new orange county register sunday real estate section

Irvine’s Woodbridge is thekind of neighborhood thatyou could imagine might dobetter than typical in a some-what wobbly housing mar-ket.

It’s not too flashy. And nottoo pricey.Yet notmissing anykey amenity.

My quar-terly Zippyrankings setout to scoreOrangeCountycommuni-ties – de-fined by ZIPcode – for

their relative housingstrength. Each of 83 major lo-cal ZIPs gets a ranking basedon pricing and sales momen-tum plus foreclosure fre-quency, as measured by Da-taQuick stats.

While who’s up and who’sdown is certainly a fun partof reviewing the results, it’soften intriguing to see largertrends emerge from therankings. This most recentZippy ranking – based on my

analysis of DataQuick’sfourth-quarter housing re-ports – suggests stronglythat buyers are seeking moremodest, practical housing.

How so? I note that twoneighboring ZIPs – Irvine92614 and 92604 – were atopmy freshest Zippy rankings.This pair encompasses muchof the classic Woodbridgeneighborhood of Irvine. Thisis older Irvine, dating to the1970s, where homes fit thedistinctive common look thatis Irvine’s much-debated sig-nature. It’s where twin man-made lakes – “North” and“South,” with their relatedrecreational activities – de-fine the community as muchas the architecture.

Irvine 92614 – which en-compasses southern Wood-

ZIPPY RANKINGS

PHOTOS: H. LORREN AU JR.,THE REGISTER

South Lake in Woodbridgeis one of two man-madelakes in the communitythat offer residents a se-rene spot to linger.

REAL ESTATE$625,000 / PAGE 4

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER Section editor Dave Petro: 714-796-4930 or [email protected]

These are good days for renters / PAGE 12

Buying it in ...Dana Point

SUNDAY, MARCH 7, 2010

Advertising indexStanfield Group ● 5Scott Campbell Team ● 7Tarbell Realtors ● 8-9Neighborhood Experts ● 1 5First Team Realty ● 1 6

Story indexMortgages ● 2ZIP code chart ● 3Weekly dashboard ● 6Foreclosures ● 1 1Rentals ● 1 2Comments ● 1 4

Oh yeah, back to theproperty. It got 12 offers inthe first 48 hours, Inglesays. “It was like a lottery,”she says. “It was insane.”

She adds: “It was only alittle over 1,100 square feet,though, it’s not like you’regetting a tremendousamount of house. It wasamazing how many quali-fied buyers were willing togive up square footage tobuy that house.

“It’s like its own littletropical oasis. The land-scaping is phenomenal.They took a 1,100-square-foot home and created out-door living space in frontand in back that would al-low you to entertain 20 to30 people and not feelcrowded.”

She says they priced it“aggressively” because thefamily really wanted to buyanother home, not as an at-tempt to create a biddingwar.” We just wanted imme-diate attention,” she says,“and that we got.”

The house sold this pastweek for $590,000.

HOT HOMES

There’s no placelike home in O.C.

This isn’t your average county whenit comes to real estate.

There are estates sitting on ocean-front bluffs, soaring to the tune of tensof millions of dollars. There are homesof the rich and famous, some for saleand some to ogle at. Don’t forget thehouses embedded in scandal: murder,fraud and foreclosure. And we couldn’tleave out our local reality stars ditch-ing eviction and negotiating short salesall while trying to embody a “RealHousewife of Orange County.”

Here’s our first weekly installment.

KELLI HARTREGISTER

WRITER

This Huntington Beach house at 19852 Estuary waslisted at $549,000 and received multiple offers. It soldfor $590,000. The real estate agent said the landscap-ing and outdoor space added to its appeal.

COURTESY OF MELLANIE INGLE

House hunters encounteriguana in Huntington Beach

MORE HOT HOMES ON PAGE 1 1

From Marilyn Kalfus’Huntington Homes blog:

Obviously, it was the$549,000 asking pricethat made so manypeople hit on thehouse at 19852 Estu-ary in HuntingtonBeach like crazy, makingit one of O.C.’s hottesthomes on realtor.com re-cently.

But there was a bit of agawk factor here, too: Pro-spective buyers whoshowed up at the house en-countered a 4-foot long,three-legged iguana,named, appropriately,“Three.”

Realtor Mellanie Inglesays when she first got thelisting, the iguana, whichlived in the back yard forabout 10 years, was lying bythe Jacuzzi, impersonatinga yard ornament.

“I thought he was fake,”she says. “I was takingshots of the Jacuzzi and Ibent down a little bit andthat darned thing openedhis mouth big and wide, andI’m seeing this big pinktongue in my camera lens.”

One potential homebuyerwas so startled when theiguana “came running up”that she dropped to herknees.

“He was very social,” In-gle says. “He didn’t mindpeople at all. He didn’t hide.And he fit with the wholetropical paradise theme.”

To our readers:Welcome to our new Real Es-

tate news section. The OrangeCounty Register’s new sectiontells you what’s moving local realestate markets – from your hometo the housing project being builtdown the road to the office com-

plex you work in. It will be the go-to place in the Sunday newspaperfor everything from connect-the-dots analysis to hot homes, plus itwill provide the region’s top col-lection of real estate advertising.

The Sunday Business sectiongets a makeover, too. We’ll high-

light the Wall Street Journal con-tent you’ve enjoyed for years –plus you’ll get the fresh OrangeCounty job opportunities from ourworkplace classified advertising.

Sincerely, Julie GallegoBusiness editor

Your essential one-stop resource for all things real estate

Buyers shoppingfor modest houses

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Study ranks communities by ZIP code, findsstrength in places like Irvine’s Woodbridge.

The 92614 ZIP code includes Wood-bridge High School, one of Irvine’s high-ly regarded campuses.

JONATHANLANSNER

REGISTERCOLUMNIST

SEE LANSNER ● PAGE 1 0

Operator: salbert Desc: gerard slotted Time: 03-08-2010 20:39 Jobname: CyanMagentaYellowBlack

KEN STEINHARDT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Investigators with the Orange County District At-torney’s Office search a Ladera Ranch home in Julyin connection with a foreclosure rescue scam.

Real Estate 2 Sunday, March 7, 2010 The Orange County Register1

MORTGAGES DID YOU KNOW? Around 37% of all borrowers with 30-year conforming fixed-rate mort-gages have mortgage rates of 6% or higher, according to investment bank Credit Suisse.

Get a Cash Back Rebate on Your Next Home PurchaseJoin Other Home Buyers Who Have Saved

Thou$$ands When They Purchased

Through We Help-U-Buy Realty.

714.961.8442 | www.wehelpubuy.comDRE# 01416432

Randy Johnson, president ofIndependence Mortgage Co. inNewport Beach, author of “Howto Save Thousands of Dollars onYour Home Mortgage” and amortgage broker since 1983, an-swers questions from readers.

Lenders don’ttypically rush toforeclose homes

Educate yourself on banks’processes to find good buys.

RANDYJOHNSON

RICK NEASE, MCCLATCHY TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

Q. How does the foreclosure process work?What is the normal duration in OrangeCounty?A. Foreclosure is the process by which alender takes a property away from aborrower who has defaulted on hisloan. The process varies from state tostate.

The time can vary greatly. Tech-nically, the bank can file a Notice of De-fault when you miss one payment, but itseldom is that fast on the trigger. After90 days (from the Notice of Default fil-ing) it can file a Notice of Intent to Sell,also known as Notice of Trustee’s Sale,and 21 days later (the time varies fromstate to state) it can submit the proper-ty to the county clerk for sale “on thecourthouse steps.” The bank has an au-tomatic bid of its loan amount plusforeclosure fees. If no one else buys it,the bank takes it back and it becomespart of Real Estate Owned on its bal-ance sheet.

It is seldom that fast, as banks givepeople lots of time to get out of a bindand to start making payments again. Ithink that a year is not uncommon.

After a bank owns the home, it maytake it time to decide to market it. If italready owns 20 homes in an area andit has 20 more to market, it would becounterproductive, as I think banks seeit, to put all 40 on at once. Agree?

From the standpoint of a potentialbuyer, a lender who now owns a prop-erty is more likely to sell at a lowerprice than the original owner wouldhave, thus creating an opportunity for anew buyer.

All that said, this topic is complicat-ed enough so that you can write a bookabout it. Indeed, I found 152 titles onthis topic at Amazon.com. I suggest

you look at the choices, buy one or two,and start your education.

Q. I live in a co-op in Laguna Woods Villageand it is now upside down and comes with alarge association fee. When I moved in Iwas working two jobs. I was laid off fromone and got my hours cut from the other.The teaching budget doesn’t look like it isgoing to improve for a while. I have ayear’s salary to live on with unemploymenthelping. I have called many companies, butthey don’t handle co-ops. My mortgagecompany gave me a $ 100 discount for fourmonths. I was told to call the Departmentof Housing and Urban Development buthaven’t gotten through when I called. Whatoptions do I have and what plans might beavailable for me? How do I weed out thescam companies advertising help?A. I am sorry to hear of your plightthat is so similar to others. Yours iscomplicated because of the co-op fea-ture. Those properties are rare enoughthat many lenders decided to avoidhaving to train their people about sucha small slice of the market, so they justdo not offer the programs.

I would work with your existing lend-er and I would try calling an HUD-approved counselor such as the Con-sumer Credit Counseling Service ofOrange County at 714-547-2227.

I hope you can make progress thatway.

If you want Johnson to answer a question,email it to Julie Gallego at jgallego

@ocregister.com. Include your name ornickname and the city you live in – that in-

formation will be published online with yourquestion. Johnson will answer up to three

questions each week, so keep checking backat ocregister.com/mortgage for a response.

More than 1,000 peoplehave lost more than $100 million in cases of realestate fraud referred to aspecial unit of the OrangeCounty District Attorney’sOffice, a report officestates.

“Thenumber ofreferralshas beenover-whelming,with morethan 346referralsto date,”says thereport, anupdate onthe special

unit approved last year.“The vast majority of refer-rals have been direct fromvictims or real estate pro-fessionals to the District At-torney’s Office.”

A “significant number”of cases involve loan modifi-cation schemes.

