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Ranking O.C. housing markets by ZIP
2008-09-10 21:14:00
We throw a lot of housing numbers at you. Math, scope and time periods of the data vary. Quality of the reports, too. So we thought we’d give you (and us) a little perspective: Ranking O.C. ZIP codes by 3 key home-market performance benchmarks: Pricing and sales momentum (year-over-year change) plus foreclosure density (foreclosures per homes in neighborhood.) Let’s call them, because all rankings need a nickname, “The Zippys” To build the Zippys, we used figures by DataQuick for the most recent quarter — 2008’s second — so we had a deeper stream of data to compare. We then ranked the 83 major ZIPs with the three slices — price, sales and foreclosure — then determined and overall ranking by average ranking. (Thus, the three metric each got equal weighting!) It’s not perfect. I’m sure many of you will quibble. (And, please do so — POLITELY — in the comment section!) And if you like it, perhaps we’ll d...
More About: Markets , Housing

$34.5 million Laguna home is O.C.’s second priciest sale
2008-09-10 11:52:00
County records show that an Emerald Bay home on the Laguna Beach sand sold for $34.5 million in February. The legal paperwork identified the buyers as Louis and Michu Welch, who previously owned another property behind the gates in Emerald Bay. There’s no confirmation whether that’s the same Louis Welch who is president of Irvine-based LA Fitness International LLC. Sellers were real estate executive William Shopoff and his wife, Cindy. This is the second-highest O.C. price for a completed transaction, only trailing the $35 million that actor Nicolas Cage pocketed from the sale of his Newport Beach home on the Lido Channel in January. The Emerald Bay home (click to the enlarge satellite photo from Google Earth) last sold for $22.5 million in December 2005. That $12 million price jump in just over two years is better than the $10 million in appreciation that Cage got for his Newport Bay home. Why the big price? Agents say there are just 14 homes abutting the sand in Emeral...
More About: Home , Sale , Million

Loss of O.C. brokers’ home sales slows
2008-09-10 03:03:00
August figures from the Southern California Multiple Listing Service show that the dollars generated from the sales of O.C. existing homes traded through the Realtor-owned database fell $49 million from the year before, the smallest such decrease since October. That compares to volume drops ranging from $170 million to $870 million from October through July. (Click on these charts to enlarge!) The number of existing homes sold through the MLS jumped 38% last month. But because prices were significantly lower, the total amount paid fell 3.6% from the year before. Buyers bought 2,349 resale homes in Orange County last month, vs. 1,700 purchased in August 2007, the SoCal MLS reported. Of those, 851 were attached homes and 1,498 were detached houses. The dollar volume from those transactions totaled $1.32 billion, compared to $1.37 billion the year before. The median price paid for attached homes fell 28% to $323,000, SoCal MLS figures show. The median price for houses fell 25% to $529,...
More About: Sales , Home , Brokers , Loss

Newport Beach is 7th priciest U.S. home market
2008-09-09 21:00:00
Newport Beach made the top 10 in Coldwell Banker’s annual home price comparison this year, but slipped a notch to seventh place from its sixth-place standing last year. Unlike other surveys that are based on median home prices, Coldwell Banker’s ranking is based on an apples-to-apples comparison of a 2,200-square-foot, four-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath home in 315 U.S. markets, as well as Puerto Rico, Canada and a sampling of countries and territories outside of North America where Coldwell Banker has a presence. That house in Newport Beach cost $1,546,250 this year, down $71,250 or 4.4% from last year. La Jolla took the top slot this year with the sample house (pictured above) priced at $1,841,667. Eight California cities placed in the top 10 this year. Sioux City continues to be the most affordable city. A four-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath (pictured left) will cost you $133,459 in that Iowa town. California’s most affordable city was Bakersfield, where a four-bedroom home could b...
More About: Market , Home , Newport

