Laguna Beach Homes Sales are Picking Up Steam

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January 22, 2012

 

Strongest Sales Month for Laguna Beach in 2012

Santa Claus put new homes under the tree for our Laguna Beach buyers. December was the highest sales month all year and it was preceded by three very strong sales months. Inventory swamped sales for most of the year so there still is a good selection.  Some of our owners want prices over market but the average asking price has been pretty much a mirror image of the sales prices.  Sellers have always been willing to make concessions for the right buyer, especially a cash buyer who can close early or late and will accommodate the seller.
The days on market have decreased over the past three months.  It seems we have sold much of that new summer inventory.  Winter is also a good buying season for Laguna Beach. The beach skies are crystal clear, weather is moderate, and the winter skiing is only three hours a way. Anyone staying here after the Rose Bowl would find it hard to go back to Wisconsin.

Average Price Drops To $1,780,741

 This is a fairly impressive average price, no?   Still it has dropped from the last two months averages.  6 Barranca Way was on the market for $8,495,000 and finally sold after 543 days for $7,362,000.  The seller took over a million dollars off his price.  There were 29 sales for the month and only one other sale was over $3 million.  It was a happy Christmas for them!  As I mentioned above when the sellers finally drop their prices to a reasonable level for the buyers, the home will sell for close to the price. Or at least within 5 – 8% of the price.  Some buyers make the mistake of offering 20% or 30% below the price and expect to get a counter offer from the seller.  They are usually just ignored which can be frustrating after hearing on the news that prices have plummeted.  Those reporters are looking for the worst case scenarios to highlight.  That keeps the viewers interested even if the information is not applicable to that specific market.  We have some devastated areas in California but the coastal areas of Orange County  homes are selling.

This is by far the Lowest Median Price in the Last 4 Months

The Median Price for December was $1,190,000.  The prices ranged from $360,000 up to the $7,362,000 but the one in the middle of all the sales was just about $1.2 million.  The median price has jumped all over the place this year. There are lots of expensive homes with beautiful views but there are some inexpensive little homes that would be considered tear-downs. To build a nice one on the lot you have to get approvals from the City of Laguna Beach.  That takes lots of time and patience.

To see all the information on the sold homes, lists of the monthly sales, individual sales and details on each house-  Click here to see the report 
 

Categories: Coastal Single Family Homes, Laguna Beach, Laguna Beach Homes.

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San Clemente Condos Finish 2012 in a Rush to Buy

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January 16, 2012

San Clemente Condo Sales Completely Turn Around

December was one of the hottest months for sales in 2011.  Who knew? August was slow, September awful, then October was great, November really good for that month and December finishes the year with 19 sales, one of the best months all year.  Inventory is way down now. The past three months sales have swept the new inventory off the market and a number of the old listings.  Whew!  Now we need our sellers to come back on the market. The average days on market dropped to 133, it had been as high as 193 in June. There are many cash buyers out there who can close quickly and usually decrease the average Days on Market figure but the lenders have also been faster to get the loans out.  You certainly need to be completely qualified before you start.  This is not the time to get a pre-qualification from a random internet site. Mike Munzing has an excellent site with a complete application form for you to fill out and see what you can qualify for.  And there is always your bank.  Just bring everything, two years tax returns, three months banking statements,  investment statements, and your last two paystubs.  Then you avoid nasty surprises in escrow.  People have had bad credit experiences in this recession and some have to submit additional paperwork to get their loan approved. 

For all the details on the 2011 sales organized by month – Click here to see the report

The Average Price Drops to $358,618

The average price decreased $23,000 from last month and was one of the lowest for the entire year.  Some really inexpensive condos sold but there was one condo priced at $1,280,000 that sold for $1,101,750.  It still sold for way over a million dollars but the sellers gave a 14% discount on the price. It was on the market for less than 3 months. The condo on the market for the longest length of time was listed for 303 days.  A long year for that seller!

Median Price Dips to $330,000

There were only two other months with lower median prices.  Half of the 19 condos were sold for less than this price and half were sold above this price.  It is a good indicator of the real price of the sold condos and is not as easily manipulated as the average. The cheapest condo sold for $128,000.  Now that is one great way to get into the housing market in San Clemente and work your way up the real estate ladder. Rentals are in great demand in San Clemente, especially during the summer months and winter vacations.  It can pay you to rent out your condo and go vacation or stay with relatives for a few weeks or a month. 

Categories: Coastal Condominiums, Residential Real Estate, San Clemente.

