How the Mini Have Fallen

Due to the elimination of lending standards during the bubble, many unqualified buyers were brought to the market. This had its most dramatic impact on prices of small low-end entry-level properties.

3204 Ladrillo Aisle kitchen

Asking Price: $264,900

Address: 3204 Ladrillo Aisle, Irvine, CA 92606

{book4}

Infinity — Guru Josh Project

When I first discovered bubble blogs, before I began writing for the IHB, I used to read OC Fliptrack on a daily basis. The blogger had a particular interest in the Brio tract in Irvine, and he documented some of the ridiculous prices properties were trading at in that community. Brio is perhaps the most kool aid intoxicated complex in Irvine. I profiled a number of properties in Brio in the popular post from two years ago, Brio New World (that post is worth the trip down memory lane. It is one of my best from that year).

Back in 2006, properties like today’s 764 SF 1/1 would have been selling for over $400,000. In fact, these probably peaked around $440,000. Fast forward to 2009, and these tiny properties are now trading at 30% off their 2004 purchase prices. How the mini have fallen.

When you see $140,000 condos selling for $440,000, you know something is very wrong with the housing market. I never could wrap my head around the pricing in Brio. Perhaps I just didn’t appreciation appreciate the special qualities of this community, or perhaps the kool aid wasn’t tasty enough. No matter the reason, the prices here never made sense to me.

Right now, they don’t make sense to the rest of the market either.

3204 Ladrillo Aisle kitchen

Asking Price: $264,900

Income Requirement: $66,225

Downpayment Needed: $52,980

Monthly Equity Burn: $2,207

Purchase Price: $370,000

Purchase Date: 4/28/2004

Address: 3204 Ladrillo Aisle, Irvine, CA 92606

Beds: 1
Baths: 1
Sq. Ft.: 786
$/Sq. Ft.: $337
Lot Size:
Property Type: Condominium
Style: Contemporary
Stories: 1
Floor: 1
Year Built: 1995
Community: Westpark
County: Orange
MLS#: S571899
Source: SoCalMLS
Status: Active
On Redfin: 3 days

Ground Level Condo – 1 bedroom, 1 Bathroom with In Door Launfdry.
Direct Access to 1 Car Attached Garage. Tile Entry, Kitchen and
Bathroom. Fireplace in Living Room. Dinning Area and Tile Kitchen
Counters.

Launfdry?

This property was purchased on 4/28/2004 for $370,000. The owner used a $333,000 first mortgage and a $37,000 downpayment. On 10/27/2004 she opened a HELOC for $37,000 to extract her downpayment. This was purely a speculative “investment” and when the values went south, the owner stopped paying. The lender picked this up at foreclosure auction for $293,232 on 1/26/2009.

If it sells for its current asking price, the total loss will be $120,994 after a 6% commission.

This property is trading at 30% off its 2004 purchase price.

I hope you have enjoyed this week at the Irvine Housing Blog. Be sure to come back tomorrow as I explore HELOC Abuse Laguna Beach Style, and come back next week as we
continue chronicling ‘the seventh circle of real estate hell.’ Have a great weekend.

🙂

{book5}

Here’s my key
Philosophy
A freak like me
Just needs infinity

Relax
Take your time

And take your time
To trust in me
And you will find
Infinity, infinity

Infinity — Guru Josh Project

49 thoughts on “How the Mini Have Fallen

  1. louisrasera

    IR

    I hate to enter this under astute aber if the lender loaned 333000 and she stopped paying why would they “pick it up” at auction for 293000.That seems like a greater loss than a buck twenty..

    1. IrvineRenter

      Asking price minus 6% is $249,006 ($264,900 – $15894 = $249,006). This is the amount recovered after foreclosure.

      Original purchase price minus the amount of recovery is $120,994 ($370,000 – $249,006 = $120,994). This is the total loss I reported.

      Since the owner got back her downpayment with a HELOC, this loss is entirely absorbed by the lenders.

  2. Derek

    Take one step in the front door and you’re standing in front of the fireplace. Two steps in and you’re standing in front of the TV. And I’m fairly sure I can reach out and touch both sides of that kitchen.

    I realize that this kind of housing is pitched at me (single guy) but if I have to pay that kind of money (plus association fees!) to live in a place that small, I’d rather rent.

    1. winstongator

      This seems to me to be much more of a rental, but think of what a great investment it will be and how much you’ll have gained when you sell it.

      I had been under the impression that 2nd homes and investments required much higher than normal dp’s. I guess things got so bad that a 10% dp was much higher than normal. Did the ‘investor’ ever rent it?

      Would this rent for $2000/month? How much do comparable units rent for?

