Bank of America to resume some foreclosures
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irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
I've converted another to Team FCB.freedomcm said:
freedomcm said:
I think a lot of only LOOSELY related stuff gets posted in the Irvine board becuase that's the most active one..... vicious cycle. I saw this article in my RSS feed too (on the NYT) and I honestly don't think it matters much. All it does is say "we are still at the same place that we were before!" -- I mean yeah if hte moratorium had lasted a long time then that might have changed things, but since it isn't going to it shouldn't have any real effect. I dunno. We'll see. Maybe.
I have no idea what the state of the market is . I know LOTS of people who bought during the peak, and can afford their homes although they are unhappy with how much they paid. And yet, things still seem kind of expensive to me. Maybe not totally and completely unaffordable, but high. It seems like a financially responsible person making a little over a starting salary (say 45k, they started at 36k and have been working 3-4 years - common numbers among people I know) should be able to buy a starter condo, and I still don't feel like that is the case. Then again, I don't spend a lot of time looking at fullerton and placentia and such, maybe thats where the affordability is. Then again, I guess things are affordable if you're willing to go up to that 33% of your income on housing number. we don't feel very comfortable going much above 20.
octrends
New member
20% of ur income, it's a dream come true. it may happen but not in cities like NP,LB,Irvine..... during boom time, people were going for 50%. it's going down but then all these cash buyers are just buying any reasonable priced property in a matter of days. I am watching NWII and most of the houses r in pending status and that too with 1-2 weeks of listing. u have to really wait a lot to get to 20% until unless u r ready to move to surrounding cities like fullerton, orange, riverside etc....acf said:
usctrojancpa
Well-known member
Either wait for the homes to come down to 20%of your income or have your income increase significantly.
iacrenter
Well-known member
Talyssa said:
Irvine still feels overpriced to me as well. There has been some price declines, but affordability seems far off for the average income person. Although I have enough income and savings to buy now why should I? There seems to me, very low downside to waiting out this market. Yes I may lose out on low interest rates, but I would prefer a lower principal.
I have been waiting several years for my Irvine price capitulation that hasn't happened yet. There are many like IHO, who believe Irvine is special and will not succumb. I suppose I'm just stubborn, but I'm betting on further declines. If it doesn't materialize in the next 12-24 months, then I may have to consider looking elsewhere.
[/permabear rant]
Easier than quoting people...
Octrends - we like Orange a lot actually, except for how hot it is and the few extra miles inland it is, its better than Irvine for us in most ways. Never going to riverside or Fullerton thats just too far for me from work. There are LOTS of cities in OC before you hit riverside thought, Westminster, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, GG. What realtors now refer to as 'south coast metro' but is really santa ana has always had a few really nice neighborhoods, and during the boom and in the years since they have built up a few newer communities around it, including so called luxury apartments and condos. I only mention all this because I think you had the impression that I'm waiting to pay 20% of my income in Irvine or Newport or something, and while I certainly wouldn't say no to a house on the hill near fashion island, i'd rather pay less and be financially secure.
USCTrojan - I think we're getting both, we already got a nice crash in prices post bubble (even though I know some people want more) and I think i'm getting a job offer with a 50% raise this week (YAY!) so I got the rising income covered. I don't reaaallly *need* prices to fall, even in Irvine. We're pretty darn comfortable and happy in 1200 square feet.
iac - although it still FEELS expensive to me, I am not sure thats the same as BEING expensive. Right now, I feel that Irvine is priced ok. in terms of what the market will bear. Sure there are lots of people who want to buy there if only prices were 100k less, but people seem to be going ahead and buying anyway -- and a lot of them just choose to settle on whatever their lower priority is. So I know two people who desperately absolutely could not live without being in Irvine and ended up buying either a smaller property or one of those detached condos rather than give up Irvine. I know other people who bought in Aliso, Lake Forest, and Ladera Ranch because they wanted newer homes and the south county feel but couldn't afford a property of hte same caliber in Irvine or maybe not in a part of Irvine they liked. I hope prices DO drop so that those of you who have your heart set on certain types of properties in Irvine can buy what they want, but I think you should revisit your priority list, because as far as I can see, prices don't NEED to drop anymore. Maybe I am wrong, I don't look at the irvine market as much as some do. But people seem to be able to buy there with small sacrifices - either sacrificing money and paying more, sacrificing a particular neighborhood, or an extra bedroom, or SFR status, or a slightly larger lot, whatever. And no house will ever be perfectly what you want at the price you want it - just like you can make a list of the traits your future life partner will have but it goes out the window when you actually pick that person out.
Octrends - we like Orange a lot actually, except for how hot it is and the few extra miles inland it is, its better than Irvine for us in most ways. Never going to riverside or Fullerton thats just too far for me from work. There are LOTS of cities in OC before you hit riverside thought, Westminster, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, GG. What realtors now refer to as 'south coast metro' but is really santa ana has always had a few really nice neighborhoods, and during the boom and in the years since they have built up a few newer communities around it, including so called luxury apartments and condos. I only mention all this because I think you had the impression that I'm waiting to pay 20% of my income in Irvine or Newport or something, and while I certainly wouldn't say no to a house on the hill near fashion island, i'd rather pay less and be financially secure.