Several cases were cited,including one in whichthree men were chargedwith 101 counts of real es-tate fraud in a loan modifi-cation scheme that “gener-ated millions of dollars inboiler room loan modifica-tion receipts. Victims losttheir homes to foreclosureafter paying up-front fees.”

WHY LOAN MODS, SHORTSALES TAKE SO LONGIn her blog this week, real

estate broker Christine Donovan, who analyzes theHuntington Beach marketin her weekly “real estateminute,” asks: “Do you everwonder why it takes so longto get a short sale or a loanmodification completed? Itcan take months or evenyears to get a short sale or aloan modification done.”

She lists “any number ofreasons” why:

1. Hard to collect all nec-essary documents fromborrower/owner. This maybe because the banks neverseem to receive the docu-ments until they’ve beenfaxed in five or six times. Itmay be because it takes theborrower/owner or agentsome time to respond to re-quests for documents.

2. Several departmentsmust touch the file in mostshort sales and loan modifi-cations.

3. Often, borrower/own-er or agent can’t speak toperson in charge of file.

4. Investors make the de-cision though the borrow-er/owner and agent maynever speak to investors.

5. Short sale and modifi-cation departments areoverwhelmed by huge num-bers of files.

6. Many short and mod-ification departments con-stantly have new employeesdue to turnover and/or hir-ing because of large num-ber of files.

7. Listing agent may notunderstand what needs tobe done.

8. Nobody is following upconsistently with anybodyelse.

9. The system is inher-ently broken and needs tobe revised.

Donovan asks:“How long does it take for

an agent or mortgage bro-ker to gather the necessary

information to put togetheran offer or a mortgage bro-ker to put together an en-tire file? It seems to methese can generally be com-pleted in about two days,with the cooperation of allparties. Sure it takes longerto get the deal completelyclosed, but not months.

“My question is, if it onlytakes us 2 days, why does ittake the banks 6 months?

“What say you? Whatcan we do to effectuate achange?”

See Donovan’s blog athttp://activerain.com/cldonovan.

Millions lost inreported real estate

fraud casesDistrict attorneylooks into variousloan modification

schemes.

MARILYNKALFUSREGISTER

WRITER

The Orange County District Attorney’sreport on real estate fraud

346+Referrals to the D.A. of suspected real estate fraud

1 6Referrals from county clerk-recorder

1 7Investigations received from law enforcement agencies

29Filed criminal cases

30Cases rejected for filing

1 2Cases referred to other state or federal agencies

1 4Convictions

1,000+Victims in referred/investigation/filed/refused cases

$ 1 00 million+Total money loss in referred cases

Want to report a case to the District Attorney’s Office? Goto orangecountyda.com. We’ll do updates in the coming weeks and months on casesgoing to trial.

“My question is, if it only takes us 2 days, why does it take the banks 6 months?”

C H R I S T I N E D O N O V A N

R E A L E S T A T E B L O G G E R

Operator: salbert Desc: ready for jennifer Time: 03-08-2010 20:40 Jobname: CyanMagentaYellowBlack

behind us, the exceptions being onlyhigh-value houses and those in certainlocalities where overbuilding was par-ticularly egregious. Prices will remainfar below ‘bubble’ levels, of course, butfor every seller (or lender) hurt by thisthere will be a buyer who benefits. In-deed, many families that couldn’t affordto buy an appropriate home a few yearsago now find it well within their meansbecause the bubble burst.”

MOTIVATED SELLERSWe’ll bet one reason Buffett is not so

buoyant are stats like this one: 67 per-cent of California owners who sold theirhomes last year couldn’t pay theirmortgages, says a survey by the Califor-nia Association of Realtors.

“For the most part, the bottom linewas, ‘I’m beingsqueezed out of myhome because Icouldn’t make mymortgage pay-ments,’ ” said Les-lie Appleton-Young,the association’schief economist.

In response toanother questionon specific finan-cial woes, sellerscited difficultymeeting monthlymortgage obliga-tions (30 percent),loss of a job (18 per-cent), and mort-gage payment in-creases (15 per-cent) as amongtheir primary moti-vations to sell. Bycomparison, in2008, one in five

sellers cited difficulty paying the mort-gage, while 11 percent sold because of fi-nancial difficulties.

IS ‘HALF OFF’ THE MAGIC TERM?Look at this list of most-viewed sto-

ries for February on ocregister.com’sLansner on Real Estate blog. We notethat “half off” made a few stories “hot,”so to speak.

1. Another $30 million house hits themarket

2. Condo in Orange sells for half ofpeak price

3. ‘Housewife’s’ short sale has bankerOK

4. O.C. has 13 months of unlisted fore-closures

5. Yorba Linda home tops most-viewed list

6. ‘Housewife’ foreclosure postponed7. L.A. family gets half-off $2.3 mil-

lion Ladera home8. O.C. housewife Lynne to bankrupt-

cy court?9. Would you relocate to Texas?10. Why 107 homes sold quick in Ir-

vine1 1. Are 10% rent hikes coming?12. Irvine high-rise condos set for

sale – again

GOING ONCE, TWICE ...Home auctions aren’t just for dis-

tressed properties.Two homes once offered for $15 mil-

lion, each on Dana Point’s Strand, willbe sold in a live auction Mar. 27. And an-other home at the Strand is open forbids now in an online auction throughauction provider LFC Group of Compa-nies.

Plus, LFC is now offering anotherhome for sale, in San Clemente,through an online auction. Bids will beaccepted until April 15 on 431 AvenidaCrespi, which has three bedrooms, 3.5baths and 3,300 square feet.

DAMIAN DOVARGANES, AP

The current flock of Orange Countyhomebuyers seems to be willing tospend more on the housing it buys.

What that means tothe value of one’shome is another ques-tion.

For example,Orange County hadthe nation’s biggestprice gains for a bighousing market in thefourth quarter, saysthe Federal HousingFinance Agency. ● Orange County

home values – by one FHFA index thatderives values from purchase records –rose at a 6.38 percent annual in late2009. That’s tops among the 25 majorU.S. marketstracked by thismethodology. (The2009 gain forOrange Countystill left localprices off 10.15percent for thepast five years, ac-cording to thismath.)● The Standard &Poor’s Case-Shill-er Home Price In-dex shows Los An-geles and OrangeCounty homeprices were deadeven with lastyear’s levels in De-cember. It’s thefirst time since Ja-nuary 2007 thathome prices hadnot fallen from theyear before – 35consecutive months. In addition, De-cember marked the seventh consecu-tive month that local home prices hadincreased from the previous month.Los Angeles and Orange County homeprices were up 1 percent from Novem-ber to December. ● Then there’s the California Associ-ation of Realtors reporting that itsoverall median selling price in Januarywas $480,790, up 13.6 percent from Ja-nuary 2009. Sales were up 13.1 percentfrom January 2009. Four Orange Coun-ty cities in the state’s top 10 for medianhome price gains in January are inOrange County, by the association’smath: Rancho Santa Margarita, up 38.1 percent in a year; Laguna Niguel,up 35 percent; Fullerton, up 25.9 per-cent; and Yorba Linda, up 24.2 percent.

This trend of firming prices – at leastby what folks will spend – probably ex-plains why many agents are smilingthese days. Southern California Multi-ple Listing Service – the brokers infor-mation network – reports $934 millionwas spent in January for Orange Coun-ty home purchases listed in the MLS.

That’s up from January 2009’s $717 million and January 2008’s $670 million – but this latest Januaryfigure is roughly a half-billion bucks be-low January 2005’s peak of $1.5 billion.

‘YEAR OR SO’ TO GOFamed investor – and part-time La-

guna Beach resident – Warren Buffett’sannual letter to his Berkshire Hatha-way shareholders is widely watched forhis outlooks on a wide range of econom-ic factors. He owns a manufactured-home maker (Clayton) and a series ofreal estate brokerages (includingSouthern California’s Prudential Cali-fornia), so real estate is always dis-cussed.

A snippet of his latest housingthoughts: “within a year or so residen-tial housing problems should largely be

The Orange County Register Sunday, March 7, 2010 Real Estate 31

DID YOU KNOW? Federal Housing Finance Agency’s home-price index does poor job oftracking big-dollar homes because it’s largely based on smaller-dollar mortgage data. TRENDS

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63%Share of pending Californiahome deals in 2009 thatfailed and fell out of escrowprior to closing.

California Association of Realtors

JONATHANLANSNER

REGISTERCOLUMNIST

Median prices in O.C.How three data trackers saw theOrange County median selling pricefor January for single-family homesand how it changed in a year:

Source: Median Change

DataQuick $490,000 +1 7.2%Ca. Realtors $480,790 +1 3.6%SoCal MLS $507,1 00 +1 5.2%

MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE REGISTER

Are Orange Countyhomebuyers willing

to spend more?



Year built: 1970Bedrooms: 4Bathrooms: 2Home size: 1,587 square feetLot size: 9,765 square feetSale date: Dec. 2Last sold: April 24, 2002Last price: $406,000

Neighborhood profileHow this ZIP code compares to Orange County overall.

92629 Orange CountyPOPULATIONPopulation (2008 estimate) 28,351 3.08 millionProjected population (2013) 29,335 3.25 millionMedian age 42.8 35.7Age 0-20 22.7% 30.4%Age 65 and over 14.7% 11.0%Average household size 2.4 3.0ADULTS’ MARITAL STATUSMarried 57.4% 58.0%Single (never married) 25.7% 28.0%Single (previously married) 16.9% 14.0%HOMEOWNERSHIPOwn 61.2% 61.6%Rent 38.8% 38.4%WORK AND INCOMEMedian household income $78,644 $73,295Below poverty level 6.1% 10.3%Median commute time 29.8 minutes 27.2 minutesEDUCATIONHigh school graduate 91.0% 79.5%College graduate 43.4% 30.8%RACE/BACKGROUNDWhite 87.0% 60.7%Asian 3.0% 16.1%Black 1.1% 1.8%Other/multiple races 8.2% 20.4%Hispanic (all races) 17.0% 33.3%Foreign born 16.6% 29.9%Non-English language at home 17.6% 41.4%HOMES (fourth-quarter medians)Price, new $268,500 $555,000Price, resale $720,500 $500,000Price, condo $411,750 $297,000RESALE HOMES (fourth-quarter averages)Bedrooms 3.3 3.2Bathrooms 2.4 2.1Home size 2,142 sq. feet 1,676 sq. feetLot size 7,528 sq. feet 7,186 sq. feetHome age 35 years 46 yearsSources: U.S. Census; Claritas Inc.; MDA DataQuick

32911 Barque Way

BUYING IT IN ...

