As Prices Rise - Buyers Must Be More Wise

Ventura County’s Home Market For June

 

Just as we predicted in January, home prices are rising quickly. We have been hoping for a larger inventory of homes in order to help our buyers, but this is just not happening in much of Ventura County.  Across the USA, home prices are still an average 25 percent lower than at the height of the market in 2007/2008.  This means there are still a large number of people who are upside down on their home values and cannot afford to put their homes on the market quite yet. As a result we simply do not have enough homes to show our prospective home buyers.  

Low inventory and strong demand are fueling double digit price increases. In various California markets we have seen greater than 20 percent price increases over the previous 12 months. According to MLS Listings Incorporated, home prices rose 47 percent in Oakland and 45 percent in Santa Barbara from April’12 to April’13. The Santa Clara County – better known as Silicon Valley -  has seen the median single family home price rise to $795,000. This is near the all time peak of $850,000 set just before the crash.  

Ventura County, especially East Ventura County has experienced very strong growth with a bit more inventory coming to market than earlier this year.  Once a home gets to market, our buyers have to compete with multiple offers from other buyers and investors. Typically we have a 2 or 3 day response time to find a new home, view it, and write an offer before an offer is picked and accepted by the Sellers. Our Current market resembles the 2006 market where people were writing offers on the hood of their car after viewing a home.  

Interest rates have now begun to trend upwards and rose  for the third week in a row. Three weeks ago, they rose from 3.42 to 3.51 for a 30 year fixed. Then the rate went to 3.59 for the week ending May 23rd. We don’t see any near term trend changes here. Home prices are going up and that is inflationary by itself, but our national economy is also improving. A few more jobs and an improving stock market are also contributing to housing demand.  

Just as an aside, your family credit history has a huge impact on your ability to get a home loan. Most people don’t spend enough time reviewing their records for mistakes or for possible identity theft issues. Credit accuracy is a huge concern, and while better than a few years ago, Buyers often find discrepancies on their reports which need to be corrected before the loan process begins. You won’t have time to do this once an offer is on the table competing for the Sellers approval.

The only Federally Sanctioned free credit reporting website is www.AnnualCreditReport.com .  Here you can get a free copy of your report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies each year. According to FindLaw  A Thomson Reuters Business www.FindLaw.com -

22 percent of Americans have never even seen their credit report!  23 percent of 1,000 Americans surveyed said they have had a problem with their credit report – Including incorrect or outdated credit history or incorrect personal information. There were also problems reported with identity theft, and information mixed up with another consumers file! 

Do not overreach yourself to purchase your home. If you are pre-approved for $400,000, don’t just look at $400,000 homes!  If you are competing for a home, you must expect the winning offer will often be at or above the asking price. Your lender will not loan for more than the appraised value of a home. If you are tapped out at $400,000 and the appraised value came in at $390,000 for the home in our example above, you must make up the $10,000 difference between the appraised value and your winning offer with cash.  

Many times in our market the winning offer is above list price and made by an individual who is paying cash anyway.Yes, you can negotiate the difference with the Seller, but the Seller usually just accepts the next best offer. My point is, don’t put yourself in a position where you cannot afford to be the winning offer. Find a home for less. 

Find a home for less. Lower your immediate expectations and consider a less expensive home. Find a home priced low enough that your cash reserves cover the downpayment/good faith deposit, closing costs, home inspection and a little more for you to beat the competition. If you can do all that and be happy with your home of choice, you greatly increase your chances of successfully competing in this Seller’s market. Whatever home you find in Ventura County today will probably be selling for 10 to 20 percent more in within the next six months to a year.  

So what does all this mean if you want to buy a home in Ventura County? Buyers must do more preparation when they are ready to go shopping. Check your credit history, get pre-approved with your lender for an amount that will allow you to subsist, should you be successful with your offer.  Prepare yourself emotionally and financially. Don’t be greedy – be smart.

 

You can win.

Mark Thorngren

 

Like me on facebook at: www.facebook.com/markthorngrenrealtor and check out the latest videos on our national markets and newest mortgage trends. Updated weekly. 

