Will this Economy affect your home purchase?

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bkshopr_IHB

bkshopr_IHB

New member
With the gloomy economy ahead would you postpone your home purchase until your income is totally secured or buy the house anyway and deal with financial issues later because it is cheaper to buy soon?



<img src="http://tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:tjwGnDyeYDTtCM:http://image.dhgate.com/upload/20083/94/ff80808118e506bb0118e5a882a123c3/productimg1206897870407.jpg" alt="" />

I am hiding behind a costume.
 
Cute costume, can't see your big black butt though. Anyway, how about, "I already bought, paid too much, but I am happy where I am"?
 
I'm not postponing because of my personal thoughts about the economy but because my postponement has been made for me by TIC. thinking it'll be hard to resist buying in Orchard Hills when it starts selling because TIC is likely to start selling when the economy in general start looking up, and it's a nice area likely to be in high demand. It would be nice if they price it right, meaning where it's low enough in the early phases so the buyers can feel good about seeing price increases in future phases.
 
[quote author="fumbling" date=1228992264]I'm not postponing because of my personal thoughts about the economy but because my postponement has been made for me by TIC. thinking it'll be hard to resist buying in Orchard Hills when it starts selling because TIC is likely to start selling when the economy in general start looking up, and it's a nice area likely to be in high demand. It would be nice if they price it right, meaning where it's low enough in the early phases so the buyers can feel good about seeing price increases in future phases.</blockquote>


Do you see Orchard Hills is more desirable than Laguna Crossing? Therefore pricing should be higher for Orchard Hills?
 
Things are pretty much going as I have expected them to, and we will stick to our plan of buying in three or four more years.
 
When we first thought about moving to the OC, we looked all over, from south OC (Talega and Marblehead in San Clemente, Blue Harbor in SJC) to Irvine (OH and Laguna Crossing). We like the northern Irvine location of OH because of proximity to LA (easy access via Jamboree to the 5 freeway) since work and family is in the greater LA area. It's only 40 miles to downtown LA and today it took only 50 minutes to get to Marina del Rey for a holiday luncheon. Also I like the OH proximity to "real" Asian food in Irvine, Westminster, Garden Grove as well as relatively convenient access to the beach cities. For example, last night I read a food blog about a Vietnamese place with great baked catfish and I find it's only 10 miles away in Westminster so we just hopped in the car and tried it out. LC seems nice but too far south for us and not as diverse as we like. We'd have to drive "too much" to get to where we usually go, whereas from OH a lot of places we frequent just seem easier to get to. Plus driving through OH is a real nice peaceful feeling with the foothills and working orchard. OH has some freeway noise from the 261 but there seem to be lots of areas that would have almost no freeway noise and would be more quiet and peaceful than LC or PS. We can't drive through LC (I think it's totally gated off but correct me if I'm wrong) but the LC development is surrounded by freeways and might get a lot of freeway noise. I drove through Portola Springs last week at night, and while the development itself is as quiet as a ghost, I could hear the constant freeway noise from the 133 and 241. I imagine LC might be like that. So if I assume the same type of residential units are available at OH and LC, I'd rather buy at OH. To me, the best case scenario would be if LC actually had a slight premium over OH because of the "Laguna" name and location (proximity to Laguna Beach)attracting more buyers so that it would be cheaper to buy in OH. I'm hoping that there would be no premium to live in OH, but to answer your question, if there was a small premium, I'd personally still rather live in OH.
 
Does anybody have any aproximation as to when OH will open up? IPO suggested to me to wait for that while back, and I think we will.
 