Property tax appeals double as deadline looms
2008-09-09 14:00:00
An Orange County official reported this week that 4,335 property tax appeals had been filed as of Aug. 28, double the amount filed in the same period last year and nearly four times the number in 2006. Monday is the deadline for property owners to appeal the tax assessment used to determine the coming year’s property taxes. Darlene Bloom, clerk of the O.C. board of supervisors, expects at least 10,000 to 14,000 more appeals to reach her office by the deadline. Falling property values have led more homeowners to dispute their tax assessments, which were mailed out in late June. The Orange County Assessor’s Office already reduced assessments for more than 147,000 residential property owners because their home values had fallen below tax-assessment values. Those who didn’t get such a reduction — or who disagree with the reduction they got — are entitled to a hearing before an appeals board. Note: You do not qualify for a reduced assessment merely because y...
More About: Property , Double , Deadline

Pimco fund makes $1.7 billion in a day after bailout
2008-09-09 05:42:00
A huge winner from the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac federal takeover was Bill Gross’ mortgage-heavy Pimco Total Return Fund , which rose 1.3% in price on Monday. That’s a huge jump for any bond fund, and the Newport Beach money manager believes it was likely a record gain for the mutual fund. That 1.3% gain, due in large part by anticipating the federal rescue, is not chump change. Assume that Total Return Fund held $129.6 billion — yes, BILLION, the latest figure on its fund fact sheet. So, Monday’s gain equaled a roughly $1.7 billion one-day profit. Some have argued that Gross has been unfairly talking up his own portfolio while aggressively calling for federal help for the ailing housing market. (Such as THIS critical blog post. Or THIS ONE.) Pimco is a huge owner of mortgage bonds — 65% of Total Return Fund’s money is in home-loan debts, as of July, triple 2007’s lowest levels. Many of those investments are backed by those two ailing mortgage-b...
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Homebuilder stocks soar on bailout news
2008-09-09 04:59:00
Day-after winners from the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac federal takeover? Include investors in homebuilder stocks on Monday … The Dow Jones builders index closed up 10.3% percent vs. a 2% percent rise in the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index. Shares of Standard Pacific from Irvine rose10% to $3.96 a share. But California Coastal Communities, also from Irvine, fell 8% to $2.07. FYI: Fannie and Freddie investors were not happy about essentially losing their companies. Fannie fell 89% percent to 73 cents. Freddie was off 82% to 88 cents. Other bailout news … Summary of the bailout plan! O.C. reacts to the takeover of mortgage giants O.C. lenders slash mortgage rates after bailout Pimco bond guru Gross sees Fannie/Freddie rescue limiting housing losses Vote: ‘Will Fannie/Freddie bailout help O.C. housing?
More About: News , Stocks , Soar , Bailout

Foreign home prices in a bigger bubble?
2008-09-09 04:20:00
Think the housing market is bad here? Scott A. Anderson, senior economist at Wells Fargo Economics, suggests the U.K., European and Australian markets are in for an even bigger hurt. He bases his theory on how much the home price-to-rent ratio in the U.S. and those foreign markets rose above their historical norms during the peak in 2004 compared to 2003. “At the height of the bubble, the U.S. wasn’t as overvalued as some of the other markets,” he says. “It was a global price bubble.” He cites this chart, based on data from The Economist and the National Association of Realtors, which shows the percentage the home price-to-rent ratios soared above their usual rates. All four foreign markets outdid the U.S. in the bubble department. Country 2004 2003 U.S. 32% 23% U.K. 60% 50% France 46% n/a Australia 60% 33% Spain 60% 68% Americans, Anderson says, can take small comfort that they are farther along toward the end of the bubble, which is just...
More About: Home , Foreign , Bubble , Prices

