Author Archives: zovall

Irvine Springs – Another Flip Gone Bad in Northwood

Address: 191 Streamwood, Irvine, CA 92620 (Northwood)

Plan: 854 sq ft – 2/1

MLS: S453757 DOM: 102

Sale History: 7/14/2005: $353,000

1/27/2000: $112,000

Price Reduced: 9/06/06 — $369,000 to $365,000

Price Reduced: 10/26/06 — $365,000 to $359,000

Current Price: $359,000

This Plan F? in the Irvine Springs tract in Northwood was purchased in July of 2005 and placed back on the market about 1 year later. The seller bought it with 10% down and listed it at $369k knowing that they would lose money on the deal after selling costs. A couple of small price reductions later, and this flip is going to be losing at least $15,000 (after 6% in selling costs).

There is also a similar model Pending Sale at $345,000 located at 112 Streamwood.

Whispering Glen – Are we almost back to 2004?

Address: 213 Lonetree, Irvine, CA 92603 (Turtle Ridge)

Plan: 1790 sq ft – 3/2

MLS: L20117 DOM: 203

Sale History: 9/13/2004: $750,000

9/11/2003: $502,000

Price Reduced: 06/01/06 — $939,000 to $929,000

Price Reduced: 07/13/06 — $929,000 to $879,000

Price Reduced: 08/15/06 — $879,000 to $849,000

Price Reduced: 11/01/06 — $849,000 to $810,000

Current Price: $799,000 – $810,000

This Plan 5 in the Whispering Glen tract built by Shea Homes in Turtle Ridge was purchased in September 2004 with 100% financing. I wish I could find out what the original purchase price for this property was in 2003. Thanks to our visitor, Westpark, we know the original owner probably purchased in phase 1 and made a nice profit. The current owners will not be so fortunate.

The current owners put the property back on the market about 18 months after they purchased it. They were hoping to make over $132,000 this past April with the initial asking price of $939,000. In June, they also tried to rent the place out for about $3000/month. I don’t think they were successful as the listing says this place is currently vacant.

If they had originally listed it at $799,000 they probably would have found a GF during the summer. If sold at the current asking price of $799,000 and assuming 6% in selling costs, the sellers stand to make a profit of about $1,000! But if the property has been vacant since June, there’s probably another $23k in mortgage expenses they’ve had to pay.

Here’s what else is available in the Whispering Glen tract:

  • 211 Lonetree – Plan 1 – 1500 sq ft – $739,500 – 33 DOM

  • 123 Roadrunner – Plan 1 – 1500 sq ft – $724,000 – 52 DOM (~148 DOM Before)

  • 114 Roadrunner – Plan 3 – 1589 sq ft – $799,000 – 5 DOM

  • 28 Gingerwood – Plan 3 – 1600 sq ft – $824,999 – 126 DOM

  • 111 Roadrunner – Plan 3 – 1600 sq ft – $799,000 – 176 DOM

  • 236 Lonetree – Plan 5 – 1800 sq ft – $925,000 – 45 DOM

  • 124 Roadrunner – Plan 5 – 1800 sq ft – $957,000 – 33 DOM

It’s amazing how the other Plan 5s are listed for over $100k more. Our seller is motivated and will likely continue putting pressure on the this tract to lower their prices.

Inventory is backing off highs

Spotting flips has become a little more difficult lately. Many of the flips featured on this blog have been taken off the market. If they come back, we’ll definitely post about them. A few of the featured flips are accepting backup offers so hopefully we’ll find out soon if they sell. In the meanwhile, we’ll keep searching for flips and blogging about them.

Take a look at how fast inventory has been coming off the market:

Standard Pacific, Shea Out of Condo Projects

Here’s the link to the article: Orange County Business Journal

The link currently works but when I tried to access it from my email, it was asking me to pay. If you search for it in Google News, it should come up. But here’s the whole text anyways:

Posted date: 11/13/2006

Standard Pacific, Shea Out of Condo Projects

REAL ESTATE: Slowing market, lawsuits are factors

By Mark Mueller

Orange County Business Journal Staff

2851 Alton: Shea pulled out of 171-condo project
2851 Alton: Shea pulled out of 171-condo project

Standard Pacific Corp. and Shea Homes, two of Orange County’s largest homebuilders, have backed out of separate plans to build a combined 615 condominiums in Irvine.

It’s the first big example of homebuilders walking away from condo projects in the Irvine Business Complex, the 2,800-acre office and industrial area near John Wayne Airport, since the housing market began slowing earlier this year.

Irvine-based Standard Pacific had planned to build five condo buildings with 444 homes at 2323 Main St. The 10-acre site is at the corner of Main Street and Von Karman Avenue and is home to shoemaker American Sporting Goods Corp., which is moving to Aliso Viejo.

Shea Homes, part of Walnut-based J.F. Shea Co., was looking to build 171 condos at its 2851 Alton Parkway project at the corner of Alton Parkway and Murphy Avenue.

Both builders stepped back from the projects in recent weeks, according to real estate sources.