Each week, the Register looks at the what, where and how of buying a home in Orange County.

This week we focus on a recent sale in the 92629 ZIP code.

DANA POINT92629

SALESPRICE $625,000

DID YOU KNOW? 2009 was Orange County’s worst year for new home sales since the slump began, according to Hanley-Wood Market Intelligence. THE INDUSTRY

8331 MONIQUE WAY, CYPRESS 90630

Sale price: $542,000Sale date: Dec. 1 4Home size: 1,500 sq. ft.Lot size: 7,700 sq. ft.Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 2Home type: detached homeYear built: 1 961

9924 SAGE CIRCLE, FOUNTAIN VALLEY 92708

Sale price: $680,000Sale date: Dec. 1Home size: 2,272 sq. ft.Lot size: 7,770 sq. ft.Bedrooms: 4Bathrooms: 2.5Home type: detached homeYear built: 1 967

1209 POST ROAD, FULLERTON 92833

Sale price: $660,000Sale date: Dec. 8Home size: 2,369 sq. ft.Lot size: 6,61 5 sq. ft.Bedrooms: 4 Bathrooms: 2.5Home type: detached homeYear built: 1 976Source: MDA DataQuick

LOCATIONHomes sold recently in different areas

of Orange County

30-YEAR FIXEDLoan assumes 1 0% down payment, 5.00% interest (5.25% APR).Down payment: $62,500Loan amount: $562,500Monthly payment: $3,1 06Req’d. annual income: $ 1 5 1,227Cost as % of income: 33%

30-YEAR DUE IN SEVENLoan assumes 1 0% down payment, 5.00% interest (5.02% APR).Down payment: $62,500Loan amount: $562,500Monthly payment: $3,020Req’d. annual income: $ 1 44,1 60Cost as % of income: 33%

30-YEAR ADJUSTABLELoan assumes 20% down payment,4.75% interest (7.1 0% APR). Adjusts an-nually with a 7.5% cap per adjustmentand a life ceiling of 9.95%, tied to 1 2-month Treasury average (4.662%) plus a2.42% margin.Down payment: $ 1 25,000Loan amount: $500,000Monthly payment: $2,608Adjusted payment: $3,354Req’d. annual income: $ 1 47,459Cost as % of income: 33%

Payment fully indexed, based on current rates. Source: John Greer

FINANCINGThree ways to buy a $625,000 home,based on interest rates as of noonThursday, no points and $4,000 in

closing costs.

SMALLER HOME:34962 CALLE FORTUNA,

DANA POINT 92624Sale price: $340,000Sale date: Dec. 8Home size: 1,047 sq. ft.Lot size: 7,208Bedrooms: 3Bathrooms: 2.5Home type: detachedYear built: 1 975

NEWER HOME: 24891 DANAELM,

DANA POINT 92629Sale price: $585,000Sale date: Dec. 9Home size: 2,455 sq. ft.Lot size: 4,806Bedrooms: 4Bathrooms: 2.5Home type: detached homeYear built: 1 980

HOUSING TYPETwo nearby homes representing different housing sizes and ages

MORE ONLINEFore more Orange County real estate industry news, go tolansner.freedomblogging.com/tag/industry

Dan Young, president ofthe Irvine Co.’s communitydevelopment efforts, re-calls when the builder-de-veloper unveiled last yearwhat it thought were mod-est homebuilding plans for

northernIrvine.

“Whenwe an-nouncedthat wewere goingto beginbuildingagain, tosay it wasmet withsomehealthy

skepticism would be an un-derstatement,” Young said.“Many of our industrypeers cautioned us to wait,told us we were building toosoon and that we were set-ting ourselves up for failure.Well, it’s said that if youdon’t make things happen,then things will happen toyou. We made this happen.”

The result: a year’s salesin a month at new-homeprojects at Woodbury andWoodbury East in Irvine.

The developer has inkedmore than 200 contracts tobuy homes in these commu-nities – the best selling pacesince September 2005 –since the projects’ openinga month ago. That has ledthe six homebuilders work-ing these projects to, as thecompany puts it, “acceler-ated future phase releasesto meet the demand gener-ated by homebuyers.”

Young adds: “In Octoberwe believed that – given thedata we had to work with atthat time – we would sell200 homes during calendaryear 2010. We’ve surpassedthat number in just fourweeks.”

POOR GRADES FOR AGENTS

Approval ratings for realestate agents have taken asevere hit as home pricesfell and sales soured.

Register blogger MarilynKalfus reported that in2004-05, the go-go days ofthe housing boom, 77 to 79 percent of homesellerswere satisfied with theiragents.

Then came the slump,when agents had to tell un-happy clients their homeswere no longer worth whatthey thought they were.Many of those homes lan-guished for months, oryears, without a sale.

Consequently, just 22percent of homesellerswere happy with theiragents in 2009.

This news comes fromThe California Associationof Realtors, which conduct-ed the survey.

“The reasons for beingdissatisfied with theiragents were more closelyrelated to market condi-tions than to agent per-formance,” the associationsaid.

The “2009-2010 Surveyof California Home Sellers”

states:● 64 percent of sellers saidhomes took too long to sell.● 51 percent did not get theprice they wanted.

The survey also showedthat nearly two out of threesellers initially listed theirhomes with a differentagent than they wound upselling it with.

$50 MILLION DEAL IN THE WORKS

The sale of a 201-homeHuntington Beach develop-ment with a $50 millionprice tag should be an-nounced in the next fewweeks, Kalfus reported.

Blue Canvas homes, lo-cated on a 23-acre patchnear the beach that oncehoused oil storage tanks,broke ground in 2006 butstalled after owner JohnLaing Homes filed for bank-ruptcy. Title to the propertysince reverted to the lender,Bank of America.

“We received more thana dozen offers from buildersand investors,” said Nor-man Scheel of Irvine-basedland broker The HoffmanCo. “A buyer has been se-lected, and we are currentlynegotiating a sale thatshould close within the nexttwo to three weeks.”

Scheel said the new own-ers likely will carry out theoriginal plan to build 201 tri-plex and townhouse units.

It took Laing three yearsto clean up the oil-pollutedland, as required by law.

BUILDER SELLS LAND AT A LOSS

Newport Beach-basedhomebuilder William LyonHomes sold land at a 77 per-cent loss in 2009.

When the cost of lost de-posits and acquisition ex-penses for that land is add-ed in, the company’s totalcost for the sales is $110.4 million, according toa company statement.Those sales generated $21.2 million in operatingrevenue for a gross loss of$71.7 million.

The company announcedthe loss in its fourth-quar-ter earnings report.

“During 2009, the Com-pany entered into certainland sales transactions togenerate cash flow,” thestatement said. “The besteconomic value to the Com-pany of these lots was to sellthem in their current condi-tion as opposed to holdingthe lots and eventuallybuilding and sellinghomes.”

FIRST AMERICANPROFITS UP

First American Corp.,the Santa Ana-based titleinsurance and real estateinformation firm, reporteda big profit last year: $199.7million compared with a netloss of $26.3 million in 2008.Revenues decreased 4 per-cent to $6 billion.

“We are pleased with ourimproved 2009 financial re-sults,” said CEO ParkerKennedy.

Irvine Co.tops ’10 salesgoal in month

JEFFCOLLINS

REGISTERWRITER

JEFF OVERLEY, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Number of building per-mits issued for single-family homes inJanuary in California.That’s up 50.4 percentfrom the year before.

1,908


THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER ● SUNDAY, MARCH 7, 20 1 0 REAL ESTATE 5

Operator: salbert Desc: ad Time: 03-08-2010 20:42 Jobname: CyanMagentaYellowBlack


DID YOU KNOW? “Sold-as-is” means the seller has no obligation to repair the property andthe buyer purchases property at his/her own risk, according to realestatewiki.com.AT A GLANCE

New homes are being sold in Orange at a pace notseen in perhaps five years. The Irvine Co.’s initialsales success at Woodbury has created an industry

buzz. We checked in with Jay Moss, the new CEO of fledgling

builder RSI Development of Newport Beach, to hear histhoughts.

Q. What’s your overall sense of thehealth of the local housing market.Have we seen a real bottom?A. It appears that the OrangeCounty/Southern Californiahousing market has bottomedout, but the true picture is hardto tell due to the federal housingtax credit. While the federal taxcredit has produced a strong re-sponse across the country, it hasalso masked the problems andrealities in the market. Forthose homebuyers who couldn’tafford to buy in the past market,

ing market. In my opinion, thereis a finite market right now andthis accelerated buyer’s marketis incentivized by the tax credit.We’ll see the true state of themarket when the tax credit pro-gram stops, with June 30, 2010,being the deadline date to finalizea transaction to qualify.

Q. What do you make of the IrvineCo.’s recent success in Woodbury?Anomaly or sign of recovery?A.I saw the significant turnout toWoodbury East for myself onPresidents Day. There was veryhigh interest and a lot of peoplelooking at the new development.Irvine has weathered the marketas best as it could, and the newinterest can be attributed to acombination of factors. Thebuilders have responded with amore efficient product.

The Irvine Co. and OrangeCounty market overall has a lackof available lots and the new low-er pricing, coupled with a new

and desirable product, is attrac-tive to people. For people lookingat options other than buying a re-sale or a foreclosure property, anew home is very appealing.

Q. Is the formal dining room dead?Irvine Co.’s new homes, at best,downplay that space in exchange forgrander all-encompassing familyroom.A. People are looking for a moreinformal way of living and usingthe square footage of their housemore effectively. Dining rooms,per se, take up square footagethat is not readily used. Peopleare staying home more and theyare using the increasingly pop-ular “great room” as a combineddining and family room. Peoplewant the whole house to be used.

