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Is this Irvine condo worth $300,000?

October 20th, 2009, 5:00 am · 10 Comments · posted by Erika Chavez, Staff Writer

The big news from the Irvine Co. is the imminent construction of 685 new homes, spread out across eight new home communities.

My colleague Jon Lansner says many of the projects will be aimed at “value-oriented house shoppers” looking for a reasonably priced new home in the Woodbury and Woodbury East neighborhoods.

But will these new homes really be accessible?

Take, for instance, the least expensive offering: the Santa Rosa tract by Van Daele Homes.

irvineco-santarosa

The 1 and 2-bedroom condos will measure 1,040 to 1,433 square feet and prices will start in the low $300,000s.

So $300K will get you a new Irvine home. Do you think these properties will appeal to young, single professionals? Newlywed couples who don’t plan to have kids for a while? Will the lure of owning an Irvine home be strong, even for those without school-age children?

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$300,000 for a new Irvine home is...
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Posted in: Condos • Home prices • •
 
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 10 Comments

  • aceofspades says:
    October 20, 2009 at 12:13 pm

    My wife and I looked at these online. We are happy we found a townhome, that we could afford. We lived in a one-bedroom condo for a while in Irvine, that the people paid 445,000 for in 2005, what a joke! We both decided after being there for a year that we would never BUY a 1 bedroom home, it’s a joke for anyone that is not a) single. b) divorced with older children. c) widowed. I guess if there are enough of those demogrphics, good for them (Irvine Co.) but the price needs to be about 225,000

  • 22fancy says:
    October 20, 2009 at 12:27 pm

    I agree with aceofspades. We hard-workering tax payers are still out-priced here…what happened to the American dream? We have to move to Butte, Montana to achieve it? Last I looked, Southern California was part of America. Going up an astronomical $500,000 then coming down $250,000 from that high DOES NOT constitute a “great deal” like the real estate agents and builders want to brainwash us into thinking. Houses have lots more dropping to do. And they’re getting there.

  • 22fancy says:
    October 20, 2009 at 12:29 pm

    CORRECTION: workering?? sorry….WORKING! (My fingers went crazy!)

  • LGT says:
    October 20, 2009 at 12:56 pm

    That’s silly - I got an extra 3 bedroom for just $200k more elsewhere.

  • Jc says:
    October 20, 2009 at 1:13 pm

    ay, ay ay Erika you and your prices, are still hurting anybody’s pockets.

  • Talyssa says:
    October 20, 2009 at 1:31 pm

    So at 300,000 dollars you’re looking for a young professional or couple that makes at least 85k/year with 60,000 in the bank and doesn’t plan to have any kids within the next 5-7 years so they will be able to gain a little equity before they turn around and sell it. I dunno.

    I’m sure some people will buy them. I’m just not sure its a good idea (at that price point) for anyone other than a single professional/couple that NEVER intends to have kids …at which point why are they paying inflated Irvine prices? Isn’t the whole point of irvine the safety and the schools and the family friendly amenities (kiddie pools, playgrounds, etc)?

    Actually I just looked at the floorplans and it looks like the cheapest model only has a 1 car garage, so thats probably unsuitable for most couples.

    they are certainly really nice looking though. Appropriate amounts of space and layout (and a garage!) for a condo unlike a lot of the apartment conversions in irvine. I think the one car garage on the cheaper models is going to be a limiting factor *but* they aren’t building that many of them and there are certainly people out there who would prefer one of these and be able to afford them. It still seems really expensive, especially considering the additional taxes. but I don’t think they are so expensive people won’t buy them. they even have the den/office area that would work as a nursery and toddler’s room.

    I actually think they could really expand their market by adding a second car space to those 1brs. If one of those was 250 and had two parking spots my SOand I would not hesitate (if we got inside one and it looked good and well built). We like to budget our housing really frugally so another couple in our situation who doesn’t budget as tightly might very well go for it — I really do think that 1 car garage will stop most couples cold though. Not many people live in Irvine with only 1 car. So I guess my answer is “Ridiculously expensive for a 1bedroom condo BUT its not actually too expensive for a single prof/young couple to afford — I just don’t think its a smart purchase for a young couple.

  • Steve says:
    October 20, 2009 at 1:48 pm

    Too expensive. Some people will never learn.

  • sw says:
    October 20, 2009 at 2:03 pm

    At least Van Daele has a track record. It’s been a builder of generally lower to middle end entry level housing in Riverside County for years.

    As to the $300,000+ price, why not wait until the federal gov’t pulls the rug on artificially low subsidized interest rates, $8,000 tax credits, foreclosure moratoriums, etc. You may get a better deal.

  • zoesalan says:
    October 21, 2009 at 3:38 am

    That Young Professional Couple better tighten up their belts, live off of one Salary in Costa Mesa while saving the other’s income for about 7 years just in time to start the family! Hopefully they each make a minimum of $80,000 ! If that’s low income then I’m ok with that price. =)

  • Irvine_girl says:
    November 10, 2009 at 2:15 pm

    what about mello roos? extra taxes… especially for people with no kids. I’d still check out resale homes.