Monday, November 17, 2008

Upside Down in Lagunita - A Million Dollar Buyer's Mistake?


Lagunita is a gated community of about 60 homes on the ocean side of Pacific Coast Highway in South Laguna Beach. It is north of the Montage Resort and approximately across PCH from Ruby's Diner. Most of the homes are pretty dated, but some have been rebuilt. Victoria beach is really close.

In 2007, 4 Lagunita was sold for about $4.6 million. At the time, I was amazed anyone would pay this much for a small house that was NOT on the beach. A recent sale of a large modern home at 36 Lagunita for only $4 million could really lead someone to question the present value of the much-smaller and older 4 Lagunita property. We also know that Orange County home prices have cratered this year.

4 Lagunita is a 2 bedroom home with a small pool and a killer view. All that is well and good - but $4.6 million good? I wonder what kind of advice was given by the buyer's agent. How do you think the value has changed in 12 months? Of course, there is no real answer until there is a sale of the property. If you think the true value of this property is now, say, $3 million, then the buyers have lost about $1.6 million in 12 months. This is more than $100,000 per month and more than $3,000 per day!!!!

The home is now listed for rent on the MLS for $28,000 per month - yeah, good luck with that....

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What's the property tax on a $3 million home? Whoever buys it must love to pay those taxes! Good luck, sucka!