beach and Newport Coast are all right up there. What does this mean? It means that real estate agents in these areas generally are listing properties at unrealistic asking prices. If no one shows up to pay the initial asking price, the market is forcing price reductions. Buyers should beware of asking prices given this hard data - the true value of these properties is likely to be far, far below the asking price.

1130 Summit Drive - Good Deal or Not?

Recently, 1130 Summit Drive was foreclosed upon and listed by its new bank owner. It is big, w/5 bedrooms, very nice inside, but no yard, on a very busy steep street and the house is all vertical - 4 stories up to the kitchen from the garage.

The bank wants $2.4 million - that's quite a steep price for a home in Arch Beach Heights, which is typically a low value area in Laguna Beach. Rumor has it that there were multiple offers a few weeks ago but even then the price didn't go that high. Now though, it looks like the house is under contract.

Oh yeah, the neighbor's house (1289 La Mirada St.), which is bigger and is uphill on a better and level street, was recently listed for $500,000 less. Not a good sign that 1130 Summit is worth anything near to the asking price, in my opinion.

What say ye? Is someone going to get a good deal or is the new buyer getting a load of trouble - a house that's going to sink underwater yet again in the future?

Dataquick October Numbers - Houses Above $2M in Laguna Overpriced

The October dataquick numbers are in and the median price is flat for Laguna Beach, compared to recent months.
The median single family home price in Laguna for October was $1.195 million, but this is down a whopping 36.4% from October, 2008.

The interesting thing is that while the median price has been flat in the recent months, the economy and the lack of good financing is just killing the homes priced above the median, for which one would borrow more than the current $729,000 conforming jumbo limit. Specifically, sales of homes above $2,000,000 have been frittering away to nothing as the year has progressed. No sales of these homes in October. None at all. This means that homes in Laguna Beach that are listed for above $2 million are SEVERELY OVERPRICED.

I wouldn't want to be a buyer of one of these homes earlier in the year - If I was, I would be listening to my home value deflating below the purchase price. sinking underwater......

Values Continue Crash in Crystal Cove - Buyers Remorse Part II

In an earlier post I wrote about the decision of a recent buyer of 18 Rockshore Bluff to pay $4.4 million. The value of this home was questionable, I thought. If it is that obvious, I wonder what kind of advice the buyer's agent gave to the buyer who was forking over $4.4 million.

Well, hold on to your hats. And hold on to your loan docs, Bank of America, for the $3 million mortgage that you wrote on 18 Rockshore. It is worth much less now, only months later.

2 Rockshore Bluff recently sold. For about $2.6 million. Practically identical house. Same 3800 square feet. Same killer view. The photo is from 2 Rockshore.

Let me get out my calculator. $4.4 - $2.6 = $1.8 million dollar loss in less than six months.
The B of A loan on 18 Rockshore? Already underwater. The buyer? Underwater. The agents involved? My guess is that they are laughing all the way to the bank.

Crystal Cove home values are going down big time. And there are many overpriced listings. Do the due diligence and research. Be careful out there.....

Coldwell Banker's MLS Listed Cartoon House Foreclosed Upon

I've written about the 940 Hillcrest cartoon house for a while now - how it was a Coldwell Banker listing priced at (hold your laughter) $2,800,000. The original MLS listing didn't even have a picture of the house, it had a nice fancy cartoon drawn house drawn over the present house.

This was the ultimate bubble listing. It wasn't about the house that existed in REALITY - instead the brokerage wanted everyone to buy into a fantasy cartoon house that only existed in the MLS. After all, that's where the value is - in pretend homes. Gee, thanks, Coldwell Banker.

Well, the sales tactics didn't work and its all over now. According to the new MLS listing that hit the system today, the property is now bank owned and priced at $937,800, roughly 66% less than Coldwell Banker's original price. I'm really happy for the buyers out there who didn't fall prey to the original list price.

Next time you see a Coldwell Banker listing, think of this one - how much do you really trust these people to present a property with a fair market price? I'll let the commenters answer that one.