The condo projects still could move ahead under different owners.

Standard Pacific no longer is under contract to buy the Main Street land. The property’s owners are said to be in talks to sell the land to someone else.

Shea’s Alton Parkway project has shifted hands to Costa Mesa-based homebuilder Warmington Group, according to sources.

The moves by Standard Pacific and Shea come amid a sluggish housing market that has some builders looking to shed land they once planned to build on.

Local home sales in the past six months have been off roughly 30% from a year earlier.

Given the housing slowdown, building in the Irvine Business Complex isn’t as attractive as it used to be.

Homebuilders there face opposition from area businesses worried about homes near their operations and neighboring cities concerned about traffic.

About 40 housing projects totaling about 14,000 homes are on the books for the Irvine Business Complex. Roughly half of those projects have been approved or are under construction.

The 2323 Main St. project, which received City Council approval in August, has seen the brunt of the opposition as of late.

Drug maker Allergan Inc., one of the biggest businesses in the area, and Deft Inc., a maker of finishes and coatings, have sued Standard Pacific and the city to try and halt development.

Newport Beach and Tustin joined the litigation over 2323 Main St., out of concern for increased traffic and environmental issues stemming from the condo development.

The two cities also have filed a separate lawsuit against a 290-unit apartment project planned at the intersection of Jamboree Road and Alton Parkway by Avalon Bay Communities Inc. of Newport Beach.

Officials from Standard Pacific and Shea declined to comment on their decisions to back away from the two projects.

The uncertainty surrounding the lawsuits were a likely factor, along with questions about the demand for homes, sources said.

Another factor that could be weighing on developers: increased development fees in the Irvine Business Complex.

They now stand at about $42,000 per home to pay for road and other improvements in the area.

For the homes that were planned at 2323 Main St., that would mean a city bill of $19 million, about 20% higher than a year or so ago.

Standard Pacific and Shea have been among the county’s most active homebuilders. The two sold a combined 824 homes here last year, most at traditional housing developments.

Each has had mixed results with redevelopment projects.

In August, Shea Homes pulled out of early plans to build a 573-home development in Santa Ana that included a 24-story condominium tower. The company reportedly withdrew its proposal due to rising construction costs and a desire to focus on low-rise homes.

And in Los Angeles, Standard Pacific recently backed out of a $34 million condo conversion project near Union Station after slow sales. The homes are being turned back into apartments.

Bogatta – Relocation Forces Flip in Westpark

Address: 8 Del Azul, Irvine, CA 92614 (Westpark)

Plan: 1139 sq ft – 2/2

MLS: R71271 DOM: 15

Sale History: 9/6/2005: $625,000

6/10/2004: $570,000

1/29/2002: $318,000

Prior Listing: 7/17/06 — $719,000 (33 DOM – MLS R67231) – Reduced to $684,000

Prior Listing: 8/19/06 — $683,900 (16 DOM – MLS R68644)

Prior Listing: 9/4/06 — $683,000 (16 DOM – MLS R69211)

Prior Listing: 9/20/06 — $683,000 (21 DOM – MLS R69875)

Prior Listing: 10/12/06 — $683,000 (15 DOM – MLS R70714) – Reduced to $667,000

Price Reduced: 11/09/06 — $667,000 to $645,000

Current Price: $645,000

I believe this is a detached 2bd/2ba SFR home in the Bogatta tract in Westpark. It’s hard to tell from the pictures whether it is detached or not but for the price, it better be! Anyone know who the builder was?

Here we’ve got another buyer that purchased near the peak in the fall of 2005. 10 months later and the property is back on the market. The relisting game is in high gear on this property. A buyer who comes across this property on Zip might think it’s been on the market for only 15 days, but when you add up all the DOMs for the expired listings, you’ll see that it’s been about 116 days!

The initial asking price of $719k would have netted the flipper about $50k. That hope disappeared pretty quickly as they had trouble luring a GF. It looks like the home went into escrow during the first listing but perhaps the buyers got skittish and the escrow fell through. After that, the strategy was to relist the home 4 MORE TIMES AT THE SAME PRICE OF $683,000! Now how does that make sense?

The current asking price of $645k is $74,000 lower than the initial asking price of $719k. An asking price of $645k back in July would have made a sale much more likely. They’ve just been chasing the market down for the last few months.

If sold at $645k, the seller will lose about $18,700 (after 6% in selling costs). The actual loss will be even higher because the property has been vacant since at least 7/17/2006. I was only able to find one loan on the property for 75% of the purchase price. The private remarks on the listings say that the seller is very motivated and is relocating. If these things are true, then lower the price and get rid of it!

One last interesting thing I’ve found is that the prior flipper (who bought on 6/10/2004 for $570k and sold on 9/6/2005 for $625k) purchased the home with 100% financing. This prior flipper made $17,500 (after 6% in selling costs) in 15 months using someone else’s money. The actual profit was probably less because they used it at a rental and almost all rentals purchased in Irvine in the last few years are cash negative. This prior flipper was lucky to have gotten out!