      1. Chuck Ponzi

        Wha?

        Is this a troll?

        $2000/month? Are you serious? A 1 bedroom?

        At a time when 4 bedroom 2000 sq ft homes in Laguna Niguel are renting for $2500/month for close to the beach and 3X the space with a back yard and view?

        I’d find it hilarious if they could get $1300 in this market. Seriously. And then, you’ll have turnover like mad.

        1. ockurt

          They could get $1300/month pretty easily. I lived in one of the bigger units upstairs and my neighbor below rents his 1/1 out for about $1500/month.

          Westpark is pretty popular and there’s a K-8 school right down the street that seems to be well-regarded.

          1. ockurt

            I was referring to the neighborhood as a whole, but you are correct…generally these 1/1 units appeal to singles or married couples w/o kids. I have seen a few single moms/dads with kids in them, however.

            The bigger units appeal to small families which would have more interest in the school system but even if you buy the 1/1, and don’t have kids, the value would be higher because of the schools.

            All of the units in Brio make pretty good rentals/owner-occupied residences because of the proximity to UCI and job markets. I’m in escrow on my Brio property right now, for a fairly healthy price…hope it sticks!

          2. Chuck in Newport

            You say “pretty easily.” But much has happened in the last six months or so, and those leases that will be coming up in the months to come may not be as high. What someone is under lease for right now may have been agreed to a year or longer ago, and things are a bit different now. People’s ability to re-negotiate is probably there in most areas. I for one will either be re-negotiating or moving in the next few months. Needless to say, 2000/mo. is a bit steep for a one-bedroom.

          3. ockurt

            True, but I know what these things rent for and $1300/month is realistic for this unit.

            $2000/month is a different story. I’d be lucky to get that on my bigger 2/2 unit with upgrades.

          4. Mojojojo

            A good friend rents a 1/1 750 sq ft’r in the Avenue One apartments in the Jamboree corridor (I know it is not the same but somewhat of a comp). He signed a lease in Sept. 2008 for $1,450 per month. He told me he is currently seeing a bunch of ads for his exact same unit for $1300 to $1350. He thinks it is not unreasonable to think they will be $1200 to $1250 by the time his lease is up in Sept. 2009.

  3. Chuck in Newport

    dinning
    One entry found.

    Main Entry:
    2din
    Function:
    verb
    Inflected Form(s):
    dinned; din·ning
    Date:
    before 12th century

    intransitive verb : to make a loud noise transitive verb 1 : to assail with loud continued noise 2 : to impress by insistent repetition —often used with into

    1. Alan

      I am more intrigued by the “Bathroom with In Door Launfdry”. How do you fit a Launfdry into the bathroom door, while still having both a functional bathroom and Launfdry (whatever that is)? I guess since it is a single person dwelling, you don’t really need to use the bathroom door very often.

    1. AZDavidPhx

      Good lord, I hope not. I’m thinking 100K tops. This thing would fetch 50-60K in Phoenix.

        1. Chuck in Newport

          If something like this brings in 200K, we are not anywhere near a bottom or I’ll never own a house anywhere near Irvine!

      1. Gemina13

        Depending upon the neighborhood, sure. In Paradise Valley or Scottsdale, it’d be $50 – 60K. Otherwise, somewhere along Encanto Village, or Alhambra, closer to $30 – 40K.

        But as people keep reminding us here, Phoenix is a hellhole and no wonder housing’s so low-priced. :/ If you told most people how cheap it really is to build these overpriced dovecots, they’d blow a vein. Maybe two.

      2. Geotpf

        How about we split the difference and say $150k? I don’t think this will ever go to $100k in Irvine.

      1. Geotpf

        Admittedly, that was a fairly unique situation. They were vandalized ex-models sitting in unfinished streets in the middle of nowhere. The bank would have had to repaired the houses, finished the streets, and then sold the four houses sitting in this huge empty field. There’s no chance those would sell for more than it would cost to finish the streets, repair them, and prepare them for sale. Plus, the bank couldn’t just hold on to them until the market recovers because both the houses and the streets didn’t pass code and the city was threatening to fine the bank until they fixed them up or tore them down. The person who filmed them is a Ron Paul libertarian type who blames the tear down on the city enforcing their building codes.

        This is not a situation that will come up regularily. Now, a slightly more common thing will be that a old home in poor condition, either in “the hood” or the middle of nowhere, is torn down because it’s not worth the costs to fix up, and the vacant property is attractive to vandals/bums/gangs/druggies/squatters and will probably burn down eventually due one of the above groups. The only difference between that and these houses is the fact the houses in question are brand new (but they were in the same poor condition due to vandals and the unfinished surrounding infastructure).