[quote author="fumbling" date=1228995687]When we first thought about moving to the OC, we looked all over, from south OC (Talega and Marblehead in San Clemente, Blue Harbor in SJC) to Irvine (OH and Laguna Crossing). We like the northern Irvine location of OH because of proximity to LA (easy access via Jamboree to the 5 freeway) since work and family is in the greater LA area. It's only 40 miles to downtown LA and today it took only 50 minutes to get to Marina del Rey for a holiday luncheon. Also I like the OH proximity to "real" Asian food in Irvine, Westminster, Garden Grove as well as relatively convenient access to the beach cities. For example, last night I read a food blog about a Vietnamese place with great baked catfish and I find it's only 10 miles away in Westminster so we just hopped in the car and tried it out. LC seems nice but too far south for us and not as diverse as we like. We'd have to drive "too much" to get to where we usually go, whereas from OH a lot of places we frequent just seem easier to get to. Plus driving through OH is a real nice peaceful feeling with the foothills and working orchard. OH has some freeway noise from the 261 but there seem to be lots of areas that would have almost no freeway noise and would be more quiet and peaceful than LC or PS. We can't drive through LC (I think it's totally gated off but correct me if I'm wrong) but the LC development is surrounded by freeways and might get a lot of freeway noise. I drove through Portola Springs last week at night, and while the development itself is as quiet as a ghost, I could hear the constant freeway noise from the 133 and 241. I imagine LC might be like that. So if I assume the same type of residential units are available at OH and LC, I'd rather buy at OH. To me, the best case scenario would be if LC actually had a slight premium over OH because of the "Laguna" name and location (proximity to Laguna Beach)attracting more buyers so that it would be cheaper to buy in OH. I'm hoping that there would be no premium to live in OH, but to answer your question, if there was a small premium, I'd personally still rather live in OH.</blockquote>


Thank you for the thoughtful reply.
 
I'm personally waiting for Laguna Crossing. Since it's probably not going to sell homes until 2013, that's fine... since it will take me that long to save another downpayment... and by then... maybe prices will be more fundamental.



I used to like northern Irvine better (lived in Northwood for a few years) and thought I would end up in Woodbury or Orchard Hills... but these days the southside has more appeal so we'll probably be in Quail Hill until then. The Spectrum is so much better than when it first opened, it now has a Target... and since they re-did the 133... the drive down to Laguna Beach is great.



South-saaaayeeeeed! <fingers in an 'S' shape>
 
The economic uncertainties do motivate me to wait longer to buy... not because I'm concerned it will diminish my financial stability (all signs there are thankfully pointing in a positive direction)... but because if others are having hardship and can't make their payments, this will present some interesting opportunities for buyers... and that is what I hope to take advantage of. Hope this helps. Great question and poll!
 
We really like living in Irvine. We also really like the low expenses of renting compared to owning a home, and look forward to a few more years of decent income and low expenses and high savings. It's a stress reliever to be "home-free" so economically speaking, we're glad OH is postponed for a few years. But we do plan to buy in OH to be rid of upstairs neighbors and have a courtyard and maybe a view, and it's likely that a house in OH will be the last house we ever buy, in other words our "home base" for life. Hopefully sales in OH would start in kind of a stable but relatively "dead" real estate market without lotteries or crowds in a frenzy to buy, so we could take our time to look at lots and floorplans and elevations without being pressured to buy quickly. And wouldn't it be great if continued real estate woes cause new homes in OH to sell at rental parity? What a nice dream that would be.
 
I fall in the 3rd category in the poll, and my now is 2009. Bad economy is working in my favor, and I am hopeful to find a good deal next year. I am not worried about my financial since I have saved up decent amount of downpayment and emergency fund.
 
I'm curious to see what builders TIC will sign up for Laguna Crossing. I wish S&S would build something there, that would really make me wait until LC opens.

If I don't find anything acceptably priced (around $250 per sq. ft.) in South Irvine, I'll wait until LC opens, it is really close to a lot of places I go to and work too, so I'd be willing to pay around (but not more) than $300 per sq. ft. there.
 
[quote author="blackacre-seeker" date=1229183099]I'm curious to see what builders TIC will sign up for Laguna Crossing. I wish S&S would build something there, that would really make me wait until LC opens.

If I don't find anything acceptably priced (around $250 per sq. ft.) in South Irvine, I'll wait until LC opens, it is really close to a lot of places I go to and work too, so I'd be willing to pay around (but not more) than $300 per sq. ft. there.</blockquote>


That is perhaps 30% less than what they are hoping to get at Laguna Crossing...
 
But if builder's didn't buy the land yet, doesn't that give them more room to lower prices (vs. places like Portola Springs, where if they lower prices too much, the builders will sell for a loss?)
 