‘Futility of payback’ delays home improvements
2008-09-08 21:44:00
Consumers nationwide were slightly less nervous about declining home values in August than July, but they still say they are cutting back on their spending, according to the latest Discover U.S. Spending Monitor monthly survey. The August survey of 15,000 U.S. adults showed 57.8% were somewhat or very concerned about their home value decreasing compared to 58.4% the month before. Of those who were worried, 45.2% in August said they would cut back spending vs. 47.6% in July. If they actually cut their spending, ailing contractors, building suppliers and home improvement stores may be in for an even worse time.  The poll showed that 16.1% of those surveyed in August would cut back on home improvements, up from 12.7% in July. Here’s Discover’s take: “More people said they would reduce home improvement expenses first, perhaps reflecting the poor outlook for sales and a feeling of futility about the prospects of near term paybacks on their investment.  Less people, th...
More About: Home , Delays , Payback , Home Improvements

Santa Ana housing market seen 90% healthier
2008-09-08 13:21:00
Steve Thomas at Re/Max Real Estate Services in Aliso Viejo calculates a “market time” benchmark tracking how many months it theoretically takes to sell all the inventory in the local MLS for-sale listings at the current pace of pending deals being made. Reading his latest report, your blogger reflected back a year ago as the mortgage crunch was fully showing its impact on the local market. Today, after much turmoil and significant price cuts, the market appears to have stabilized. (Well, 42% of the for-sale supply are distressed homes. Read MORE HERE!) Peek at changes at O.C.’s neighborhood level. For example, Santa Ana’s market time — how long it would take to sell everything, in theory — was almost FOUR YEARS! Today, it’s under 5 months — a 90% improvement. Overall, countywide market time as of last Thursday was 4.77 months, down 68% from almost 15 months a year ago. Here’s how Thomas’ math sees the current market by comm...
More About: Market , Housing , Santa Ana

Bailout creates likely record mortgage-rate drop
2008-09-08 06:21:00
We asked around town: Will the bailout of mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, be good or bad for O.C. housing — a place where the median home price is now $200,000 below June 2007’s peak? One thing we learned Monday morning was that traders really want mortgage-backed securities now that Uncle Sam (ahem, us taxpayers) now fully back them … That trading effectively pushed down mortgage rates by 0.35 percentage points just today, reports Pimco mortgage-bond expert Scott Simon. (Rate s had risen roughly 1 full point in ‘08 before the bailout was announced Sunday.) Simon says to the best of his recollection, that’s the biggest one-day drop on record. Simon thinks the current drop is sustainable as long as the U.S. Treasury continues to buy mortgages backed by Fannie and Freddie. Register blogger Matt Padilla says some lenders’ fixed-rate mortgages are back to 5.5%! Read MORE HERE! Here’s what others are saying around O.C. … Ec...
More About: Mortgage , Record , Drop , Bailout

Pimco’s Gross sees Fannie/Freddie rescue limiting housing losses
2008-09-08 00:50:00
Bond guru Bill Gross at Pimco, who’s Newport Beach trading team has come as close as anybody in calling the housing debacle, says that the government rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should shave housing losses. Gross, whose company manages $800 billion in fixed-income assets, says it’s too to early to call a bottom to a horrific housing debacle that’s shaved 15 percent or more off home values nationwide — losses that led to Fannie and Freddie’s downfall. (Vote: Will this bailout help O.C. housing? CLICK HERE!) “Nobody knows,â€� Gross says when asked if we’re near a bottom, “and that’s part of the problem.â€� Still, the bold government moves — announced Sunday, DETAILS HERE! — to shore up the twin mortgage giants’ finances – allowing Treasury cash to essentially help lower loan rates – is “definitely an improvement,â€� he says. Before Sunday, Gross says his guess is that the home market might have had as much as 15 percent m...
More About: Housing , Rescue , Losses

Wishful thinking on home values?
2008-08-11 00:00:00
A new Zillow.com survey shows that 62% of U.S. homeowners think their house has either maintained or increased in value in the last year despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. In fact, the real estate Web site says that, by its count, 77% of homes nationwide have lost value in the past 12 months. “Whether it’s apathy, confusion or just plain denial, homeowners seem to believe the housing crisis affects every other home but ‘not my house,’ underscoring a wide gap between homeowners’ inflated perception of their home values and the gloomy market reality,” says Zillow. Folks in the West, where states like California and Nevada have been particularly hard hit by foreclosures, were the most realistic with 56% saying their home’s value had declined. Unfortunately, 88% of properties in the West have actually gone down in value, says Zillow. Here’s how homeowners in various regions perceived the change in their home values over t...
More About: Home , Values , Thinking