The new “great room” is notnecessarily the dining/familyroom – but is now the true “liv-ing” room. People are going tolive and dine in the new greatrooms, with the kitchen becom-

ing the center of the home.In line with this growing trend,

RSI Development’s homes arespecifically designed with spacein mind to avoid wasting squarefootage in any area. Dining areasare used both formally and in-formally; dining areas are notseparated into a side nook.

Q. What else must builders do tomeet demand of a public that’s like-ly a bit scarred by the recent down-turn?A. Homebuilders are respondingto the foreclosure prices in a lotof these markets; many have tai-lored their products to meet thepricing demand. However, this isvery difficult to do when there isa high infrastructure cost.

Homebuilders’ fees paid to thecity are becoming a significantpart of the finished lot cost. This,in turn, drives what the home-builders can do. It’s a catch-22 inCalifornia because of the regu-latory issues and the cost of fees.

Housing problems are masked by tax creditBy JONATHAN LANSNER

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

it creates an op-portunity forthem to jump inwith prices fair-ly at the bottomwith an addi-tional “icing onthe cake” – thetax incentive.

The federaltax incentive, in essence, is ac-celerating the decision-makingprocess for prospective home-buyers – in turn skewing thecurrent conditions of the hous-

Moss

REAL ESTATE Q & A

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THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER ● SUNDAY, MARCH 7, 20 1 0REAL ESTATE 8



FROM THE COVER

Jon Lansner’s Zippy rankingsHere’s the latest Zippy rankings – Register columnist Jonathan Lansner’s analysis of Da-taQuick statistics of pricing and sales momentum plus foreclosure frequency for OrangeCounty ZIP codes. Listed below are 83 Orange County ZIPs, in alphabetical order, asmeasured by Zippy math for the fourth quarter: respective rankings (1 is best to 83 forworst) in terms of overall rank for Q4; move from previous quarter, median price for Q4and ranking for pricing and selling and foreclosure frequency.

Rank Move Town ZIP MedianPricerank

Salesrank

Forecloserank

67 -7 Aliso Viejo 92656 $405,000 61 46 6942 -23 Anaheim 92801 $329,500 12 69 7970 +11 Anaheim 92802 $368,000 17 65 6740 -37 Anaheim 92804 $330,000 48 74 7463 +1 Anaheim 92805 $340,000 13 60 7756 -13 Anaheim 92806 $367,000 56 81 2754 +23 Anaheim 92807 $450,000 33 26 5176 +30 Anaheim 92808 $485,000 68 15 5251 +47 Brea 92821 $465,000 24 24 1230 +15 Brea 92823 $558,500 51 34 346 -24 Buena Park 90620 $377,500 35 75 5580 +32 Buena Park 90621 $367,500 22 55 623 -32 Corona del Mar 92625 $1,230,000 83 20 1037 +17 Costa Mesa 92626 $510,000 15 37 407 -10 Costa Mesa 92627 $515,000 7 53 3022 +16 Cypress 90630 $440,000 31 14 2245 +31 Dana Point 92624 $625,000 45 8 3274 +19 Dana Point 92629 $585,000 79 39 2639 +16 Foothill Ranch 92610 $445,000 11 13 7625 -2 Fountain Valley 92708 $574,500 38 45 2172 +27 Fullerton 92831 $412,250 75 11 4655 -16 Fullerton 92832 $290,250 73 51 4540 -27 Fullerton 92833 $370,000 67 30 6517 -11 Fullerton 92835 $550,000 53 36 1678 +2 Garden Grove 92840 $335,000 59 73 6179 +12 Garden Grove 92841 $358,000 41 63 5862 -17 Garden Grove 92843 $311,500 62 64 7183 +33 Garden Grove 92844 $297,500 27 40 7314 -16 Garden Grove 92845 $460,500 28 61 178 -4 H. Beach 92646 $560,000 32 28 2026 +21 H.Beach 92647 $530,000 21 32 1123 -34 H.Beach 92648 $650,000 77 35 3420 +14 H. Beach 92649 $680,000 5 33 2944 +27 Irvine 92602 $645,000 30 18 4263 +30 Irvine 92603 $715,000 78 25 819 +17 Irvine 92604 $540,500 18 2 412 -39 Irvine 92606 $512,500 72 62 756 +39 Irvine 92612 $450,500 36 10 4412 +11 Irvine 92614 $460,000 10 5 62 -45 Irvine 92618 $647,250 70 7 6021 -41 Irvine 92620 $625,000 60 59 3177 +39 La Habra 90631 $625,000 8 27 806 -47 La Palma 90623 $315,500 29 49 6459 +18 Ladera Ranch 92694 $513,750 63 48 1423 -5 Laguna Beach 92651 $1,067,500 81 6 1827 -31 Laguna Hills 92653 $440,000 3 70 7516 -23 Laguna Niguel 92677 $520,000 58 16 4334 +24 Laguna Woods 92637 $215,000 39 12 2453 +9 Lake Forest 92630 $380,000 6 67 561 -8 Los Alamitos 90720 $712,500 37 31 565 -17 Midway City 92655 $345,000 64 83 7029 -25 Mission Viejo 92691 $440,000 40 50 5371 +32 Mission Viejo 92692 $475,000 49 43 2527 +8 Newport Beach 92660 $985,000 80 3 948 +36 Newport Beach 92661 $1,950,000 20 47 138 -34 Newport Beach 92662 $1,647,500 69 56 13 +0 Newport Beach 92663 $804,500 2 1 4943 +10 Newport Coast 92657 $1,650,000 66 9 3649 +28 Orange 92865 $450,000 16 58 195 -50 Orange 92866 $465,000 55 66 2334 +8 Orange 92867 $506,000 9 54 3933 -40 Orange 92868 $341,500 43 82 5037 +29 Orange 92869 $450,500 14 21 3511 -25 Placentia 92870 $447,000 25 52 3782 +15 R.S. Margarita 92688 $355,000 65 29 6814 -22 San Clemente 92672 $564,000 54 19 4150 -22 San Clemente 92673 $620,000 74 42 5756 -3 S. J. Capistrano 92675 $307,500 26 57 6681 -2 Santa Ana 92701 $140,000 76 79 8373 -4 Santa Ana 92703 $249,250 34 80 8275 -6 Santa Ana 92704 $270,250 57 78 7868 +20 Santa Ana 92705 $472,000 47 44 4860 -2 Santa Ana 92706 $375,000 19 68 6361 -19 Santa Ana 92707 $250,000 50 77 8110 -1 Seal Beach 90740 $720,000 52 22 269 +5 Stanton 90680 $305,000 4 76 7252 +28 Trabuco/Coto 92679 $657,500 46 17 3831 -1 1 Tustin 92780 $410,000 1 71 5465 -9 Tustin 92782 $578,500 71 72 3331 +7 Villa Park 92861 $900,000 82 4 1534 +1 Westminster 92683 $430,000 23 41 4718 -3 Yorba Linda 92886 $599,500 42 23 2847 -4 Yorba Linda 92887 $550,000 44 38 59

bridge – was Zippy’s topperformer for the fourthquarter. It ranked 10th ofOrange County’s 83 ZIPsfor price momentum – fifthfor sales power and had thesixth-best ratio of foreclo-sures to population.

With a $460,000 mediansales price for the fourthquarter, 92614 is not a cheapslice of town. Remember,the countywide mid-pricedsale was $435,000 at year’send. But this communityjust north of the I-405 in Ir-vine isn’t on the high end ofthe pricing scale either.

In 92614, you get Irvine’swell-regarded schools, in-cluding Woodbridge High.You’ve got good freeway ac-cess, though some mightcomplain about the carnoise at times. And you’vegot plentiful shopping – in-cluding a tony Gelson’s su-permarket.

Realtor Jaci Woods,who’s lived in Irvine fornearly four decades, saysmany of the recent buyersin and around southernWoodbridge are investorswho see a neighborhoodwith lots of amenities thatmake their properties easy– and profitable – to rentout.

“It’s a wonderful place,”she says.

This value-orientedtheme – the one that makesWoodbridge click – could beseen throughout my mostrecent Zippys.

The 25 top-performingZIP codes had a medianselling price of $558,500 –that’s just 10 percent higherthan typical pricing of themiddle-of-the-pack per-formers. And that Top 25pricing isn’t much higherthan the previous year. Top25 ZIPs typically sawbuyers paying 5 percentmore.

This relatively flat pric-ing seemingly to spark abargain hunter’s mentality,as sales in the Top 25 ZIPswere 42 percent higherthan a year ago. The rest ofthe market had only a 3 per-cent gain.

Considering the many ec-onomic challenges we allface, it’s not surprising thatthe typical buyer isn’t tak-ing huge – or flashy – bets.

But clearly, this isn’t a

bargain-basement, low-ball-offer mentality atwork. By my Zippy math,the cheapest communitiesare also the worst-perform-ing housing markets.

For example, Santa Ana92701 – home to, amongother things, The OrangeCounty Register’s head-quarters – is the county’scheapest housing. Itsmedian selling price was$140,000 – $75,000 cheaperthan the next priciestOrange County neighbor-hood. It ranked dead last –83rd out of 83 – in my mostrecent Zippys. Three otherSanta Ana ZIP codes wereamong the six weakesthousing communities.

Curiously, 92701’s low-low price didn’t translate toshopping momentum.Prices fell 12 percent in ayear in 92701 – and saleswere off 23 percent. Real-tors in many affordablecommunities complain

there’s simply little inven-tory to sell – and whatcomes to market goesquickly. That frustratesshoppers. But in 92701,foreclosures are a hugeproblem, too. This commu-nity has the highest ratio offoreclosures to population –a rate roughly quadruplethe countywide norm.

But the foreclosure pic-ture is changing county-wide – and that may alterthe real estate picture in2010.

At year’s end, foreclo-sures in the Zippy’s 25worst-performing neigh-borhoods – these communi-ties are far cheaper thantypical in Orange County –were actually falling at a 6percent clip vs. 2008. In therest of the county, far pri-cier, foreclosures rose at a15 percent annual rate.

Is that simply a quirk? Orevidence of mortgage prob-lems moving up the eco-nomic food chain – fromtroubled old subprime loandeals that were common forlower-income properties in-to more traditional financ-ing used in higher-pricedneighborhoods.