2011 Results for Aliso Viejo Condos Shows Sales Surging

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January 13, 2012

December Sales Up 10% - All Sales Up for 3 Months in a Row. Average Price One of the Lowest in 2011 $297,720

 
 The buyers are enthusiastic about Aliso Viejo.  New listings have decreased each month for the last three months but sales activity has increased significantly at the same time!  One of the best sales months all year was in December.  Look at that green column.  The new inventory (blue column) is decreasing over the last few months of the year compared to the beginning of 2011.  This means buyers better get busy if they are waiting for prices to go down.  Inventory is disappearing and prices will go up once there are more buyers competing for fewer properties.  The average days on market appear to be fairly stable. Most proprties close escrow 4 months from the date the are first put on the market.  That usually means the property is on the market for around two months, then put in escrow for the inspections to be done and the appraisal completed, then the loan has to be approved by the Underwriters at the banks and the loan documents ordered and emailed to escrow. Those are signed, sent back, and the loan is funded.  Then the County Recorder’s office records the transfer in ownership.
 
For each of the last 12 months of sales – Click here to see the report

Average Price for December is one of the lowest in 2011

Some very old inventory moved off the books last month.  A large number of sales took 7-12  months.  Of course, those would be the short sales and a few equity sellers who had priced their units too high for this market.  Even short sales can start out too high.  Only after stagnating on the market for a few months will the lenders lower their prices.  Some of these condos are in very unfortunate  locations (near busy intersections, overlooking parking lots or the freeways, etc.).  But someone will always buy a property at the right price.  Tenants are not as choosy as homeowners and for investors this means they can buy and rent out the unit and make a profit. 

Median Price Drops to $295,000

This is not the lowest median  price in 2011 but with the large number of sales involved it is very informative about the current market.  Half of the almost 50 condos that sold were above this price and half below this price.  If you have $295,000-$300,000 to spend, you can find a very nice condo in Aliso Viejo.  This community is very popular with the younger segment of the population.  It has a good supply of detached condos which appear to be small homes but they have advantages for some buyers.  There are a few communities that even have landscaping services take care of all the front lawns.  They are definitely cheaper than the single family homes.

 

Designed by Tim Sainburg from Brambling Design

Designed by Tim Sainburg from Brambling Design

Categories: Aliso Viejo, Coastal Condominiums, Residential Real Estate.

Dana Point Home Sales Drop Like a Rock at Year End

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January 10, 2012
Dana Point Sales Drop by 50%

What happened to our buyers?  Only ten sales in the month of December? Ouch!  This was the slowest sales month since last January. Inventory had been moving fairly well since May. Sales were exceeding or at least keeping pace with new inventory.  Gradually that decreased the inventory and many of the good ones had been bought, but eighteen new homes came on the market in December.  Let’s hope January is brisk and this month is just an aberration.  Two homes sold for at or near $1.2 million.  And yes, these homes had killer views of the ocean.  Otherwise the homes ranged between $500,000 and $700,000.  The days on the market dropped as you would expect with shrinking inventory from 158 to the lowest all year, 123.  It is very possible many of the new listings are in escrow.  December has two holiday weekends to contend with, Christmas and New Year’s.  Many of the staff at the lenders, escrow and the Recorder’s office take vacation days and the whole escrow process can take an extra day or two which throws it into January.  Let’s hope so.

Details?  Click here to see the report
Average Price Drops to $716,259

The good news is the sellers gave the buyers an average discount of 6% off the listing price to get the home sold.  At $716,259 the monthly price was at the bottom of the monthly statistics for the year along with two other months.  And it dropped from $851,833 the month prior.  But with only ten sales, this number will be best viewed in perspective in a few months.

Median Sales Price Stabilizes in 2011
Not much action here.  If you had $650,000 to spend in 2011, you could be living in Dana Point and enjoying living minutes from the Pacific Ocean.
 
Contact me if you are interested in a home or investment in Dana Point!  There are beautiful tracts and areas all over the city.

Categories: Coastal Single Family Homes, Dana Point.

Dana Point Condo Sales Double at 2011 Year End

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January 10, 2012
Dana Point Condo Sales Surge at Year End

After a very lackluster year, suddenly everyone got moving and condo sales doubled.  December was the strongest sales month all year by far. Look at that green column. It was double each of the previous four months.  One remarkable event was the sale of a condo that had been listed for 1,284 days. Unbelievable.  That threw the statistics for average days on market out the window.  Without that one sale, the average would have been closer to 4 months.

For all the details – Click here to see the report
Beautiful Dana Point Harbor

Visit Dana Point! It is a beautiful place to live and work. 

Average Price fluctuated widely in 2011

Most of the year had 10 sales or less in every month and that makes the average price move up and down based on just a few sales.  Some of these condos are million dollar residences with breathtaking views.  Others are one bedroom, view of the parking lot, next to a noisy street residences. Either of those extremes cause an average price to jump around.  The individual monthly sales are interesting.  If you click on the link and any particular month, you can review the residences that influenced the average price statistic and see what sold.  That would be the better approach to this information.