  4. thrifty

    Irvine Renter: I’m a little confused by the price-to-rent ratios evidenced by the Gross Rent Multiplier in your book. The book gives a rule of thumb of 100 (100 x mo. rent = selling price). However, during the last 2-3 mos., I’ve rarely seen a GRM anywhere near that low on this blog, even in discussions on non-Irvine properties.
    Question regarding Irvine: What is the GRM you use for Irvine properties (or the low-high GRM range if a single value isn’t usable)?

    1. IrvineRenter

      Rental parity at the time I wrote the book was at 160 times rent (157 in the book). Since then interest rates have dropped so much that it is probably closer to 175 today–at least temporarily while interest rates are artificially manipulated.

      Cashflow investor levels for a GRM have historically been closer to 100; although with lower interest rates it now hovers between 120 and 135.

      There was a link to a property yesterday in Riverside that is a 1992 rollback that is trading at a GRM less than 100.

    1. Lee in Irvine

      David … that’s classic. The dog defecating on the carpet. And is that a Barbie Nagle? And how about that plastic furniture.

      1. AZDavidPhx

        I’m telling you, Irvine Barbie is the next big thing. The Malibu Beach House has nothing on the Irvine condo.

  5. SF Frank

    I saw a great term to describe the current optimism:

    Hopium

    The addiction continues, but you can never feel like you did the first time. You can always chase it though…

    Thanks to Charles Hugh Smith: http://www.oftwominds.com/

  6. last white man in irvine

    Don’t worry I’m sure some korean/chinese/fillipino/thai/vietnamese/japenese/indian/persian/arab/sri lanka family will snatch this one up.

    1. cashmoneymillionaire

      Good idea last white man in Irvine. Realtors should be courting cash rich foreigners (chinese, korean, indian, middle easterners) to buy up the excess housing inventory. Since these foreigners are usually more prudent with saving and generally have higher household incomes, they’ll have the money to buy with larger down payments and will likely have less trouble obtaining loans.

  7. Artemio

    Crazy-listing-realtard-speak of the day:

    Everyone has read the do’s and Don’ts of every aspect of life. This homme is the perfect example of the do’s and the don’ts of building or remodeling your home. YOU MUST VIEW THIS HOME to see first hand the importance of building permits in a community, THIS IS A FIXER. Close to schools and shopping. CASH ONLY!

    http://www.trulia.com/property/1078387465-945-Marylin-Ave-Livermore-CA-94551

    homme=man in french

  8. OC Progressive

    LOL!

    I was in one of the condos in this development yesterday picking up a lens I bought on craigslist.

    Construction like this is worth at most $150 a square foot.

    It’s got a long way to go down, and the association fees could go up substantially.

  9. Lee in Irvine

    More folly per DataQuick:

    92602 ~ $630,000 ~ -2.6%
    92603 ~ $702,500 ~ -42.8%
    92604 ~ $477,500 ~ -13.0%
    92606 ~ $547,000 ~ -6.1%
    92612 ~ $417,500 ~ -9.2%
    92614 ~ $400,000 ~ -40.5%
    92618 ~ $469,750 ~ -3.9%
    92620 ~ $620,000 ~ -11.4%

    Every – Single, Zip Code, Again.

    But don’t worry … we’re almost at rental parity in many cheap, junky, Irvine condos. LoL

    1. Lee in Irvine

      Per Redfin

      92603 Single-Family Home

      Median Listing per SQFT ~ $481
      Median Selling per SQFT ~ $382 <--- LOL

    1. louisrasera

      ok.. damn… chill.. “bitter much” is a little girls expression i borrowed from the movie “heathers” and i thought it appropo for you…and rasera is not a spanish name.. it is the swedish word for destuction but i do mucho gusto beans…adios chica

  10. terry ellis

    “Bitter much ? Racists who cant spell…how odd ”

    You have a lot nerve criticizing others spelling, bean head.

  11. newbie2008

    Another bear trap is for calculating rental parity as a good price to purchase. If the current interest rate is very low, especially by manipulation, but later the rates goes up and wages are stagnant or go down, the house price will go down down down. Rents will also go down with high unemployment and wage reductions. Job relocation usually means forced home sale.
    Wages are the last sector to go up during inflationary periods (although business’ and govt claim wages are the cause of inflation). Wages are unlikely to go up with 8% unemployment except in a welfare state or union state (socialist environments such as some EU countries, few corporate gravy jobs or govt jobs).
    I’m optimism, but haven’t been snorting nor free basing Obamaium.

Comments are closed.