Garland Park is a tract built from 2004-2006 by William Lyon Homes in the village of Woodbury. These condos have a bit more privacy than the other William Lyon condos at Lombard Court. There are four models ranging from 1,355 – 1,971 sq ft:
- Residence 1: 1,355 sq ft – 2bd/2.5ba
- Residence 2: 1,737 sq ft – 3bd/2.5ba
- Residence 3: 1,878 sq ft – 3bd/3ba
- Residence 4: 1,971 sq ft – 3bd/2.5ba
In Garland Park, there are currently SIX plan 1’s listed for sale in MLS. 4 of them are listed by flippers:
Address: 199 Wild Lilac, Irvine, CA 92620 (Woodbury)
MLS: S463131 DOM: 39
Price Reduced: 11/24/06 — $579,900 to $565,000
Price Reduced: 11/25/06 — $565,000 to $554,900
Current Price: $554,900
Address: 126 Chantilly, Irvine, CA 92620 (Woodbury)
MLS: S464403 DOM: 28
Current Price: $559,000
Address: 124 Chantilly, Irvine, CA 92620 (Woodbury)
MLS: S464852 DOM: 30
Current Price: $579,500
Address: 181 Groveland, Irvine, CA 92620 (Woodbury)
MLS: S444308 DOM: 172
Price Reduced: 07/17/06 — $604,900 to $589,900
Current Price: $589,900
Adding to this inventory is the builder who is trying to unload 2 more of the same plan:
Address: 188 Guinevere, Irvine, CA 92620 (Woodbury)
MLS: S464397 DOM: 28
Prior Listing: $580,990 – 41 DOM
Current Price: $574,990
Address: 180 Guinevere, Irvine, CA 92620 (Woodbury)
MLS: S464399 DOM: 28
Prior Listing: $619,990 – 27 DOM
Current Price: $599,990
It looks like the flippers for the most part are lowering prices ahead of the builder. But the scenario could quickly change into one similar to that at Avenue One.
Bravo! I love seeing how you guys (and gals) keep a relentless eye on these real estate speculators (who undoubtedly contributed to the over inflated market).
As for me, my efforts in buy in Woodbury fell through recently – couldn’t sell my own home! (Although I am not a flipper… just have a growing family that needs access to some of CA’s best schools) However, it may be for the best… and in the mean time, I keep saving.
I recently saw a flip in the making in Woodbury at the Stonetree Manor homes…it appeared to be a “phase I” home (Model 3B – the French Style). While I really like the Stonetree Manor homes, I’d like them even more if the prices came down a little.
I am wondering if anyone had info on what it originally sold for? It is being listed for around $982K (upgraded with wood floors and granit counters)…I’m not sure what MLS says, I as just driving by and saw a sign in the yard… I know that the base Stonetree Model 3 (in Phase II) sells for around 935K…
I’d imagine that with the upgrades, it had to cost close to the current asking price… Could it be another “interest only” flipper who lost his nerve?
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I just released my report on Orange County
Daily Home Price Analysis
Today’s report on Sacramento has been released!
Daily Home Price Analysis
saw these homes back in 2005, these are extremely cramped and the floorplan is aweful. We literally walked in and immediately walked out. Plus you’re paying 2 HOA fees and mello roos on top.
Woodbury is a classic example of excessive overcharging of mello roos just because they could. Think about it. The entire community already had utility and road access all around.
looking at these prices, even the reduced ones, just makes me realize how lucky I was to be able to high tail out of OC.
Irvine prices still have a long way to drop before they have any relationship to reality. I am happy to rent and save 50% on my housing costs.
BTW, I am a project manager for a real estate developer, and I can tell you first hand that we do maximize mello roos (CFD) because this is money that falls directly to the bottom line.
A year ago I stopped by and looked at these units….the floor plan is hideous. If I remember correctly the downstairs kitchen/living/dining area is about the size of a one car garage. The floorplan was so odd that event the professional decorators couldn’t make it look good.
I rent a three bedroom place in Irvine for $2250 that is about the same size. If I were to purchase at $550k and put down $100,000 for one of these places my monthly cost after taxes would be:
Downpayment: 100K
Mortage 450K at 6 % 2,700 – $1890(after tax break)
Property tax at 1.35 % 618 -$432(after tax bresk)
HOA for woodbury $300
Insurance/trash $130
Total monthly cost: $2752
Now suppose the price of the place drops by 20%(soft landing…not the 40% that is more likely) in the next 5 years and I have to sell it when the prices are down…….$110,000 drop in 60 months, the loss is $1833 per month. Then my effective cost to to own the unit is: $1833 + $2752 = $4585 per month.