Anaheim adds affordable apartments
2008-08-10 09:05:00
Anaheim is chipping away at O.C.’s lack of affordable housing, unveiling a new project of 63 apartments on Tuesday. Developed by the non-profit Jamboree Housing Corp., Monarch Pointe Apartment Homes is part of a plan to build 1,326 affordable rental units in the city. With these 63 new apartments, the city will have built 400 affordable homes since 2005. The project has 12 one-bedroom, 28 two-bedroom and 23 three-bedroom garden-style apartments. To qualify, households are limited to 30% to 60% of Orange County’s median income. The median for a family of four is $84,100 Rents will range from $498 to $1,225 per month based on family size and income level. With land scarce and expensive in Orange County, the city had to be creative in developing this project. It is built on a vacant parcel on West Crescent Avenue that was left over from the I-5 freeway expansion. Jamboree used some creative financing, combining public and private funds. It also was selected among project...
More About: Apartments , Anaheim

Insider Q&A hears tax twists in housing bailout bill
2008-08-09 09:05:00
The housing rescue plan passed by Congress last month and signed by the President was ballyhooed as an effort to help an estimated 400,000 homeowners who are in trouble on their mortgages keep their homes. But the massive bill included much more. Leonard Wright, a San Diego-based CPA and chair of CalCPAs state personal financial planning committee, explains some of the tax changes in the new legislation — some good, some not so good — that affect homeowners. Us: The new law has some downside for vacation or rental home owners who subsequently make the property their primary residence. Let’s say a couple buys a rental property in 2008 for $500,000. After 10 years, they move in making it their primary residence. Fifteen years later they sell it for $1.2 million, a $700,000 profit. How much could they exclude from capital gains under the new law? Wright: Basically this affects the capital gains tax exclusion — normally $250,000 for a single filer, $500,000 for a couple â...
More About: Housing , Bill , Insider , Bailout

Calif. Coastal reports $3.1 million loss
2008-08-09 02:15:00
Homebuilder Calif ornia Coastal Communities in Irvine reported today that its losses soared to $3.1 million in the second quarter compared to a $400,000 loss for the same period last year. The biggest bright note in the company’s earnings report was the new homes coming online at its Brightwater development in Huntington Beach overlooking the ocean and the Bolsa Chica Wetlands. The company reported a gross second quarter operating profit of $2.2 million generated by the delivery of seven Brightwater coastal homes and eight houses in the inland areas. Earnings were hurt, however, by a $5 million write-down on the company’s Las Colinas project in Lancaster and the Alisal project in Ontario due to expected lower sales prices and increased concessions. Last year the company reported $300,000 in second quarter gross operating profit but had no write-downs. Related homebuilder news… Lyon Homes prices fall 19% in Q1 O.C. builder slashes SoCal prices 40%, loses $248 milli...
More About: Loss , Million

O.C. 8th lowest in vacant apartments
2008-08-08 22:00:00
Orange County may be seeing more empty rental units, but it still has the eighth lowest vacancy rate nationwide in large apartment complexes, says M/PF YieldStar. The apartment industry analytics firm says O.C. tied with Salt Lake City with a vacancy rate of 4.2% during the second quarter. (M/PF Yieldstar’s survey covered 114,700 O.C. units.) The local vacancy rate was down 0.2 points from the first quarter, but up 0.3 points year-over-year. O.C. hasn’t seen rates that high for six years, says Greg Willett, M/PF Yieldstar vice president of research and analysis. But from his vantage point in Carrollton, Texas, that still ain’t half bad. “From your local perspective, it doesn’t look that great, but it’s actually pretty good when you look nationwide,” he says. “Occupancy is holding up pretty well.” Where is it worse? Try Florida, where 80% of large apartment complexes are vacant, says Willett. “South Florida is doing reas...
More About: Apartments , Vacant