2011 Ended with a Fairly Stable Median Price Graph

After an amazing April and a disappointing drop in May, the rest of the year muddled along.  If you had $400,000 to spend on an ocean-close condo, you could choose from over half of the inventory.  There are numerous condominium complexes on the hillsides and bluffs in Dana Point.  The views of the ocean and Catalina Island are incredible.  It is much more a a slow-moving beach resort than Newport Beach just up the coast about 20 minutes.

Categories: Coastal Condominiums, Dana Point, Residential Real Estate.

Laguna Niguel 2012 Home Sales Stabilize -Inventory Shrinks

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January 9, 2012

Sales Continue at the 38 Level But New Inventory Drops to 30

Sales and new inventory were keeping pace with each other until December, then sales charged ahead.  Earlier this year, inventory in the late Spring was dwarfing the sales even though sales were strong.  That was not a good trend if it had continued all year.  There was a mass of unemployed sellers who waited for the school year to get to the end.  Once they knew their children would finish out the year before escrow closed, they put their homes on the market.  The good news is unemployment in Orange County is decreasing and a spike in distressed inventory is not anticipated.

 Laguna Niguel is a very popular city.  Unlike most beach-close cities, the majority of the homes were built after 1980. Therefore the age of the homes is fairly reasonable and the construction is close to current code.  No asbestos, for instance.  No lead paint. The schools are award winning on the state and federal level.  In December the inventory moved so fast the average days on market dropped from 174 to 142 (a whole month less).  That included some ancient listings, one was on the market 464 days. It was listed at $2,999,000 but finally sold for $2,500,000.  A very good price for this home that overlooked the Pacific Ocean and was built fairly recently.  If you are interested, click on the link below, when you see the report, click on December and then click on 22852 Seaway Dr.  You can see a photo and the information about the home.  If you want to see more, click on my link to the right of this blog, enter the MLS number when you get through to the MLS and all the pictures can be viewed as well as all the details about the home.

Seven homes over a million dollars were sold but many homes were around $500,000.
 
For the details – Click here to see the report
Average Price drops to $795,906

This illustrates my comment above. Sure enough, the average price was affected by the seven expensive homes but it reflects the majority of the homes sold for much less. And on average, the sellers gave the buyers discounts of 6%.  This includes those frugal banks holding on to their repossessions until a buyer willing to pay market price makes an offer.  Banks are not giving away repossessions.  They are responsible for selling the home at market price and not lower.  The actual investors who own the loans are not the banks. Those would be the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Hedge Funds, and Foreign Bank investors.  The big banks are only the middle men.

Median Price in December Dropped to $662,500

This median price has fluctuated in a very tight range all year.  This is indicative of a stabilizing market.  A big relief to all property owners.  If you have $650,000 – $675,000 to spend on a well-built, ocean-close home, come to Laguna Niguel.  It is beautiful.

 
Community Information is at this link:
http://www.titleadvantage.com/mdocs/LagunaNiguel.pdf

Designed by Tim Sainburg from Brambling Design

Categories: Coastal Single Family Homes, Laguna Niguel, Residential Real Estate.

Laguna Niguel Condos finish 2011 Strong!

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January 9, 2012
Sales are Getting Hotter and New Inventory Dwindling.

Is the housing market recovering or what? Look at the Laguna Niguel condominium sales for encouragement. New inventory is at the lowest for the year, very significantly. We are down to 19 new units on the market and 35 sales for the month of December. Wow! The pendulum has swung.  At this rate, prices will start rising.  Old inventory finally moved too! The grandaddy of the listings was on the market for 822 days. Well over 2 years! There were several near that one year mark or a little over, but most were quickly sold. It is not easy to close escrow in less than 45 days if you are getting financing, but several people did it.  My recommendation is to go with a direct lender but not a big bank. If the lender has underwriters on site, then your loan will move through quickly.

Average Price Up for December to $280,342

The average price of $280,342 was within the ball park of the average prices all year. Certainly down from the first 6 months but we could now see an upward trend to $300,000 and above.  Right now an investor can purchase a condominum at these record low interest rates and find a tenant who will pay enough rent to offset the monthly costs and return a profit.

Median Sales Price Climbs to $250,000

This is the midpoint of all the sales for the month.  Half of the homes sold for more and half for less.  This is the amount of money you should have to spend when you go out to look.  Preferably, you should have 10% than the median to have the better selection and money to pay for escrow and tranfer fees.

Designed by Tim Sainburg from Brambling Design

Categories: Coastal Condominiums, Laguna Niguel, Residential Real Estate.