I do want to buy in 2011 or 2012. I was hoping by 2009 but had to change my plan 6 months ago with the price level being sticky and not sure about future in general economy situation.



Q: Seems like many are eyeing on 2011/2012 as time to buy and certain areas such as OH is favored by many. Does this mean demand will be higher for homes in those areas and the price won't be lower as people hope?



Q: What would you do 3 years passes by and the house price in Irvine doesn't come down to the level you can afford but all other expenses go up (with income stays the same or decreases just like last 8 or 10 years)? Would you wait a few more years or go for whatever is available?



I respect everyone one on the fence to watch their money, but if you've been renting 3 to 4 years already and planning to rent next 4 more years to 2012 and price level is not favorable, you are looking at a decade or more of renting. I guess no one has to buy a house and renting may be way to go no matter what for the next 10 to 15 years in the worst case, but buying primary residence is not just number crunching decision so I was just wondering.
 
[quote author="skek" date=1229072977]The economic uncertainty makes me want to play it safe -- wait a little longer, buy a little less house, bring a little more cash to the table. In addition, the neighborhoods I am interested in are certainly not near bottom yet. All signs point to waiting a little longer, notwithstanding the fact that we badly wanted to buy a new house back in 2006. I have previously said that I don't need to buy at bottom, nor wait until prices have bottomed and begin appreciating -- I would happily pay a small premium to get into our 10-20 year house as soon as possible. However, the recession is causing me to reconsider that part of the equation.</blockquote>


I feel the same way.



Just going to do things the old fashioned way, build up a 20% down and *gasp* buy something that is three times income.



There are tons of properties now that are in my price range (this was not possible in 2006), but I would rather wait and build up that downpayment.



Cons of buying now:



- Current apartment is in a great area, quick commute to work, and has lots of nice amenities, and is very affordable. (Why spend money to buy a condo that has pretty much the exact same quality of life as the apartment?)

- Unstable economic environment makes me less willing to risk financially in general (pushing more money towards "rainy day" savings)

- Downpayment is decent, but needs to be stronger

- Home values will continue to have big drops in 2009, followed by some smaller downward trending in 2010 and 2011, flat lining in 2012





This board has been a tremendous resource, so I'd like to thank everyone who makes so many valuable contributions, it's been a real eye opener. It's just hilarious to see all these places I've looked at over the past couple of years end up being thread topics.
 
[quote author="blackacre-seeker" date=1229183099]I'm curious to see what builders TIC will sign up for Laguna Crossing. I wish S&S would build something there, that would really make me wait until LC opens.

If I don't find anything acceptably priced (around $250 per sq. ft.) in South Irvine, I'll wait until LC opens, it is really close to a lot of places I go to and work too, so I'd be willing to pay around (but not more) than $300 per sq. ft. there.</blockquote>


S&S land inventory supplies were bought in 1949 when Nathan Shapell had just started his company. At that time all his relatives thought he was crazy to purchase land in El Toro, Lake Forest, Laguna Niguel, Yorba Linda, Rowland Heights, and Porter Ranch. The perception at that time these places were viewed as Hemet of today full of trailer communities and white trash. There are still some trailer parks in El Toro. What was hot in 1949 was the San Fernando Valley and the Ventura Corridor's Tarzana and Encino. Shapell does not carry land cost and re-use floor plans from the 80's. No other builders can compete with him since his overhead is so low.



Consumers preferred Shapell were rarely interested in the exterior elevation or merit in design. It is all about dollars and cents on paper. Jewish consumers of many generations love Shapell. Shapell's project are known to be cheaper than the competitions.



Shapell's aesthetic and product development philosophy will never be accepted on the Irvine Ranch. Shapell's philosophy is never to compete now with other builders but to monopolize the market in the future. Shapell will not buy expensive land from TIC and operate on a slim margin. Both parties feeling toward each other is mutual.



TIC has moth balled several of its prized communities and carrying the cost of built infrastructure and staff so that they will wait until the market hits bottom and release homes at Laguna Crossing at about $300/sf so the consumers will be happy campers. I have to give you credit for your optimism. It is really nice to have hope.
 
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