This trend raises a grandquestion: Can relative af-fordability, good schoolsand manicured greenbelts –a la Woodbridge – beenough to ward off harshrealities still outstandingfor the Orange Countyhousing market?

LANSNER: Woodbridge appealsFROM PAG E 1

Trees are a common sightthroughout Woodbridge. Thisskateboarder rides along YaleLoop in the Irvine community.

PHOTOS: H. LORREN AU JR., THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Aris Morales, 20, scans South Lake in Woodbridge. Hepoints to the tranquility and abundance of greeneryaround the Irvine community as the main reasons he andhis family relocated here.

Frog play sculptures delight shoppers at Woodbridge Village Center in Irvine. There areseveral retail centers sprinkled around the community of Woodbridge.

CONTACT THE WRITER:

949-777-6727 or

[email protected]

The ubiquitous “W” logo ofWoodbridge can be seen inmany places around the Ir-vine village.



Despite reports that sug-gest the housing crisis maybe hitting bottom, foreclo-sures so far represent the“tip of the iceberg,” real es-tate analyst, investor andlender Bruce Norris says.

Norristold hun-dreds of in-vestors at-tending aseminar heheld inCosta Me-sa that theappear-ance offirminghouseprices and

fewer foreclosure auctionsare illusions.

Government repaymentand loan modification pro-grams make foreclosurenumbers appear lower fornow but are delaying the in-evitable inability or disincli-nation of homeowners introuble to hang on to prop-erty that has dropped invalue by hundreds of thou-sands of dollars, he says.

Meanwhile, he says, re-defaults on loan modifica-tions are “sabotaging” gov-ernment efforts.

Mortgage delinquencieswill continue skyrocketing,he says, because:● “The resets of the Op-tion-Arm loans will cause alarger number of foreclo-sures than the subprimeloans.”● “Resets are part of theproblem, but a bigger con-cern is the owners who owe

more on their home thanit’s worth.”● “Commercial loans andcredit-card losses will soonadd to the problem.”● Unemployment is a sig-nificant factor. He says: “I

think we will fall back intorecession by the end of2010, and the unemploy-ment rate and underem-ployment rate will be about20 percent in 2011.”● Owners are finding it

creased 33.8 percent in Ja-nuary from the year before,Southern California Multi-ple Listing Service figuresshow.

The listing service re-ported that 487 of Janu-ary’s deals were “shortsales” – or sales in whichthe purchase price is lessthan the mortgage balance.That’s nearly 28 percent ofall Orange County resalestraded through the MLS.

At the same time, bank-owned foreclosed housessold that month fell nearlytwo-thirds from the previ-ous January to 293 transac-tions – a 62 percent drop.

In January 2009, nearly800 bank-owned houseswere sold, accounting forhalf of all houses soldthrough the MLS. This pastJanuary, they made up16.8 percent.

The combined total forall types of “distressedsales” accounted for49.3 percent of all MLSdeals this past January,compared to 77 percent ayear earlier. The MLS re-ported that distressed salestotaled 862 in January,down 27.6 percent from theprevious January’s total ofnearly 1,200.

Staff writer Jeff Collinscontributed to this report.

Analyst predicts spike in defaultsBruce Norris sayspositive housingnumbers are anillusion that willdissipate soon.

PHOTOS: MARILYN KALFUS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

more and more acceptablenot to make their housepayments. The mindset, ac-cording to Norris: “ ‘I seemy next-door neighbor hasstopped making his pay-ment, and he just bought a

camper.’ ”

O.C. SHORT SALES UP34 PERCENT IN JANUARY

Orange County housesales for less than a resi-dence’s total debt in-

Foreclosure house back on market at $1.93 millionA newly constructed Tuscan-style house in downtown Hun-

tington Beach that was offered as a short sale for $2.39 mil-lion before reverting to the bank in August is back on themarket as a bank-owned home.

Asking price: $1.93 million. When the house went to foreclosure auction, the opening

bid was set at $1.74 million, but nobody bought it. The house, built by a builder who meant to live in it, went

up for sale while it was still under construction.The original asking price was $3.87 million.The 6,400-square-foot corner house at 1 120 Main St.

stands out in the neighborhood because of its size and cornerlocation.

The house is empty now. At ocregister.com/hbhomes, there arepictures of how it looked in the summer when it was staged –a home management couple provided the furniture, set theplace up and lived in it.

Do you think it’s priced right at $1.93 million? Or will theprice have to come down further? Go to ocregister.com/hbhomes and share in the comments.

MARILYNKALFUSREGISTER

WRITER

MORE ONLINETo read Marilyn’s blog onHuntington Beach, go to

ocregister.com/hbhomes

DID YOU KNOW? A former Orange County man is selling a mothballed Titan I nuclearmissile base in central Washington for $3.95 million.HOT HOMES

From the South Coast Homes blog:A bank-owned property in San Juan Ca-

pistrano sold March 2 for $4.35 million, ac-cording to the Southern California MultipleListing Service.

The house was last listed at $5.2 millionbefore it went under con-tract. It last sold for $4 million in December2009. That means it soldfor $850,000 less than itslast listing price.

It has six bedrooms, sixfull baths, three half baths,is 9,344 square feet on a2.8-acre lot and has aguest house.

The listing descriptiontouts: “BANK OWNED

BRAND NEW custom Tuscan hilltop es-tate on a premium 2.8 acre equestrian lot inthe prestigious guard gated Hunt ClubCommunity with beautiful views of hills,valleys & the Pacific Ocean.

“Two separate residences of highestquality materials, craftsmanship, & fine de-tails.”

The address is 30751 Fox Run Lane.

FURNISHED LAGUNAHOUSE A STEAL?

From the Laguna BeachHomes blog:

A house in LagunaBeach’s Three Arch Baycommunity is being soldcompletely furnished –down to the bedding.

Located at 39 North LaSenda Drive, this house islisted for $5.69 million andhas three bedrooms, fourbaths, is 3,300 square feetand has ocean views.

It’s also located in lowerThree Arch Bay on thestreet closest to the ocean,which is a great location.

In my opinion, it’s hard tofind anything priced thiswell on this street in ThreeArch Bay. Including the fur-nishings in the price makesthe whole listing seem like apretty good deal, too.

In an online poll, 71 per-cent of readers voted thatthis house is not a steal,however.

The house is listed withDonna Pfanner, who fin-ished 2009 as ColdwellBanker’s No. 1 Realtor forLaguna Beach.

SALE TO BE ANNOUNCEDFOR H.B. DEVELOPMENT

From Marilyn Kalfus’Huntington Homes blog:

The sale of a 201-houseHuntington Beach develop-ment with a $50 millionprice tag should be an-nounced in the next fewweeks.

Blue Canvas house onNewland Street and Hamil-ton Avenue broke ground in2006. The owner, John La-ing Homes, later liquidatedunder Chapter 7 bankrupt-cy proceedings.

This week, in response toquestions about the project,Norman Scheel of Irvine-based land broker TheHoffman Co. wrote: “Theowner of the property isBank of America. Offerswere due November 7, 2009and the asking price was$50,000,000. We receivedmore than a dozen offersfrom builders and inves-tors.

“A buyer has been select-ed and we are currently ne-gotiating a sale that shouldclose within the next 2-3weeks.

“The property will likelybe built as entitled for 201units of triplex and town-home product. No majorchanges.”

Bank sells house for $4.35 million

MARILYN KALFUS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

This new home for sale inLaguna Beach comes fullyfurnished for the price of$5.69 million.

This house in San Juan Capistrano sold last week for$4,350,000.

San Clemente propertywas last purchased in

December for $4 million.

KELLI HARTREGISTER

WRITER

OLYMPIC SKATER’S FORMER HOME SELLS FOR $500,000

From Marilyn Kalfus’ Huntington Homesblog:

This house, just inches from the trafficwhizzing along Pacific Coast Highway in SunsetBeach, sold for $500,000 last week. It turnsout that the place has a claim to fame.

After I wrote a post about the property lastSeptember, a reader who resides nearby point-ed out that Olympic speed skater Rusty Smithused to live there.

A records check confirmed that the bronzemedalist – whose hometown of Sunset Beachand graduation from Huntington Beach OceanView High School are chronicled in news re-ports – did pop up at this address in the past.The property appears to have been owned byhis family.

The two-bedroom, two-bath house at 17061Pacific Coast Highway was built in 1932. It’s ona 1,200-square-foot lot and has a two-car ga-rage and two decks. The place iszoned residential/commercial,according to the listing.

The asking price was$649,900 in May, 2009,then dropped to$579,900 a couple ofprice cuts later.

DID YOU KNOW? Job losses, mortgage resets and negative equity are the primary reasons more foreclosures are forecast. FORECLOSURES

49.3%Of all MLS sales in Janu-ary were some type of“distressed sale”

Features● Four bedrooms, 5 1⁄2 baths● Dry sauna● Wine room● Elevator● Smart house technology● Wraparound balcony● Lot size: 8,900 square feet

The house at 1120 Main St. in Huntington Beach is on a corner.

1 120 MAIN ST., HUNTINGTON BEACH

LIONEL CIRONNEAU, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Rusty Smith



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“Investing in Small Apartments”

These are historicallygood times to be a renter.

The cost of renting aSouthern California apart-ment, as measured by theConsumer Price Index,started 2010 by falling again

– matchingdeflation-ary pres-sures ofthe cost ofowning anapartmentlast seen in1995.

The Bu-reau of La-bor Statis-tics re-ports that

Southern California rent in-flation fell at an annual rateof 0.8 percent in January – atouch higher than Decem-ber’s 0.9 percent declineand otherwise the biggestdecline in 15 years.

Also, the bureau tells usthat in January overallSouthern California hous-ing costs fell at a 0.9 per-cent annual rate. The lasttime there was a biggerdrop was 1983. Plus, house-hold furnishings and oper-ations dropped at a 3 per-cent annual rate, the big-gest decline since April2008.

Apartment tracker Real-Facts reports that numer-ous empty apartmentsforced local landlords to cutrent $105 a month on aver-age at the end of 2009 – orat a 6.7 percent annual rate.That puts typical rents at

bigger complexes followedby RealFacts at the lowestlevel in 3 1⁄2 years.