Crystal Cove Home Values Continue Downward Plunge

During the bubble, many realtors lured buyers of Crystal Cove homes for $1000 per square foot. That price point was thought to be a rock solid value even well after the market started plunging downward.

Not so anymore. Awash in foreclosures, the asking prices on some Crystal Cove properties are squarely in the $600 per square foot range.

And the sale prices probably will be less than the asking prices.

Hello, $500 per square foot! A 50% decline. And more declines will come after the summer buying season fizzles to a close. Your agent won't tell you that, but I will.

Here are some of the properties:

1. 24 Sidra Cove; asking $665 sq/ft
2. 106 Sidney Bay Drive; Asking $690 sq/ft
3. 11 Secret Cove; Asking $746 sq/ft
4. 100 Sidney Bay Drive; Asking $616 sq/ft
5. 5 Secret Cove; Asking $574 sq/ft

3216 Tyrol - Pricing difficulties up in Top of World

I noticed 3216 Tyrol in the MLS - it is a house with Irvine views (no ocean) up in the Top of the World neighborhood. I like this neighborhood because it seems to be family friendly and is flat. The Tyrol house has been for sale since 2007 at various prices, I think from above $3,000,000 to just below $2,000,000. Just like many other Laguna Beach home prices, this one should be treated with a lot of caution.

It is hidden pretty well in the online listings, but this home's prior sale price was about $2,000,000 in 2006 - a prime bubble year. Notably, the home's owners appear to be real estate agents and I wonder how the prior sale data has been kept out of the MLS (redfin) and Zillow databases? Suspicious. Now that home values in Laguna Beach have retreated, in my opinion, to 2003 or so, this home's asking price is WAY overstated. I'd take 20%-30% off of the $2,000,000 prior sale price to arrive at today's value. I don't think this attempted home flip is going to work very well for the owners.

I've been in the house and it has great Irvine (meaning everything that is non-ocean for miles and miles) views, but its a duplex - the interior is chopped up and it just feels like a small house. The kitchen is small for an expensive house and there is a narrow, one bedroom unit on the first floor that isn't really usable for much other than renting. On the other hand it has great deck space, a huge garage, but no pool.

Update: This home has been withdrawn from the market.
Thoughts?

LA Times: High End Home Values Continue To Fall

This blog is about single family homes in Laguna and Newport. No matter what shape or size, they are all high end compared to the OC average home prices. In a recent article the LA times analyzed Dataquick's June statistics and the news on high end homes was not pretty:

"Although prices have firmed at the low end of the market, they are still falling in affluent communities, the home sales data released by MDA DataQuick on Wednesday show.

The high-end market did not suffer the rapid shock of subprime mortgage defaults and foreclosures that hammered the housing market's lower end. Sales stagnated as wealthier sellers held out for higher prices.

Now, however, some sellers "are realizing the market's not going to just bounce back" and are starting to sell homes for less than they had recently hoped to get."

Chapman Forecast - High End Home Prices Will Continue to Fall Well into 2010

Mr Blue's focus is on Newport Coast and Laguna Beach - properties well above the OC median price you generally read about in the media. The most recent data indicates that prices on Newport Coast and Laguna Beach homes most certainly will continue to fall almost all the way to 2011. Of course, the OC median price you may hear realtors talking about doesn't mean anything in Newport Coast or Laguna Beach, which are in the upper segment of home prices. The upper end prices have taken longer to start their plunge downward. Now that plunge is happening, as high end sellers cannot hold out forever with the hope of selling at a 2007 peak price.

The highest local authority in real estate in the OC is Chapman University's forecast, operated by Dr. Adibi. Just released, it says "Although our forecast suggests a bottoming out for median home prices, high-priced homes are still subject to further price erosions." If you buy, get a price that is below the present value of the home so you have a cushion to ride out the coming decline. That way you won't be upside down after owning for only a year. Good luck house hunting......