Lake Forest Market Update – January Sales Report

January closed sales in Lake Forest, California were less than December, but still better than January 2008.  A total of 39 homes and condos closed this year, versus only 20 last year, an improvement of 95%!    

Single family homes :

20 homes closed escrow in January.  Foreclosures or short sales were 14 of the 20, so 70% of the sales were “distressed”.  The average price came to $498,512 ($270/square foot).  The *median was $473,500. 

The least expensive single family home in January was reported in the MLS as closed at $310,000 although when checking the title records, it shows a sales price of $330,000 with a $326,701 FHA loan.  (?)  I am only guessing, but the seller must have paid some closing costs and the buyer’s loan amount includes the upfront mortgage insurance premium along with some other closing costs.  The other possibility is that the listing agent made a typo when entering the closed price, and hasn’t corrected it.

The most expensive home sold in January closed at $795,000 ($245/square foot.)  It had been on the market since 4/07/08 and had been reduced 8 times from $919,900 down to $799,900 when it finally sold.  If the seller had priced it correctly to begin with, he would have saved 8 months of interest payments, taxes, insurance, and HOA dues, which I calculated to be worth a little over $30,000!

Condos & Townhomes:

19 condos or townhomes were closed in January.  Foreclosures and short sales made up all but one of them, so 95% of the January condo sales were “distressed”!  The average sales price was $209,350 ($194/square foot) and the median price was $210,000. 

The least expensive condo was a 2 bedroom with 944 square feet that sold for over list price ($124,900) at $133,000 ($141/square foot).  The buyer put down 20%, so I am guessing that he is an investor who will rent it out.  With total payments (PITI+HOA) of less than $950/month, that investor should have a positive cash flow of $150 – $200 each month.  

The most expensive condo sold also happened to be the only condo that was not distressed.  It had 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and a 2 car garage and sold for $345,000 ($252/square foot) after 75 days and a 10% price reduction.  I found it interesting that it only took 10 days at the corrected price to attract the final buyer!

 *The median is the price where 1/2 of the homes sold for more, and the other half sold for less.

 

Homes in Lake Forest California: MLS Extremes

Of the 204 active homes in the Lake Forest California MLS today, there are 37 that are bank-owned (REOs), 107 that are offered as short sales (subject to lender approval), 47  that (I think) are over-priced, and 13 that are in the range to sell within the month. 

The current average list price in Lake Forest is $418,441 at $265/square foot and has been on the market for an average of 109 days. 

Out of curiosity, I sorted all the active properties in Lake Forest to check various highs and lows.  Here are the extremes at the far ends today: 

• The least expensive home is a one bedroom condo offered at $107,500. 

 

• The most expensive is a large re-built home on the lake front at $1,650,000.  This house also has the most square feet of 3850, the most baths with 5, and is the newest built in 2006. 

 

• The smallest property is a one-bedroom condo of 610 square feet, priced at $162,000. 

• The highest price per square foot ($562) is another lake front home  priced at $1,295,000. 

 

• The lowest price per square foot ($138 ) is a 2 bedroom condo at $140,000, which is a short sale. 

 

• The oldest listing came on the market in October 2007, and is a short sale.  The price started at $485,000 and is now down to $420,000.   (This is a classic case of “chasing the market down”.)

 

• The one with the most bedrooms of 6, is a short sale and listed for $375,000.

If you would like to check my statistics, or do your own research, please click this link to  Search ALL the homes for sale in the Southern California MLS  (there must be at least one that you like!)

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Thanks for visiting!

 

Foreclosed Homes in Lake Forest California

The foreclosed home inventory in Lake Forest has been running between 43 and 49 homes for the most of the last year, but today, there are only 33 REOs (bank owned) homes on the market.  The majority of them are condos, and the average list price is $318,700 ($232/square foot.)  They range in price from $116,600 up to $599,900. 

 

The highest priced REO in Lake Forest today, at $599,900, has been on the market since March, and has had the price reduced twice, but not enough to generate the excitement that would make it sell.  Located in a good neighborhood, with 4 bedrooms, a bonus room, and a pool, the price seems ok for the current market, but it is vacant, dirty, and needs just enough work to scare many buyers away.  My guess is that it will eventually sell in the $475,000 to $525,000 range.   

 

In the last month, 39 REOs have closed escrow, with 21 of them selling for an average of 6% over list price after only 13 days* on the market!  The other 18 sold for an average of 96% of final list price, after 58 days on the market. 

* The “days on the market calculation” is often overstated for these properties, because many of them require 7 days of market exposure before they will even look at offers, then they allow another 3 – 5 days for potential buyers to raise their offers to “highest and best.”)

The trustee sales, where lenders actually take back the properties from the previous owners, have slowed considerably in the last 3 months.  As an example, a typical schedule will show 135 properties on the daily foreclosure sale list, but at the last minute, only 10 of those properties will actually be sold or taken back, and the rest will be postponed or cancelled.  

Of the properties where the foreclosure sale was cancelled, some were refinanced by a new lender, some were sold at a short sale, and a few were brought current by catching up the late payments.  The properties that were  postponed, are partly due to the new California law requiring lenders to document that they have attempted to work with the delinquent borrowers, or to some institutions being so overwhelmed with bad loans that they just can’t get them all done.  (I also believe that some institutions are holding back, waiting to see what the government bailout will do for them.)

Related posts:
Buying Homes from the Bank
You Want to Buy a Foreclosure?