Orange County’s15-month rent drop fol-lowed nearly eight years ofunbroken rent increases.The average monthly renthere peaked in the summerof 2008 at $1,603 after ris-ing more than $500 amonth, or 50 percent, fromthe start of 2000.

NEWPORT BEACH IS AHIGH-RENT DISTRICTWant to live the high life?

Try Newport Beach, whichis close to yachting andbeaches, fine dining, luxurycar dealerships and top-dollar mansions – not tomention chocolate-cov-ered, frozen bananas.

But be prepared to pay.According to apartmenttracker RealFacts, the aver-age Newport Beach apart-ment rented for $1,902 amonth in the last threemonths of 2009 – just $400less than the typical Orange

County mortgage payment.And that’s after land-

lords in Newport cut rentsby $43, or 2.2 percent, from2008’s rent. NewportBeach’s vacancy rate was5.8 percent, or slightly be-low the countywide aver-age.

RENTS AT THE HIGH ENDEASIER TO FILL

Register reporter Mari-lyn Kalfus wondered who’drent a house at $6,500 amonth. Realtor Xuan Transays of her HuntingtonBeach experiences: Findingsomeone to do so is relative-ly easy. Tran told us it typi-cally only takes about amonth to find the right ten-ant – easier than finding

someone to rent a mid-priced house. “At the lowand high ends,” Tran says,“there’s a market.”

$16 MILLION APARTMENTDEAL A ‘HOME RUN’

The sale of a northwestHuntington Beach apart-ment complex that wasbuilt in 1970 was dubbed the“Deal of the Week” by theReal Estate Channel, a Website that tracks property in-vestments and trends. The88-unit Harborscape re-cently sold for $16.5 million,working out to $187,500 perunit, $223 per square footand a cap rate of 5.4 per-cent. A cap rate, or capital-ization rate, is a way to cal-culate return on invest-ment.

One of the site’s report-ers, Alex Finkelstein, writesthat it all amounts to thehighest recorded sale inOrange County in the past12 months for a comparableproperty.

John Nguyen, who repre-

sented the seller, told methe sale reflected the high-est price per unit and bestcap rate for any apartmentcomplex over 20 units inOrange County in 2009.

“It was a home run,” saidNguyen, a vice president ofinvestments and a directorof the National Multi Hous-ing Group for Marcus &Millichap Real Estate In-vestment Services.

Nguyen said there weremultiple offers because ofthe complex’s “location andrarity.” Apartment com-plexes in Huntington Beachdon’t sell that often, he said.

Great time to rent in Orange CountyConsumer Price

Index saysSouthernCalifornia

apartments aregetting cheaper.

JONATHANLANSNER

REGISTERCOLUMNIST

FILE PHOTOS: THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that rent inflation in Southern California fellat an annual rate of 0.8 percent in January - the biggest decline in 15 years.

‘RENTERS’ MARKET’ TO REMAINAS LONG AS JOB MARKET STAYS WEAK

We recently chatted with Scott Monroe,president of the South Coast Apartment As-sociation that represents many landlordsaround town. He told us in a podcast inter-view that rent-discounting is indeed steep,and will continue as long as the local jobmarket remains weak.

Monroe thinks there could as many as 18more months of the “renters’ market.” Rentcuts will subside when landlords find enoughquality customers to keep their units filledwithout resorting to pricing and freebies aslures.

To hear the interview online, go to:budurl.com/yts9.

He also shares some advice for rentersseeking a housing bargain.

$ 1 30Monthly drop in Orange Countyrents, or 8.1 percent, sincesummer 2008 peakSource: RealFacts

MORE ONLINETo read more rental

news updates, go to ocregister.com/realestate

DID YOU KNOW? Landlords use various lures to hook new customers; 6 percent of thosepolled by rent.com say they’ve relaxed their pet rules as a renter incentive. RENTALS



HOME DECOR

It’s a common theme heard from real estate agents and Home &Garden television shows: Your home does not belong to the family pets.

Cat condos, dog crates, litter boxes and toys can add up and over-whelm the space, much like the toys of toddlers pastand present.

The “recessionproof” pet industry is responding tosavvy homeowners and renters who want to beautifytheir space and keep Fido and Kitty front and center.

According to the 2009-10 national pet owners sur-vey by the American Pet Products Association,62 percent of U.S. households own a pet, which equa-tes to 71.4 millions homes. Those pet owners spent$45.5 billion on companion animals in 2009, up from$43 billion in 2008, with $11 billion spent on supplies,according to the APPA.

The answer to cleaning up a living space either forliving or resale appeal often lies in simple, modern

furniture that camouflages what lies within: animals.

The Merry Pet Cat Washrooms are available in white or black, andretail for about $100 at PetSmart and Petco. It has a handy shelfabove and a rod from which to hang towels or a scooper.

Hardwood Hideaways Dog Crates are available in medium and largesizes from Costco.com and other online vendors. Colors include ma-hogany and espresso.

Furniture canhelp when pets

share spaceBy SAMANTHA GOWEN

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

$45.5billion

Amount pet owners spent on

companion animals in 2009

Operator: salbert Desc: arifa rimmed Time: 03-08-2010 20:47 Jobname: CyanMagentaYellowBlack

DID YOU KNOW?


Dr. Housing Bubble (doctorhhousingbubble.com): “Prices are still nearthe trough. Why? Because incomes arestagnant. Maximum leverage mortgagesare gone. Unless you plan on stayingput for 30 years and can cover yourmortgage comfortably, that futurebuyer is only going to be able to affordwhat their household income canstretch with a government backed loan.And looking at that typical monthlymortgage payment for Southern Cali-fornia it isn’t jumping up quickly. In oth-er words, know the metrics of whereyou’re buying before jumping in.”

From Calculated Risk (calculatedriskblog.com): “The Pending Home SalesIndex isn’t perfect, but this does gener-ally lead existing home sales by about45 days. The January index suggestssales in February and March will prob-ably be lower than the 5.05 millionSAAR in January (Seasonally AdjustedAnnual Rate). I also expect sales to in-crease in May and June (above the nor-mal seasonal factors) because of thedeadline for the home buyer tax credit.Although I don’t think we will see an in-crease like last year when sales spikedto 6.54 million SAAR in November.”

From Pigginton (piggington.com): “White Houseis trying to ban any foreclosure unless the loan inquestion has been screened for HAMP, the gov-ernment’s flavor-of-the-month home loan mod-ification program. As I understand it, HAMP hasbeen fairly useless ... But no matter – an extramandatory step to screen every mortgage for eli-gibility will further delay the foreclosure process,perhaps resulting in even more delinquent mort-gages remaining in pre-foreclosure limbo. Thereason that HAMP and the government’s othervaried foreclosure prevention schemes haven’tmade much of a splash is that they don’t addressthe main cause of foreclosures: that many home-owners owe more than their homes are worth.”

Online poll

FROM OCREGISTER.COM READERS

COMMENTS

Surfcityred, on “Fore-closures now are just ‘tipof the iceberg’ ”:

“Is this the Californiamindset now? Abandonyour core responsibilitiesand let ‘the government’bail you out? Many peoplein this state seem to be liv-ing way above their means.Then, all of a sudden, atwist in life happens andtheir cash flow is inter-rupted. Next, all of theBMW, Mercedes, creditcard, big house and toypayments become over-whelming. It is a sad com-mentary for the instantgratification state.

So, are we to believethat contracts, responsib-ilities and agreementsdon’t mean anything any-more? Defaults hurt all ofus by raising interestrates, taxes and every as-pect of purchasing a home.Even worse, it makes it alot harder for our childrento become home owners.”

New Californiamindset hurts

everyoneElmer Frejoles on “How

to beat out other home-buyers”: “Just like any-thing else and it’s also truein real estate, when youmake your highest andbest offers above the com-petition, you’ll get it. Bigdown payment, earnest de-posit, full-price offer or ex-tra without counter-offerand Pre-Approved in cer-tain loan amount by a rep-utable lender is just asgood as cash. Of course, ifseller accepts it, too. … I’drather pay cash for every-thing including buying ahouse in its face value.”

Hondo, on “Why loanmods & short sales take solong”: “I have been tryingto get a loan modificationfor two years now and itstill not complete. I’vefaxed my documents to thebank so many times I lostcount. I am just hoping toclose the chapter on thismodification and move onwith my life.”

Make an offera homesellercan’t refuse

Socali on “Ocean viewfor $235K, but killer HOAdues”: “Yes, there aresome bad HOA’s, but theyhelp to keep homeownersfrom neglecting theirproperty. I have a non-HOA community near myhouse and it is nothingbut poorly maintainedyards with boats and mo-torhomes parked in thedriveways and streets.But as ‘Danapointer’ (an-other commenter) said,nobody forced you to buya property with an HOA.Just like the mortgage is-sue, read the HOA bylawsbefore you purchase… it’syour responsibility.”

Avitar on “2 luxuryStrand homes slated forauction”: “What a wasteof beautiful land, Greedydevelopers could care lessabout our mother earth.Should have been left inits natural state so wecould all enjoy the beach.”

HOA keepproperties frombeing neglected

OCAppraiser on a postabout people who get in-volved in real estate as away to make money quick-ly: “It’s also why you hear:‘You don’t make moneywhen you sell the house,you make money when youbuy it’ Think about it. Re-search, research, research.And please, stop askingyour agents if “it’s a gooddeal”. Pull your own data,or call a disinterestedthird party to pull the datafor you. Only then will yoube certain of the decisionyou make.”

SoCalReos on a postabout a $35 million home:“This is just a marketingscam by the owner/agent.He’s put it on the marketseveral times over the lastfew years with prices be-tween $25-30 million. Hewon’t even let the localagents in to check it outand try and sell the thing!This home is worth $15million tops.”

Researchbefore jumpinginto real estate

On “What does$5.77 million buy in ShadyCanyon?”:

Juan says: “I think a13,000-square-foot home istoo big for a 1/2 acre lot.What’s with Irvine peoplewho don’t like decent sizedyards? I could understandif you were at the beach,but isn’t the entire point ofspending that kind of mon-ey to have a little bit ofspace. Ok, I guess if youwant to stay inside all ofthe time and feel like aprisoner, then you need tobuild yourself a fortress.”