O.C. sellers getting $176,000 less for homes
2008-08-08 17:04:00
DataQuick reports that the median home price in Orange County dropped 27.3% over the year ending in late July to $469,000. That means home sellers are getting around $176,000 less than what they could have received last summer, though individual sales can vary substantially from the median. Latest home-selling stats from DataQuick for the 22 business days ended July 22 show that O.C. homebuying runs +1.7% vs. a year ago. July could be first month in nearly three years for sales to exceed a year ago — the last time that happened was September 2005. (CLICK HERE for ZIP-by-ZIP sortable chart.) It’s been quite a fall from the top: • Single-family homes are off $195,000 or 27% below the peak of $720,000 hit in June 2007. • Condos are off $140,000 or 30% below the peak of $470,000 hit in March ‘06. • Newly built homes are off $265,000 or 31% below the peak of $864,000 hit in February 2005. • Overall, the countywide median is off $176,000 or 27% below the ...
More About: Homes , Sellers

O.C. renters seek more roommates
2008-08-08 02:00:00
Tenants at the county’s bigger apartment complexes, at least, are starting to again favor roommate-friendly units that offer a chance to split the rent check. This pattern fits in with other penny-pinching habits we’ve seen around town, and is another challenge trend in what’s become a tough market for landlords. Look at Orange County rent stats from RealFacts, whose last landlord survey showed average 2008 rents for one-bedroom, one-bath apartments were rising at a 2.2% annual rate. That rise is on par with the overall market’s rent hikes — see the chart of year-to-year change: 1-bed/1-bath is blue; overall market is in orange (Click on it for a bigger version.) But note the change in pricing patterns. In each of the previous four years, rents for the one-bedroom, one-bath units had risen faster than the overall market. (Apparently, there’s a glut of one bedroom pads in Manhattan, too, the N.Y. Times reports.) “There is quite a bit of anecdotal...
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Tell us ‘O.C.’s hottest housing market’
2008-08-07 19:01:00
The builder consultants at Real Estate Economics recent ranked the Huntington Beach/Seal Beach area as Orange County’s hottest housing market. (Read more about that HERE!) We figured you had an opinion, too. So using the same 12 slices of O.C. that these consultants track, why don’t you pick from the dozen neighborhoods listed below what you think is O.C.’s best-performing housing market. (Note: These markets are listed in order of Real Estate Economics’ second quarter rankings.) O.C.'s best bet ... Huntington/Seal Beach Irvine/Tustin Westminster/Garden Grove/Stanton/Los Al/Buena Park/Cypress Fountain Valley/Santa Ana/Costa Mesa Laguna Niguel/Dana Pt./S. Laguna Orange/Anaheim/Villa Park Brea/Fullerton/Placentia/Yorba Linda/La Habra Newport Bch./Corona Del Mar/Laguna Bch. San Juan ...
More About: Market , Housing

Foreclosure refugees skipping apartments
2008-08-07 09:05:00
A new nationwide National Multi Housing Council study says owners of the biggest apartments are seeing very few applicants applying to rent after a foreclosure. NMHC says apartment industry data show only 2% to 6% of all apartment applicants were seeking to rent after running into trouble with their mortgage. In fact, only 23.5% of apartment applicants have ever even had a mortgage, according to First Advantage SafeRent, which does apartment applicant screening.  Only 5.4% of those with previous mortgages had ever been 90 days behind or defaulted. Experts have several theories about why there hasn’t been a flood of foreclosure refugees into apartments: Foreclosure s may involve investment properties Some are renting houses rather than apartments Those with credit problems are applying for units that don’t screen applicants They could  be moving in with family. That doesn’t mean the coast is clear, notes the study, “Renter Credit Quality in a Volatile Housi...
More About: Apartments , Refugees

