When you feel all alone

You feel like you can’t face they day

Let me be the one you call

You’re not alone

Because there has always been heartache and pain

You’ll breath again

Crash and Burn — Savage Garden

.

.

Asking Price: $489,900

Income Requirement: $122,475

Downpayment Needed: $97,980

Monthly Equity Burn: $4,082

Purchase Price: $563,790

Purchase Date: 10/25/2007

Address: 322 Quail Ridge, Irvine, CA 92603

Sales History

Date………………..Price

10/25/2007 $563,790

09/28/2006 $640,000

10/31/2005 $537,000

Quail Ridge at its Best. Gorgeous unit with granite counters in kitchen, ceramic tile and breakfast bar. Cozy fireplace in living room with built in media niche. Ample storage. Great location and close to shops and toll road.

Do you like how they carefully staged the garbage can in front of this very ugly front elevation? Judging by the shadows cast from the condos on the other side of the street, this ally/street must feel like a concrete valley.

.

.

When I first came out with my predictions of a 40% decline in the median home price early last year, I knew it would take a long time for prices to drop down to those levels. Many bloggers saw the credit crunch coming because of the onslaught of defaults are REOs, but I must admit I have been surprised by the speed of the correction since the credit crunch has taken hold. Today’s unit is priced 23% below its peak purchase price from less than a year and a half ago. The mortgage history on this property is unclear. There appears to have been a straw buyer in May 2007, but there is little information on this sale. It is difficult to tell who is losing here, but if this property sells at its current asking price, and there is a 6% commission paid, the total loss from the peak would be $179,494. That is a lot of money to lose on a 2 bedroom condo.

The damage is done

Walking off a cliff again

You’ve used all your tricks

Walking off a cliff again

Walking Off a Cliff Again — The Mint Chicks

.

.

Isn’t this what the market is doing: Walking off a cliff again? The realtors have used all their tricks, and their lies don’t stick, and the sellers don’t want to admit, the market is walking off a cliff again.

Today, I am introducing a new line in the property data: Monthly Equity Burn. Since prices have dropped more than 10% in the last year, and since this trend will likely continue for the next 2 years, anyone who buys now will see a 10% per year decline in the value of their property. If you divide this 10% by 12, you arrive at the monthly loss of equity any buyer will endure for the next 2 years. Look at it as part of the cost of ownership, or call it “equity evaporation,” but it is the reality of our market, and buyers should be educated to its presence and its effect.

Asking Price: $449,900

Income Requirement: $112,475

Downpayment Needed: $89,900

Monthly Equity Burn: $3,749

Purchase Price: $638,000

Purchase Date: 10/31/2005

Address: 20 Edgestone #17, Irvine, CA 92606

1st Loan $504,000

2nd Mtg. $126,000

Downpayment $8,000

Light and bright unit, this one is clean and ready to live in. Bring the bank an offer today.

.

.

The lender is really getting killed on this one. The owner (bank renter) lost their $8,000 downpayment, and assuming the bank gets their asking price and pays a 6% commission, the total loss on the property will be $215,094 of which the lender will lose $217,094. Look at the size of this rollback: the asking price is 29.5% off the 2005 purchase price.

Here is a 3/2 in Irvine with an attached, 2-car garage going for $272/SF. Does $200/SF seem so far away?

She’s a brick—-house

ain’t holding nothing back.

She’s a brick—-house

and here’s how the story goes.

Brick House — The Commodores

You don’t see much brick in Irvine. This property has a brick facade on part of the structure, a brick wall and a brick walkway. I think the architecture is rather attractive… She’s a brick—-house…

.

.

Asking Price: $715,000

Income Requirement: $178,750

Downpayment Needed: $143,000

Bank Purchase Price: $714,000

Bank Purchase Date: 12/14/2007

FB Purchase Price: $700,000

FB Purchase Date: 6/23/2003

Address: 2 New Meadows, Irvine, CA 92614

Beds: 3

Baths: 3.5

Sq. Ft.: 1,887

$/Sq. Ft.: $379

Lot Size: 4,848 sq. ft.

Type: Single Family Residence

Style: Contemporary

Year Built: 1983

Stories: Two Levels

Area: Woodbridge

County: Orange

MLS#: U7005149

Status: Active

On Redfin: 5 days

From Redfin, “WOW, THIS IS THE CITY OF IRVINE! ENJOY THE OUTSTANDING SCHOOLS, THE BEST PARKS AND THE BEST LOCATION IN ORANGE COUNTY. THE HOME FEATURES THREE BEDROOMS AND TWO AND ONE HALF BATHROOMS, DESIGNER TOUCHES THROUGHOUT. A PRIVATE POOL AND SPA, AND PLENTY OF ROOM FOR ENTERRTAINING. .. COME HOME TO IRVINE AND START LIVING THE ORANGE COUNTY LIFESTYLE TODAY. “

WOW, THE CAPS LOCK IS STUCK.

ENTERRTAINING?

.

.

If the bank has to cut their price $15,000 to sell this property, it will be a summer 2003 rollback. Welcome to 2008 where 5 years of appreciation has now been wiped clean…

This is a nice property. It is in Woodbridge, on a corner adjacent to a park. It is not too small, and it has a yard large enough for its own swimming pool. I don’t see many negatives here, and I certainly don’t see any reason this should be a 2003 rollback, other than the conditions of the market. I can’t help thinking the original buyer overpaid in 2003, but real estate always goes up, right? We will keep an eye on this one and see if a knife catcher gets it below its 2003 price.