USCTrojan - I think we're getting both, we already got a nice crash in prices post bubble (even though I know some people want more) and I think i'm getting a job offer with a 50% raise this week (YAY!) so I got the rising income covered. I don't reaaallly *need* prices to fall, even in Irvine. We're pretty darn comfortable and happy in 1200 square feet.
iac - although it still FEELS expensive to me, I am not sure thats the same as BEING expensive. Right now, I feel that Irvine is priced ok. in terms of what the market will bear. Sure there are lots of people who want to buy there if only prices were 100k less, but people seem to be going ahead and buying anyway -- and a lot of them just choose to settle on whatever their lower priority is. So I know two people who desperately absolutely could not live without being in Irvine and ended up buying either a smaller property or one of those detached condos rather than give up Irvine. I know other people who bought in Aliso, Lake Forest, and Ladera Ranch because they wanted newer homes and the south county feel but couldn't afford a property of hte same caliber in Irvine or maybe not in a part of Irvine they liked. I hope prices DO drop so that those of you who have your heart set on certain types of properties in Irvine can buy what they want, but I think you should revisit your priority list, because as far as I can see, prices don't NEED to drop anymore. Maybe I am wrong, I don't look at the irvine market as much as some do. But people seem to be able to buy there with small sacrifices - either sacrificing money and paying more, sacrificing a particular neighborhood, or an extra bedroom, or SFR status, or a slightly larger lot, whatever. And no house will ever be perfectly what you want at the price you want it - just like you can make a list of the traits your future life partner will have but it goes out the window when you actually pick that person out.
iacrenter
Well-known member
Talyssa said:
I am not serious enough on buying to finalize my housing need versus want list just yet. I agree, owning in Irvine takes some sacrifice--whether you downsize your sq footage or upsize your downpayment.
I guess for me it will eventually come down to a hard choice--is the Irvine premium worth it? When I look at a 3000sqft SFR in Corona going for $300K, is Irvine really a 3x better location? My gut instinct says no.
Don't get me wrong, I very much enjoy renting and living in Irvine and OC. It is just hard for me to wrap my brain around such a large price disparity. It is even harder when I think Irvine geographically isn't that much better than other surrounding OC cities.
So it probably comes down to a few interconnected things: 1) Irvine branding...thank TIC 2) Good schools 3) Large number of employers 4) Master planning.
I realize Irvine will never fall to the price levels of Corona and will probably always carry a premium to many other OC cities. I just need to evaluate if the premium is worth it.
Oh HELLS yeah its better than Corona, its freaking hot in Corona and the traffic is atrocious. If I had to choose between only corona and Irvine I'd live in a shack in Irvine. I HATE being hot. The real question is whether the premium in Irvine is worth living there instead of in a nice neighborhood in central/coastal OC that isn't in Irvine. Or if you prefer a larger selection of newer homes, there's aliso, lake forest, etc.
I really don't like comparisons to Irvine vs Riverside/Corona -- actually I mean I think they're ok, but its good to be clear that you aren't really comparing the CITIES, you're comparing the type of homes more than the cities. Irvine as a location beats the hell out of riverside and corona, but I have know many people in my life that absolutely positively cannot live in a home that is not brand new, and a few others that refuse to live in a home more than a couple years old (the style and architecture of homes built around the same time tends to be similar) If that is a major factor for you,then riverside/corona are just as good as irvine and cost a whole lot less.
I really don't like comparisons to Irvine vs Riverside/Corona -- actually I mean I think they're ok, but its good to be clear that you aren't really comparing the CITIES, you're comparing the type of homes more than the cities. Irvine as a location beats the hell out of riverside and corona, but I have know many people in my life that absolutely positively cannot live in a home that is not brand new, and a few others that refuse to live in a home more than a couple years old (the style and architecture of homes built around the same time tends to be similar) If that is a major factor for you,then riverside/corona are just as good as irvine and cost a whole lot less.
usctrojancpa
Well-known member
If you hate being hot, buy close to the beach....Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, and Laguna Niguel might be good options for you. Irvine is at least 5+ degrees warmer than those cities.Talyssa said:
Irvine2Irvine
New member
USCTrojanCPA said:
I live in Irvine and work in Huntington Beach. It can be up to 20 degree difference at the worst case during the dog days of summer. Usually, it's about 10-15 degree difference during the summer. That's a huge difference. I have friends who remodeled their house in HB and go all out with top of the line everything, but don't get central air. You can't beat the weather in HB. That's probably why HB home prices are higher than Irvine per sq ft.
Irvine2Irvine said:
Which part of Irvine and which part of HB?
Those are both VERY big cities - my mom's rule of thumb tends to be that north of Adams is about 5 degrees hotter but I think its more like Garfield. And the parts of Irvine south of hte 405 are not nearly as hot as the parts norht of the 405. The one thing about HB, even close to the ocean, is that it depends a lot on how your windows face and what kind of shade you get, and i think that most of the homesi n HB, since they are mostly older and have bigger lots relative to home size, were designed to take advantage of the breezes and NOT to have west facing windows. My parents have a biggish home that's always cool but we had an apartment on hamilton that was unbearable in the summer because it had this huge west facing window and poor cross breeze.
In newer homes where they forego airflow and window direction in favor of cramming as many sq ft as possible into a lot, they just give you central AC and you deal with it that way, but i think most of irvine is tolerable wihtout AC if you get good shade, south/north windows, and good airflow.
Unless you are us and have 2 massively powerful video cards running in a small area- hten you need AC no matter what. We gave up our office for a long term guest and put hte computers in the living room and its amazing how much heat they generate.