Northwood Pointe vs Old Northwood

J

julstride

New member
Hi there , my experts

I have enjoyed your posts thoroughly, just amusing and informative. You guys are stellar. Makes my day all the more interesting. USCTrojan, Panda, Indiedev, akim, irvinerenter, ocmom, etcetc the list goes on.
I have a question for you guys

We are considering a slight upgrade from our 2 bdr detached SFR in northwood pointe to a smaller 3 bdr in another part of northwood pointe and am interested in this Tremaine house :http://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/15-Canyon-Sage-92620/home/4789456

THe price is way overpriced in our opinion. Its small for a 3 bdr and has a very small yard. What price do you think is fair for this house?

Also looking at Old Northwood, bigger house bigger lots but not sure about how this would sell in the future (15 yrs from now). Do you think a 45-50 yr old house (1975-79 in 2025) will be competitive in that time regardless of how much we remodel?

Looked at the new 2011 Home Collection but was turned off by the density at Woodbury and Stonegate, the motorcourts (we have that now and do not want that anymore). Even the higher end houses (Maricopa, etc) felt squished for some reason. I think it was the way they were laid out , not a lot of give, akin to sardines in a can. Not too much into Portola Springs at this time because of the higher HOA. We would like to keep to resale homes, 2K mello roos per year below $200 in HOA.

My power forum people! Anyone with insights?
 
Based on the comps, Canyon Sage does seem priced a bit high (even with the Mike Dunn property description).

It has a nice location, but almost zero upgrades and since it last sold in 2000 there should be some leeway in price (if the owner didn't leverage).

I think the most important thing you should consider is how it fits YOU now and in the next X years that you plan to live in it. In 2025, it's anyone's guess how the market will be and that should be low on your consideration list.

The other thing is indicators seem to point to future price drops so if you do buy, you need to be willing to accept a possible drop in value. Some people think that new 4br/3ba Irvine homes could hit the mid-$500ks so keep in mind that there may be some equity loss in the next 5-10 years.

NWP is a nice area and tends to keep their premiums better due to desire... but Northwood does have bigger lots and lower or zero HOAs depending on the tract.

I tend to like the older floorplans better but then you lose some of the newer features I prefer, like indoor laundries and open kitchens.

Good luck in your search.
 
IHO Thanks for your objective view of things. Low inventories in NWP and Irvine generally has us refreshing the redfin browser mournfully. Lets see what comes up next, will take it slow

Your 3CWG quest cannot end! Thats awesome a goal and obsession, especially since new irvine developments are trending the opposite. We walked around some million dollar properties in NWP the past weekend and spotted quite a few 3CWG gems lying around at  NWPointe premiums. The way NWPointe is laid out is just so relaxing. Its private, density is pretty much it for now, no more no less which is perfect, lots of greenery, wide streets and decent sized lots.

Just trying to skirt the smaller 3 br house lines here and looking at
1) Smaller house and lot in NWPointe, low density, ideal planning, late 1990's, low MR/HOA
or
2) Much bigger house and lot, older houses and neighborhood in old Northwood NW, no MR/low HOA

Focus really is on lower density neighborhood, workable floorplans for future renovation, must have driveway, a decent sized yard ideal but not necessary, neighborhood with younger couples and children, IUSD

The 15 Canyon Sage property in my my above link is overpriced, but cant decide by how much overpriced
No upgrades at all, very small yard, needs paintjob inside and out.

Any votes from anyone else here?


 
Hi Julstride, we looked at this property too and it was just too little space for that money. I don't even think the house is 1,600 SF.  Gotta love that Mike Dunn. >:D  We loved the amount of lighting and the cul-de-sac location but we couldn't justify paying that much for so little space (and having to update.)  Plus, the laundry in the garage kind of pushed us over the edge.  That felt SO outdated!  And what's up with the fence between the houses in the backyard?  It just felt like a lower-end house. 

We felt that it should go for something like $680,000 at most since it needs a lot of updating.  It looked like the current owners didn't do much updating, which is good and bad.  But I think the comps show that similar homes sold for a little over $700K--not sure what the comps looked like on the inside.  The market's come down since then though....so I dunno.   

The true deterrent for us is that if we buy that house we would need to move in 5 years because we would simply run out of space and we ONLY have one kid.  We're currently in a 1,000SF apt and we realized it's not really even that much of a step-up from where we are now.

 
 
We've looked at both NW, NW II, and NWP (as well as other villages).  In the end, we prefer NWP, but there's nothing of interest at the right $$$ range.  Many of the neighborhoods in NWP were built from 1996-2000 so the MR are low and are 10-15 years into their bond maturity.

I just don't understand the pricing logic of realtors in NWP.  Let's price our homes higher than any comp in the last 3 years and tack on an additional $40/sq ft.  It's no wonder why listings expire and homes sit for 50+ days.  No one seems motivated to actually sell...
 
shokunin said:
No one seems motivated to actually sell...
Click to expand...
That's one of the factors I cited for Irvine's price stubbornness. Because many homes do have a significant amount of equity either through a high or all-cash down payment or just sheer time (15 years of mortgage payments), these mid-1990 homes are not in foreclosure danger. So they can list at fantasy prices and either hope to catch an FCB or just delist and try again later.

But it's not a "fundamental" reason, so it gets ignored.
 
This may not be an issue for you but I have heard from several Old Northwood parents that eventually part or all of Old Northwood will go from feeding into Northwood HS to Irvine HS.  Apparently, they have been told this through their elementary schools.  I don't know when this will happen but probably after the newer communities are complete and the enrollment at NHS increases correspondingly which may be a long time from now.
 
We are considering Maricopa now but we would rethink buying in that neighborhood if it's going to be rezoned for any high school other than Northwood HS.  Does anyone know if Maricopa would be subject to future rezoning?

I think that's why NWP commands what it does--its proximity to Northwood HS and Canyonview Elem.  That makes it a no-brainer as far as schools.  And no rezoning could ever exclude NWP for both schools. 

I agree with what the others are posting about the insane resale prices.  The majority of homeowners in NWP (and older parts of Irvine) have enough equity to put a house on the market and if it doesn't sell at their insanely high asking prices, they just pull it off MLS and ride it out until they think it returns to a sellers' market.  I hate that about Irvine but at the same time I guess that's what I would do too if I were a homeowner with lots of equity.

The only thing is that as nice as the NWP neighborhood is, the homes themselves are looking really dated and require a lot of work and maintenance.  Even despite that, the homeowners are asking for prices beyond what Quail Hill commands for much younger homes.  That's insanity.  Don't want to play into that. 

 
SecretGarden said:
That's insanity.  Don't want to play into that.
Click to expand...

And you shouldn't. Let someone else get fleeced. Either the delusional sellers will get stuck in their unwanted homes, or they will eventually lower their prices if they want out. It's pretty simple.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
That's one of the factors I cited for Irvine's price stubbornness. Because many homes do have a significant amount of equity either through a high or all-cash down payment or just sheer time (15 years of mortgage payments), these mid-1990 homes are not in foreclosure danger. So they can list at fantasy prices and either hope to catch an FCB or just delist and try again later.
Click to expand...

There's a herd mentality in these listings.  Seems like realtors are playing the "gas station" pricing scheme.  Instead of pricing based on comps, they look around and decide what else is being listed and price from there.  Some kind of collusion going on.  Unfortunately for them, no one is biting and no one is that stupid.  I like how they ignore comps or completed short sales when you mention it them and backpedal into, that home was "different" and not in the same condition.  What-ever with a big "W". 

Sometimes I wonder if it's the seller or the realtor that is being stubborn. 

 
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