I think I’ll rent for a while longer
irvinerenter,
interesting comment about maximizing mello roos. this is what I suspected all along. the question then becomes: as the housing market gets more dire, what are the chances of lowering the mello roos rate by the builder. and what happens if you are in the middle of a project, would folks that purchased at an earlier phase be punished with higher mello roos?
“Under the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982, a CFD may be used to purchase, construct, expand, rehabilitate or acquire public improvements, or provide public services.”
What happens is that the property developer creates a CFD, floats the bonds, and passes the burden for paying off these bonds off to the eventual homeowner through property taxes (Hence, Mello Roos fees). Unless the builder is also the developer (which is rare), the builder will have no control over the CFD and the resulting Mello Roos rates. As I mentioned previously, developers generally maximize the CFD because this is a direct reimbursement (income) that falls straight to the bottom line.
Sometimes the builders will tell the developer they will not buy a tract if the total tax burden is greater than a certain percentage (1.85% for instance). If the builder has sufficient negotiating leverage, the developer may not max things out to the 2% legal limit.
Ok, We do not have all the properties in the woodbury community listed right now, but by the end of the week we will have everything listed in the woodbury community straight from the mls. If you would like to view the properties please visit http://www.woodburycommunity.com then click on the real estate link. or just go directly there by going to http://www.woodburycommunity.net
How about someone figuring out what is going on with Stonetree Manor in Woodbury? I am wondering how John Laing will react when it introduces phases 3-6 in 2007.
One model that I noticed was being sold for 985,000. (MLS S467287 on 171 Groveland). Does anyone know what it origially sold for? It is a virtual mystery how so many people on this blog know all the “dirt” about these homes! But I still think its great.
Dear GrewUp:
I searched the OC Clerk Recorder’s web site and 171 Groveland was sold for $878,155 but I don’t know when that sale was recorded. So these flippers think they deserve a 100k profit on this house. Bwahhahhahhaaaa!
Thanks for the info irvinesinglemom! I’ll be sure to check the OC recorder website in the future. I also came across another Stonetree Manor model that appears to be for rent! 3900/mo. I have pasted the link below – but I’ll have to look at the OC recorder website to see if this is another flipper in the making:
http://www.apartmenthunterz.com/details/43976863.html
Its too bad that they are not closer to 750K… I’d be willing to pay that; I really like the plan. (Although a yard would be nice)
GrewUpInIrvine,
I’m not too familiar with Stonetree Manor. How is it different from the Stonetree tract that was sold by John Laing earlier in Woodbury? It looks like some are listed as condos and others as SFRs.
Zovall –
I believe that they are one in the same. Stonetree Manor (in Woodbury) is a 6 phase build-out. I think that phase 2 ends this month… and then sometime in Jan/Feb we should see a possible repricing/readvertising for additional homes in phases 3-6. (and perhaps fewer than a total of 6 phases as builders get worried?) I remember an earlier post (on this blog) about Stonetree that noted that the first phase was followed by a second pahse with remarkable price increases. This is consistent with the research assistance of IrvineSingleMom (above) that noted the property on 171 Groveland is being listed for about 100K over the original purchase price (but only competative with current phase 2 “new home pricing”)
I understand that each of the 6 phases is/will be built by John Laing (which seems to have a reputation for building nice solid homes). As for the fact that some are listed as condo’s and some as SFR’s – all I can say is that I believe they all “feature condominium ownership” – essentially meaning that there is the “local” Stonetree HOA and then the “Woodbury” HOA. Moreover, each lot is literally 2995 sq ft (although some are just over 3000 sq ft) which may have something to do with the techincal definition of condo/SFR… brighter minds on this blog will certainly know.
While some may recoil at double HOA’s [read IrvineSingleMom =)] I really liked the design of the homes (especially model 3)… and hope to buy “someday” (despite the Mello Roos and the double HOA’s)…I just hope that the price comes down a bit. (Then I will take a giant helicopter and lift up the house and travel out of state so that I can actually have a back yard… if only…)
In any case, I will certainly be looking at what happens when the phase 3 pricing comes out. Will John Laign follow (Turtle Ridge?) where new home prices are less than during the initial phases? Will John Laing continue to raise the prices in hope of finding the plethora of non-contingent home buyers willing to plunk down 1 million? Or, as might be expected, will prices plateau? Only the Chicago Futures Market knows for certain.