House payments a worry around the globe
2008-08-07 02:30:00
A new Financial Times/Harris poll of adults in the U.S. and four European countries, taken from July 2-14, shows people in France are the least worried about losing their place because they can’t pay the rent or mortgage. Only 2% of French adults surveyed were extremely concerned compared to 4% in the U.S., Great Britain and Germany. Spain was the real downer — 10% are living in fear of losing the roof over their head and 60% of Spaniards are worried to some degree. U.S. residents overall seemed fairly optimistic — 61% profess no concerns about being able to stay put. In fact, 62% of U.S. tenants surveyed didn’t even think they would get a rent increase in the next year, second only to Germany where 70% think rents will remain the same. And our amies in France? They have the largest group that is expecting a rent increase, 70% of the French surveyed think rents are going up. Here’s the results from when Harris pollsters asked:“Thinking to the next 12 ...
More About: House , Globe , Worry

Sublet glut hits office rents
2008-08-06 21:00:00
As sublet office space pours onto the O.C. market, landlords are having a tougher time getting asking rents for direct space, says Studley Inc.’s latest report. The real estate services company, which represents office tenants, says the county had  2.4 million square feet of office space on the market in the second quarter.  The overall asking rent countywide fell to $31.13 per square foot , 3.8% lower than the same period last year. It was the second quarter in a row rents were down. But the gap between asking rents for sublet space and asking rent for direct space was the most telling stat. In the hard-hit airport area, which has seen a major jump in vacancies due to the mortgage meltdown, asking rent for sublet space was 23.3% less than for direct space. Things were even worse in South County where the asking rate for sublet space was 34% lower than for direct space. “The distress that many area businesses is feeling is being passed through to landlords in the form ...
More About: Office , Hits

Long commute? Good-bye O.C.
2008-08-06 09:05:00
If the folks at RREEF Research are right, O.C. may face an unanticipated challenge in attracting homeowners and tenants in the future: long commutes and lack of public transit. RREEF, the publishing arm of Institutional Real Estate, Inc., analyzed economic trends over the next five years and concluded that high gasoline prices, rising inflation and a declining dollar would lead to major behavioral changes that don’t bode well for suburban parts of O.C. Among the changes: “Long distance commutes have become costly, particularly for lower and mid-level employees. A short automotive commute, a commute by public transport, and even a walking or bicycling commute has become more appealing. Thus, demand will increase for residential locations with good access to employment centers and will decrease for peripheral suburban bedroom communities that are poorly served by transit.” Experts already have suggested that a tight rental market in North County may not just be ...
More About: Commute , Good

Poll: What will Fed do next?
2008-08-06 02:00:00
The Federal Reserve left rates unchanged at 2% at its latest meeting even as the U.S. economy continues to stall, the housing market is at a crawl and consumer prices are up. What’s  the Fed’s next move? What do you think the Fed will do next? Raise rates by the end of the year Cut rates by the end of the year Keep rates the same View Results Related stories Fed stands pat at 2% rate Insider Q&A hears Fed will ’sit tight’ on rates Fed no longer sees Western housing pickup Pimco’s Gross thinks Fannie/Freddie ‘bailout’ may aid borrowers O.C. buyers go ga-ga for fixed-rate loans Fed official sees home-price dips ‘well into 2009′
More About: Poll

