Poll: Is the better value in resale or new?

Which is the better buy in Irvine right now?

  • New: The Irvine Company homes (Orchard Hills, Portola Springs, Eastwood etc)

    Votes: 24 47.1%

  • New: Five Points (Beacon Park)

    Votes: 9 17.6%

  • Resale

    Votes: 15 29.4%

  • Other

    Votes: 5 9.8%
  • Total voters
    51
irvinehomeowner

irvinehomeowner

Well-known member
I've been sort of out of buyer's market but there seems to be quite a bit of posts about how expensive the new homes are and how the prices are dropping.

Is that also true of resale homes?

I've always felt that resale homes were a better buy/value than new homes but I prefer the older floorplans, bigger lots, already landscaped yards, established neighborhoods and locations of the various resale tracts in Irvine.

I don't see many posters who are looking at resale homes on TI... I see sellers, but not many buyers.

How is the resale market pricing/value compared to the new homes in Irvine and are their prices softening too?
 
"Value" regarding a home you'll occupy as your residence is very subjective and determined by you. It's not an investment. It's something pretty to enjoy and consume. Whether or not you have a gain at sale some day is a detailed calculation with many factors most people fail to consider.
 
Perspective said:
"Value" regarding a home you'll occupy as your residence is very subjective and determined by you. It's not an investment. It's something pretty to enjoy and consume. Whether or not you have a gain at sale some day is a detailed calculation with many factors most people fail to consider.
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To make it simple, by value we could just do $/sft.

For almost every new home, there is an additional cost for landscaping, window cover or other things that aren't built into the sales price (and aren't added at the design center).

You can say the same thing for resale, as many people redo flooring, kitchens, bathrooms and even landscaping.

I am not looking at "investment" value, just value as in the current prices of homes.
 
I want a new home, but I feel like resale is better value. That said, i'd be looking resale with a solid lot, etc, that is a newer build (so Woodbury / Colombus Groves area). But as I've said a million times, I'm in no hurry to buy. If I thought something was a good deal, I'd pounce on it, otherwise, I'll continue to accumulate assets and live in my smaller home. 

 
irvinehomeowner said:
Perspective said:
"Value" regarding a home you'll occupy as your residence is very subjective and determined by you. It's not an investment. It's something pretty to enjoy and consume. Whether or not you have a gain at sale some day is a detailed calculation with many factors most people fail to consider.
Click to expand...
To make it simple, by value we could just do $/sft.

For almost every new home, there is an additional cost for landscaping, window cover or other things that aren't built into the sales price (and aren't added at the design center).

You can say the same thing for resale, as many people redo flooring, kitchens, bathrooms and even landscaping.

I am not looking at "investment" value, just value as in the current prices of homes.
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Right, if you can find an existing home you like that doesn't require much renovation, you can spend a lot less than buying new. At Irvine price points, these tend to be unicorns because people shopping for ~$1M homes want certain things and can afford to buy them. i.e. If you're shopping for a $150K house in Phoenix you're much less picky and much more concerned about value.
 
Depending on age/home condition, you also need to account for repairs/remodeling. But in general I agree with IHO, resale offers better value per sq/foot. Also many of the new communities are being built in locations with major drawbacks (superfund site, next to freeway or dump etc...). Add in the smaller lots and rising MR and it makes many new homes not as attractive.
 
I am fairly novice but what I have seen is typical SG home goes at $450 or above per sqft. There are plenty of choices in BP at around $400 per sqft. Add to that some $/sqft for landscape and window treatment and thing slike that. I still feel that BP has better value than existing SG homes. Plus, you get to live with your own poor taste in options, as opposed to someone else's.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
I've been sort of out of buyer's market but there seems to be quite a bit of posts about how expensive the new homes are and how the prices are dropping.

Is that also true of resale homes?

I've always felt that resale homes were a better buy/value than new homes but I prefer the older floorplans, bigger lots, already landscaped yards, established neighborhoods and locations of the various resale tracts in Irvine.

I don't see many posters who are looking at resale homes on TI... I see sellers, but not many buyers.

How is the resale market pricing/value compared to the new homes in Irvine and are their prices softening too?
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Everything is softening. I don't buy that no inventory argument by agents. Talks of recession by CEOs in several earnings call.
 
New home - in my opinion. You get newer construction technology and compliance with ever evolving stringent building codes. The newer homes offer a lot of safety features. Resales are priced on par with new homes. If you factor in the age of the home, new home is cheaper even after adding landscape and window treatments.
 
Purple said:
New home - in my opinion. You get newer construction technology and compliance with ever evolving stringent building codes. The newer homes offer a lot of safety features. Resales are priced on par with new homes. If you factor in the age of the home, new home is cheaper even after adding landscape and window treatments.
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Did you factor in annually escalating MR?
 
After looking at tons of resales, come to the conclusion I'm too picky. New it is.
Bacon park would've gotten my vote even with the high MR if they didn't start off their first phases so dang high, not offsetting cost of MR
 
Is ever increasing MR really that bad as some folks make it sound? It could be $100-200 increase per year depending up on the home you buy. One would not think twice before dropping $100 at a restaurant to feed family every now and then, or spend much more than $100 on itunes account each year. Yet, the small increase in MR each year makes it deal breaker for buying a home?

Makes no sense to me.
 
That's just insult to injury. 
Let's say tic's MR is $4k, BP is $8k. The 2% increase appears to be more likely to happen in BP. And it compounds. 
 
AW said:
That's just insult to injury. 
Let's say tic's MR is $4k, BP is $8k. The 2% increase appears to be more likely to happen in BP. And it compounds.
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Yes, the MR is nearly double at BP relative to Stonegate and Orchard Hills comps, but Stonegate and Orchard Hills' MR doesn't compound annually at 2%.
 
Cornflakes said:
Is ever increasing MR really that bad as some folks make it sound? It could be $100-200 increase per year depending up on the home you buy. One would not think twice before dropping $100 at a restaurant to feed family every now and then, or spend much more than $100 on itunes account each year. Yet, the small increase in MR each year makes it deal breaker for buying a home?

Makes no sense to me.
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Compare a ~$1.2M Orchard Hills house with a fixed $4K in mello roos to a ~$1.2M Beacon Park house with $8K in mello roos that compounds annually at 2%. In twenty years, the Orchard Hills homeowner will still be paying $4K in mello roos while the Beacon Park homeowner could be paying nearly $12K in mello roos.
 
Perspective said:
Compare a ~$1.2M Orchard Hills house with a fixed $4K in mello roos to a ~$1.2M Beacon Park house with $8K in mello roos that compounds annually at 2%. In twenty years, the Orchard Hills homeowner will still be paying $4K in mello roos while the Beacon Park homeowner could be paying nearly $12K in mello roos.
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Are you sure the strada mello roos is not subject to potential 2% increase?  The houses on the gated side have potential for 2% increase (atleast that is what I was told a while back by Capella, Messina, and Saviero) so I don't understand  why Strada is exempt.
 
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