DRE Lic. #01413932

Turning the Corner in Ventura County

 

 

Hello Folks, 

We may have turned the corner in Ventura County.  This is the first month I have seen an across the board increase in the total number of properties that have come to market during the past month!  The total number of properties for sale has increased in most towns as well. Of the ten city markets I track, I only saw Agoura Hills and Westlake Village a bit low on the number of properties for sale. However they are experiencing strong sales with 61 homes sold in April compared to 44 in March. This may mean that their market is so hot that they cannot maintain their inventory – it sells as soon as it comes on the market! 

January 2013 was a better month than December 2012. February continued the trend upwards but March took kind of a breather with weak showings in most of the numbers I track. Not unusual from my experience as people tighten their belts to pay taxes in April. There was some stock market volatility during the early months of this year as well. I don’t pretend to be able to separate cause and effect on our local real estate market, but the numbers for April are very encouraging with numbers bouncing back from March and in most cases exceeding the numbers we saw earlier in February.  

Oxnard and Port Hueneme have seen strong, steady improvement in their markets this last month with numbers returning to the level of January’s sales after dipping down in Feb and March. The number of properties that sold in January were 92 vs April’s 138!  The number of properties for sale are back up to 165 homes  -  with 74 of those homes coming to market just last month. 138 homes actually sold last month, so it’s easy to see there is strong demand – nearly twice as many homes sold as came new to the market last month. Guess what that is going to do to prices in Oxnard and Port Hueneme?! We are going to see some very strong home prices as this year continues to build. 

Camarillo’s market has performed in similar fashion to Oxnard and Port Hueneme but on a much smaller scale. The current inventory numbers are back to January’s levels but properties sold are up from 42 homes sold in January to 81 for April!  Again, like Oxnard and Port Hueneme, monthly sales doubled from the start of the year. 

Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park have seen the number of homes on the market increase from 102 in January to 133 in April. In the 31 days of January we had 53 homes come to market. In the 30 days of April we saw 79 homes come to market. The number of homes which actually sold in January was 66, almost doubling to 125 homes in April. These are great numbers! 

Moorpark has seen it’s inventory slowly increase from January’s 28 homes to April’s 38 homes on the market. In January there were 9 homes that came to market during the month, which has increased to 21 homes in the month of April. Demand has remained surprisingly flat with 28 homes actually selling in January compared to 30 homes in April.  

Simi Valley and Wood Ranch have seen some major market improvements despite the same dips in the market for February and March that everone else experienced. We had 46 homes come to market in January and 60 homes come to market in April. 96 homes sold in January and 113 homes sold this last April.

Interestingly, we had 152 homes go into escrow in January and 175 homes in April so obviously there is a bit higher demand for homes in this market than Moorpark. 

Ventura has had the biggest struggle regaining it’s market inventory. Inventory has still not recovered from February and March’s dip. There are currently 90 homes available in Ventura compared to 168 last January. April saw 38 homes come to market compared to 88 in January. Still the demand appears to be pretty constant with 84 homes selling last January and 81 homes in April.

 

With roughly half as many homes coming to market each month as selling each month – demand is strong and price increases will continue. Once prices reach the level where folks can afford to sell their homes without taking a loss, I think we will see many more homes coming to market in Ventura. That time is rapidly approaching.  

Take care, 

Mark Thorngren

Ventura County Market Trends for 2013

Ventura County Market Analysis


Our Ventura County Market is marching in a very new direction for 2013. Last year we saw home prices beginning to edge up and home inventories dry up. Concerns about the world- wide economy, our national economy, the presidential election, the “Fiscal Cliff” and even the end of the world Mayan Calendar have had everyone second guessing our local real estate market.

Apparently our world did not end and people are still buying and selling real estate. Who knew Mayans could be such practical jokers?

Prices are still low but they are moving upwards at what I predict will be an accelerating pace. There has been data analysis of our market by San Diego based “DataQuick” which stated the median county home prices rose by about 7.5% last year and roughly 16.7% in Los Angeles. The median home sale price in Ventura County rose from $335,000 to $360,000. (See Ventura County Star – 11/14/2012)

One of the interesting sidelights of this new market is that more expensive homes appear to be selling again as well. In Ventura County, 55 homes sold for more than $800,000 in the month of October – up 52.6 % from a year ago!

In January of 2012, we had 421 homes for sale in Oxnard and Port Hueneme. By December of 2012 we had 122 homes on the market! In Camarillo, we went from 198 homes to 71 homes on the market for the same time frame. We simply do not have enough homes for sale to meet local demand anymore. With demand high and supply low there can be only one outcome. Higher prices.