Fed stands pat at 2% rate
2008-08-05 20:22:00
Today, the poker players at the Fed’s interest-rate policy committee decided to hold ‘em and keep the benchmark Fed Funds rate at 2%,  just like our experts predicted. The Fed finds itself between two competing forces — a slow real estate market and slumping economy which normally would warrant a rate cut and the fear of ramping inflation which could be headed off with a rate hike. The Fed decided to do neither. Here’s the Fed’s explanation… Economic activity expanded in the second quarter, partly reflecting growth in consumer spending and exports. However, labor markets have softened further and financial markets remain under considerable stress. Tight credit conditions, the ongoing housing contraction, and elevated energy prices are likely to weigh on economic growth over the next few quarters. Over time, the substantial easing of monetary policy, combined with ongoing measures to foster market liquidity, should help to promote moderate economic g...
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Haggling over broker’s commission does cut fees
2008-08-05 09:05:00
Consumer Reports says 71% of home sellers who asked their real estate broker to cut their commission got a lower fee. Less than half (46%) of the people surveyed for the Consumer Reports National Research Center’s annual questionnaire dared ask for a cut in their broker’s commission. Those who paid 3% or less said they were just as satisfied with their service as those who paid 6% or more. “If you’re looking for an agent, shop by personal recommendation or commission split,â€� said Amanda Walker, Consumer Reports senior project editor. You can read more on best deals for buyers and sellers in the Consumer Reports September edition or online. For other real estate news… Anaheim condo sale draws a buying crowd Downscale ZIPs power mid-July homebuying surge Traders bet LA/OC homes will lose another 21% Housing investment off $305 billion from ‘06 peak Or … check out July’s most sizzlin’ real estate stories!
More About: Fees , Commission , Broker

Builders get break from O.C. sewer agency
2008-08-05 03:42:00
The Orange County Sanitation District becomes the latest local agency to offer a builder bailout: deferring connection fees. OCSD will allow the 25 cities in its service area to let builders wait to pay until a structure is occupied before collecting sewer hookup fees. OCSD joins the county of Orange and the cities of Orange, Irvine, Anaheim and Mission Viejo in offering builders various payment delay on construction fees. Kristine Thalman, CEO of O.C.’s Building Industry Association said, “this common sense plan will provide much needed economic stimulus to the local business community.” But, sadly, OCSD finance chief Lorenzo Tyner confirmed that no OCSD customer — consumer or commercial — was getting any sort of deferral of the annual fees they must pay the agency. And you wonder why consumers are cranky these days. Check out July’s hottest stories on this blog: 1. Builders shave $430,000 off new O.C. house prices 2. Walk 150 feed, save $25 mill...
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Irvine Co. No. 2 steps down
2008-08-05 02:53:00
Michael McKee, chief executive of Irvine -based development giant The Irvine Co., is retiring in September, the company said Monday. The company did not name a replacement. McKee, 62, reports directly to company owner Donald Bren and was named CEO in June 2007. He also is vice chairman of the board of directors. Bren said in a memo to employees, “McKee has provided wise, strategic counsel and leadership as he has expanded his role over the years with the company.â€� Since joining the county’s largest private owner of buildings and land in 1994 as chief legal officer, McKee was named chief financial officer in 1996, chief operating officer in 2001 and chief executive last year. In the memo, Bren said Dan Young will continue to head residential development and Rick Gilchrist office, retail, resort and apartment properties. Related topics… Irvine Co. pays off its apartments’ public debts Irvine office trade nets owner 10% a year Tell us ‘How much is Bren wort...
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LA/OC prices down 23.8%, per square foot
2008-08-04 21:44:00
RadarLogic’s newest house-value survey says LA/OC home prices were falling at 23.8% annual pace, when measured by price-per-square foot in May. That latest reading — a steep drop to $302 per square foot — compares to a drop of just 0.7% in the previous 12-month period. Only five of the 24 other U.S. markets tracked by RadarLogic had bigger per-square-foot declines for the year ended in May: Phoenix (-25.8%); St. Louis (-26.9%); San Diego (-27.2%); Vegas (-29.5%) and Sacramento (-31.0%.) The nation’s best was Milwaukee, up 1.1% in a year. To some observers, the per-square-foot measure can be more accurate because it’s not as easily swayed by a changing mix of homes sold in a period. To read the rest of the report, CLICK HERE! To read our recent interview with RadarLogic’s CEO, CLICK HERE! Other home price news … Broker says Coto housing ‘down significantly’ Sales halted at San Clemente oceanview villas $95 million: U.S. record sales pric...
More About: Foot , Prices , Square