OCTrojan says:“Shady is much more

expensive (newer, bigger,more reclusive) than oldtimer Turtle Rock. Isn’tShady where all the jocks/celebrities with kids moveto? Agreed that 13,000-square-foot is too big foronly 1/2 acre (22,000square feet). That sizedhome deserves at least anentire acre.”

Shady Canyonhome is too bigfor its lot size

OTHER WEB SITE EXCERPTSA recent report by the CaliforniaAssociation of Realtors said peo-ple blame their real estate agentswhen the housing market is slow.We asked our readers on ocregister.com/realestate:

“On the whole, I thinkthat real estate agents...”● Are being unfairly blamed for the market - 44%● Don’t do a good job - 56%Total votes: 336 Results as of 5 p.m. Friday

ON OCREGISTER.COM/LANSNER

ON OCREGISTER.COM/SOCO

ON OCREGISTER.COM/MORTGAGE

ON OCREGISTER.COM/BLOGS/LBHOMES

ON OCREGISTER.COM/IRVINEHOMES

ON OCREGISTER.COM/HBHOMES

Lansner on Real Estate has been named “Best In Business” for financial journalism by the Society of American Business Writers and Editors for the third year in a row.

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9212453-01

On “Hate your real es-tate agent? Here’s why!”:

Bogey: “Since the sellersare the ‘dummys’ and theagents are the so-called-experts (Lol) the reality is:it’s the agents who are stu-pid for accepting a listingfrom a seller who is ‘notrealistic’ re pricing. Bot-tom line: agents reap whatthey sow.”

pdu: “Perhaps the highersatisfaction level in thepast was a simple case ofbeing happy with the dol-lars – a windfall of extramoney goes a long way indiverting attention fromany disappointment withperformance.”

jeff77k: “The only thinggoing with a realtor getsyou access to the MLS sys-tem. … And if either thebuyer or seller is alreadysigned with a realtor thenthe other party must alsohave a realtor. Realtorshave a nice little racket go-ing.”

Real estateagents reap

what they sew

Operator: salbert Desc: arifa rimmed Time: 03-08-2010 20:48 Jobname: CyanMagentaYellowBlack

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER ● SUNDAY, MARCH 7, 20 1 0 REAL ESTATE 1 5

Neighborhood Experts!Meet Your

To Find your dream agentGo to www.OCRegister.com/agents

9209092-01

Tel: 949-285-7534Expect Results, Professionalism and Service

The Coburn Team

Tel: 949-272-3314Specializing in Short Sales - South County

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Tel: 949-280-7536Specializing in Dove Canyon, Coto de Caza & Rancho Santa Margarita

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Jeremiah SecrestTel: 714-928-0553Your Yorba Linda, Anaheim Hills REALTOR of choice

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Bob Clark

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MrYorbaLinda.com

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Brad English

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Jeana Keough

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Patrick Tenore

T h e T enore Real Estate Group

Tel: 714-317-7243Short Sale Expert!

Elizabeth Do


THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER ● SUNDAY, MARCH 7, 20 1 0REAL ESTATE 1 6

ANAHEIM

LOW PRICE & 4-CAR GARAGE!Fantastic opportunity to own a great 4BR, 2BA home on oversized 9,612 SF lot! $349,000! (471825) CALL (888) 456-9235

LARGE 4BR ON A ¼-ACRE LOT!Spacious 2,336 SF, 4BR, 2BA home on a 12,168 SF lot. Includes game room, family room & separate master BR. Backyard features a pool w/waterfall. $438,000. (471480) CALL (800) 387-5417

INVESTOR’S DREAM!Smart buyers will pay attention to this single-level 4-plex in central Orange County. Customized owners unit, 3 enclosed garages, neat & clean. Let your tenants pay your mortgage! $522,000. (471510) CALL (800) 490-0562

ANAHEIM HILLS

LARGE HOME! SMALL PRICE!Large 2,485 SF, 4BR, 3BA home, locat-ed on great street w/lots of privacy. Remodeled kitchen w/granite counters. Master BR w/cozy FP. 3-car garage. $565,000. (471912) CALL (800) 387-7922

CORONA

DROP DEAD GORGEOUS!Get the home of your dreams at the price of your dreams! Beautiful 4BR, 4BA home w/all the amenities one could wish for w/a price of only $299,000!(471582) CALL (888) 307-0052

4,000 SF HOME ON 3.9 ACRES!Looking for privacy? This is it! This approx. 4,000 SF, 5BR home offers a private driveway, secluded location w/breathtaking views! Only $580,000!(471482) CALL (800) 387-5417

COSTA MESA

DANA POINT

GREAT DANA POINTLOCATION!

Completely remodeled condo close to the harbor, shopping & restaurants. Upgraded countertops & SS appliances in the kitchen, updated BA & much more. $189,900.(471940) CALL (800) 387-1455

4BR HOUSE! $495,000!Priced to sell fast! Great for 1st time buyers or savvy investors! Excellent floor plan, living room FP & pri-vate pool! Bring your imagination & some TLC!(471982) CALL (800) 387-1450

PENTHOUSE W/OCEAN VIEWS!OPEN HOUSE TODAY- 12-4PM

66 Terra Vista. Minutes to the beach! Enjoy high ceilings, dramatic FP & spacious living area. Separate dining & large kitchen. Well kept w/tons of cabinet space! Come enjoy a life of leisure! $499,999. (471950) CALL (800) 258-7630

5BR W/PANO VIEWS!Two-story, 3BA’s, large fenced yard, great neighborhood, large front porch, & new kitchen opens to large family room. $725,000 (471980) CALL (800) 387-1450

FOUNTAIN VALLEY

RENTING IS OVER!3BR, 2BA overlooking green belt & play area. Beautiful kitchen with SS appli-ances, large family room, direct 2-car garage access + oversized master suite. $389,000.(471718) CALL (800) 387-7940

FULLERTON

STANDARD SALE ATREO PRICE!

Just $349,900! Lovely, well maintained w/pride of ownership! Open bright floor plan to maximize SF. Termite work completed w/clearance. 3BR, 1.5BA.(471777) CALL (800) 679-5678

GARDEN GROVE

HUNTINGTON BEACH

AFFORDABLE ELEGANCE $268,000!

Impressive entry to large living room. Remodeled kitchen w/SS appliances. Close to pool & spa. Near Lake Park & Main Street shops & restaurants. (471798) CALL (800) 387-7925

VILLA BY THE SEA!Security gated entry approx. 1,137 SF, 2BR, 2BA townhouse. King-size master suite. Remodeled kitchen. Close to wet-lands, pool & spa. $365,000.(471797) CALL (800) 387-7925

BARGAIN OF THE CENTURY!Charming single-story, 3BR, 2BA house w/extensive granite tile located on an extra large, approx. 7,000 SF lot. Seconds to park, tennis, shops & restau-rants. $495,000.(471801) CALL (800) 387-7925

2-STORY BELOW MARKET PRICE!Highly desirable Greystone Keys in Seagate. Lovely home features volume ceilings, hardwood flooring, beautiful kitchen & upstairs loft. Cozy FP & charm-ing garden. $550,000.(471949) CALL (800) 258-7630

YOU’VE WAITED FOR THIS!One-of-a-kind home brimming w/pride of ownership. Newer French doors & windows, bookshelves, cathedral ceil-ings, his/hers closets in master, upgraded kitchen w/granite. New deck + nice yard. $729,000.(471719) CALL (800) 387-7940

IRVINE

IMMACULATE & INVITING!Highly upgraded 3BR, 3BA, 2,125 SF luxury home. Many custom built-ins throughout. Beautiful hardwood & Italian marble floors. Additional room in garage ideal for workshop/gym. Spectacular! $632,500.(471757) CALL (800) 387-7930

IRVINE

AWESOME VIEWS IN TURTLE ROCK!Lowest price per SF in all of Turtle Rock. Completely remodeled, professional gourmet kitchen, cherry wood flooring, fabulous views! $668,000.(471753) CALL (800) 387-7930

LA HABRA

NOT AN REO OR SHORT SALE!Equity Sale! 4BR, 2BA w/exquisite floor plan, formal dining room. 1,800 SF, recessed lighting, crown molding are just a few of the extras. $374,900.(471826) CALL (888) 456-9235

LA QUINTA

LADERA RANCH

END UNIT - QUIET LOCATION!3BR, 2.5BA home w/computer niche, formal dining room, family room w/FP, gourmet kitchen w/new SS appli-ances, spacious master suite w/ walk-in closet, open, light & bright floor plan. $395,000. (471814) CALL (866) 317-4743

LAGUNA NIGUEL

SINGLE LEVEL CONDO! PRIME LOCATION!Wood floors, plantation shutters, private enclosed yard, 2 BR’s, 2BA’s, 1,200 SF w/garage. $359,000.(471981) CALL (800) 387-1450

DISTRESSED SALE! $375,000!Incredible ocean views! Spacious liv-ing room, gracious bedrooms + den! Enjoy spa, sparkling pool or a game of tennis!(471964) CALL (800) 387-1454

MISSION VIEJO

5 BEDROOMS! BANK OWNED!9,800++ SF lot! 2-levels w/great balco-ny views, formal living room, vaulted ceilings & FP. Remodeled kitchen w/ granite countertops, recessed light-ing & newer appliances! $459,900!(471812) CALL (866) 317-4743

NEWPORT BEACH

PREMIUM LOCATION! $379,000!

Only 3 blocks from beach! A town-house-style home w/spacious floor plan. Quaint & welcoming. See it today!(471948) CALL (800) 258-7630

ORANGE

3BR SINGLE-STORY! $269,000! Perfect for 1st time buyers, empty nesters or savvy investor! Popular open floor plan, charming kitchen & large BR’s, granite counters. 2-car garage.(471914) CALL (800) 387-7922

ORANGE

FULLY UPGRADED & REMODELED!

Excellent 4BR, 2BA remodeled home. Master features cedar lined walk-in closet. Upgraded patio area, gated RV. $489,000. (471690) CALL (800) 387-1451

IMMACULATE HOME W/CITY LIGHTS!

Immaculate 5BR, spacious family room offers cozy FP & media niche. Upgraded, gourmet kitchen w/maple cabinets & granite counters. $725,000.(471689) CALL (800) 387-1451

PERRIS

NEWER SINGLE-STORY!Beautiful, newer, much sought-after sin-gle-story w/many upgrades. Don’t miss this one it won’t last long. $224,000.(471696) CALL (800) 880-3909

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA

GREAT FORMER MODEL! $289,900!

Spacious downstairs w/travertine flooring, crown molding, upgrad-ed baseboards, FP & custom fea-tures! Large kitchen w/oak cabinets & nook! Enjoy pool, spa & park. (471938) CALL (800) 387-1455

SUNSET VIEWS! Darling 2BR, 2BA lower-level condo, French doors, plantation shutters, FP, granite counters in kitchen, newer car-pet & paint, patio w/sunset views & waterfall, close to park & RSM Lake. $299,900. (471813) CALL (866) 317-4743

RIVERSIDE

SAN CLEMENTE

2BR W/GARAGE ONLY $215,000!

Great open floor plan, 2 large mas-ter BR’s, tons of storage in serene, tranquil location 10 minutes from beach. Pride of ownership shows! Great possible investment property!(471966) CALL (800) 387-1454

SANTA ANA

CLOSE TO SOUTH COAST PLAZA!One of the largest 1BR’s w/den & 1BA. Remodeled kitchen w/new cabinets & granite counter-tops. Living room w/nice FP. Many amenities in the area. $180,000. (471688) CALL (800) 387-1451

SEAL BEACH

RARELY ON MARKET AT $349,900! Bordering Rossmoor you’ll find a totally upgraded home w/granite counters & SS appliances in kitchen, newly redone BA’s, large master BR suite. Forced heat & A/C, cozy FP + 2-car garage.(471528) CALL (800) 387-5430

FOOTHILL RANCH HUNTINGTON BEACH HUNTINGTON BEACH

GRACIOUS LIVING!Gorgeous upgrades in spacious 4BR, 3BA, two story. Nice interior location near park, this home even has a first-floor BR & BA. $825,000(471717) CALL (800) 387-7940

MISSION VIEJO

SAN CLEMENTE

5BR + PANORAMIC VIEWS!Gorgeous Talega! Spacious floor plan w/full BR & BA downstairs for guests & pri-vacy. Formal living areas, open kitchen & tasteful upgrades. Minutes to beach & golf! $825,000.(471965) CALL (800) 387-1454

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO

TUSTIN/NORTH TUSTIN

TUSTIN/NORTH TUSTIN

DESIRABLE RESORT-STYLE LIVING!Lovely 3BR home w/so many upgrades! Gourmet kitchen w/garden atrium win-dow, marble counters & top-of-the-line appliances. Large living/dining room. Gated community. $465,000.(471754) CALL (800) 387-7930

VILLA PARK

4-CAR GARAGE + RV PARKING!Gorgeous 4BR pool home on 12,000 SF interior lot. Newer roof, windows. Formal & informal dining + huge family room. Upgrades throughout. $859,999.(471916) CALL (800) 387-7922

YORBA LINDA

OVER $500K IN UPGRADES!Dramatic entry, winding stairway & spa-cious floor plan. 20-foot ceilings, wet bars & wine cellar off gourmet kitchen. Master w/alcove retreat & balcony! $1,449,000.(471775) CALL 1-866-548-9098

3BR DISTRESSED SALE!Quiet location offering upscale sur-roundings & close to Yorba Regional Park & trails. Open floor plan w/kitch-en & dining area overlooking patio. $250,000. (471776) CALL (800) 679-5678

6BR, 4BA, 3,808 SF DEAL!View home on hilltop w/nearly 1-acre lot! Gourmet kitchen, master suite w/dual-sided FP, 1BR down, 4-car garage & more. $799,900(471479) CALL (800) 387-5417

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Three great reasons to buy the home you’ve been dreaming about. 1. First-time home buyers $8,000 tax credit has been extended until April 30, 2010. Renters may pay less per month by purchasing.

2. Current home owners eligible for the $6,500 tax credit may use it toward the down payment or closing costs of a new home.3. Historically low interest rates make this the perfect time to buy.

Great Homes at Bargain Prices

$8,000 HOME BUYER TA X CREDIT EXTENDED*(conditions apply)

$8,000 FED TAX CREDIT — ALL OF THE FOLLOWING PROPERTIES MAY QUALIFY• Homes used as a principal residence to qualify for the credit must have a purchase price less than $800,000.

C o n t a c t u s t o d a y 8 0 0 . 3 0 6 . 5 6 3 0 o r v i s i t w w w . F i r s t Te a m . c o m

© 2010

First Team® Real Estate does not advise on any personal income tax matters or issues. The information provided here is for general information only and does not represent tax or legal advice (either express or implied), nor should it be a substitute for professional tax or legal services and / or advice. We strongly urge that before you purchase a home that you seek advice from a professional tax advisor that is familiar with your personal facts and circumstances. They can assist you in determining whether you qualify for the new credit and amount available to you. The material shall not constitute a valid offer in any state where prior registration or if void by law. 2010 © First Team® Real Estate. All Rights Reserved. Federalhousingtaxcredit.com.

NEWER KB HOME!4BR, 3.5BA, gourmet kitchen includes granite counters, SS appliances. Spacious living room w/cozy FP. Low-maintenance yard. Community park w/BBQ & tot lot. $475,000. (471691) CALL (800) 387-1451

ENORMOUS LOT IN FOOTHILL RANCH!Great opportunity, endless possibilities. 5BR’s, 2,650 SF, custom appointments throughout. Main floor BR/office, gour-met kitchen, 3-car garage, Huge back-yard. Not a short sale! $829,900.(471756) CALL (800) 387-7930

SECONDS TO SURF & SAND!21398 Armilla Circle. Security gated entry to stunning approx. 2,693 SF estate at The Waterfront. Built in 2005. Elegantly appointed throughout. $825,900(472014) CALL (800) 387-7925

SPECTACULAR CITYLIGHTS VIEW!

Location, style, condition & price. Everything a buyer is looking for. Craftsman-style home exudes charac-ter & charm including hardwood floor-ing, pool, spa & lake/city light views. $979,000. (471939) CALL (800) 387-1455

5BR, 4BA & CITY LIGHTS!Pool & view! Perfect for a party or just soaking up the sun from your private backyard. This home has a lot to offer including a private, gated community. $879,000. (471983) CALL (800) 387-1450

A RARE OPPORTUNITY!Custom built for the original & only owner, this Colonial Revival home fea-tures oversized rooms & features not found in homes of today. $695,000.(471915) CALL (800) 387-7922

$100K OF UPGRADES!Foothill Ranch beauty w/soaring ceilings & custom slab marble FP in living room, kitchen w/granite counter & custom cabinets. Every BA has travertine/gran-ite showers/counters. $549,900.(471937) CALL (800) 387-1455

MEDITERRANEAN BEACH ESTATE!

Stately, approx. 2,800 SF, 3BR, 5BA + bonus room. Built in 2005, model per-fect. Close to Main Street, shops, restau-rants & beach. $1,295,000.(471799) CALL (800) 387-7925

ANAHEIM HILLS POINTE QUISSETT!Main-floor master BR, generous master BA, walk-in closets. Remodeled, eat-in family kitchen w/granite counters & custom cabinets. Private pool & spa. $699,000. (471692) CALL (800) 387-1451

LARGE LOT WITH VIEWS!3BR, 3BA spacious bonus room, main-floor BR, privacy, RV parking. Open design w/cathedral ceilings. Separate dining room. You’ll love the mountain/city lights views. $299,500. (471581) CALL (888) 307-0052

ATTENTION FUSSY BUYERS!Gorgeous single-story has been upgrad-ed everywhere. Brazilian cherry wood floors, plantation shutters, gourmet kitchen, & marble FP. 3-car garage & RV parking. $599,000.(471720) CALL (800) 387-7940

SPRAWLING SINGLE STORY!1,926 SF of gracious living & large, flat yard. Newer windows, wood blinds, FP w/mantel are a few features all sur-rounded w/picket fence & brick accents. $615,000.(471721) CALL (800) 387-7940

PRIDE OF OWNERSHIP!4BR, 2BA features living room w/FP & dining area. Freshly painted inside & out, new carpet, light fixtures, garage door & water heater. Central air/heat & large yard. $390,000.(471481) CALL (800) 387-5417

GARDEN PARK 4BR TREAT!Beautifully appointed home on tree-lined street. Pie-shaped lot has nicely landscaped backyard w/playhouse, remodeled kitchen w/SS appliances, fam-ily room, skylights & more ! $539,900.(471529) CALL (800) 387-5430

DOWNTOWN BARGAIN! Private courtyard entry to approx. 2,100 SF, 3BR, 3BA estate. Built in 2003. Elegantly appointed & oversized lot. $799,999.(471800) CALL (800) 387-7925

CHARMING COTTAGE LIVING!3BR cottage home in North Park Square. Front garden courtyard w/bubbling fountain, private patio w/BBQ island, hardwood floors, slab granite counters & tumbled stone. $639,900.(471755) CALL (800) 387-7930

WORLD CLASS LUXURY LIVING!Magnificent attention to detail & artistry. Carefully chosen stone, granite & marble accents abounds. Golden travertine set in Versailles pattern throughout. Astonishingly beautiful & only $700,000. (471439) CALL (800) 306-5728

ENCHANTING TRADITIONAL!Encompassing 4BR, 3BA’s & bonus room. Home is adorned w/travertine floors, slab granite surfaces, detailed millwork & furniture-grade cabinetry. $749,000.(471979) CALL (800) 387-1450

CORNER CURB APPEAL!4BR, 2BA w/many upgrades, remodeled BA’s, full copper plumbing. Insanely priced at $330,000! (471824) CALL (888) 456-9235

MODEL PERFECT IN EVERYWAY!Decorator touches throughout, granite counters & upgrades usu-ally only found in homes at twice the price. 3BR,3BA. $659,000(471913) CALL (800) 387-7922

GREAT AREA!Beautiful nice & clean home in great area close to schools, shopping center, Metro Link & freeways. New cabinets, granite countertops & BA’s remodeled. $259,900. (471695) CALL (800) 880-3909

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