Frankly, the market in many ways resembles the market we had in 2002 – 2007. Any single family detached home in reasonable condition for under $400,000 has frequently been the target of multiple offers, bidding wars and sale prices exceeding listing prices. Once again, cash is king, since appraisals frequently come in low for these homes. That is a typical indicator of a market with significant price increases.

Buyers must make up the difference between sale price and appraisal with cash. Often, first time home buyers must stretch to reach the list price, so trying to find an additional $5,000 or $10,000 to close the deal is difficult. Investors typically are not affected since they usually pay cash regardless of any appraisal. They may not even order an appraisal. Investor groups are very popular for this reason. They simply roll over and crush any loan financed competition.

So what’s next? I predict home prices will continue upwards and trigger the renewed building of new home developments. Certainly, more folks will decide to list their homes as prices begin achieving the levels where they are no longer upside down on their loans. Some of these folks will finally be able to refinance out of their arm loans and into today’s market interest rates. A great deal of financial pain will be relieved for these home owners, allowing them to use their earnings for a broader range of consumer products and services.

As more people list their homes, the upward pressure on home prices may moderate from present levels as supply begins to catch up with demand. I think prices will continue upwards in the double digits from this year for at least the next several years before we see prices slow again. There is just too much pent up demand.

Short sales and foreclosures will be with us for at least a few more years but the number of these sales is a much smaller portion of total sales today than just 2 years ago when over 60% of all our sales were distressed sales. I believe they make up less than half of that number today, but I don’t have any hard data on them.

Short sales have one year left as an advantaged viable option for home sellers. Congress did renew the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act for one more year. We are hoping that the State of California will do the same. (Additional conditions apply) This allows a homeowner to short sale their home, pay no commission for the sale of their home, ( the mortgage holding bank pays ) and no taxes on their capital gains mortgage debt. Personally, with rising home prices, I don’t expect to see this relief extended past this year.

Finally, interest rates may begin to see more upward movement before the end of 2013. As our economy continues to improve and more homes are built, I believe we will begin to see the beginnings of inflationary pressures on our local, and nationwide economies. That may signal the start of a more definitive increase in interest rates. I’m not an economist, but we have had several years of historically low interest rates and our market has responded. The Fed will soon have no reason to artificially hold rates down.

Competition for nicer homes will remain intense this year so buyers must have patience, be pre-approved and have the ability to make home buying decisions quickly. Putting off a home purchase for an extended time will probably be a costly decision.

For home sellers, the market is headed your way. Most folks should see prices high enough to list again in a much shorter period of time than they may have thought possible. Just remember if you delay in selling your home, the purchase of an equivalent home may cost more as well. Conversely, listing homes at wildly inflated prices may still cause them to sit while replacement homes increase in price. Neighborhood sold trends still are the best indicators of sales success when pricing your home.

We are in a time of transition now. I believe prices and interest rates will continue upwards this year and probably more quickly than most people expect. Home inventory will remain tight for most of this year until prices allow homeowners to refinance or list at a profit again. Home prices fell a long way over the last 5 or 6 years so this may take some time.





Mark Thorngren

Movewest Realty, Inc.



For more information you are welcome to visit http://realtytimes.com/REUv/MarkThorngren , or the blog tab of my website at www.markthorngren.com

1503 Windshore Way

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width="522" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10"> valign="top"> style="font-family:arial;font-size:22px;">Resort Style Living near Beach and Channel Islands Harbor - $170,000 style="margin-top:10px"> style=style="font-family:arial;font-size:16px;color:#666">Priced below market value: Only $170,000.00 href="http://www.emailflyers.net/photos.asp?id=28637" target="_blank">SRC="http://www.emailflyers.net/flyers/13930/28637-1.jpg" alt="Click to view" border="0"> cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0"> cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10"> style="font-family:arial;size:12px;line-height:1.1em;">Hueneme Bay offers great resort style living. Great opportunity to own a 3/3 Villa now available for quick sale price. Copper plumbing recently installed. Newer patio cover. Exterior just painted. Enjoy the Ocean Breeze as you play a 9 hole golf course, swim in heated pool, enjoy a sauna or the spa. So much to do and enjoy in this Resort style Senior Carefree living. Walkability is a plus. Short Sale border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10"> cellspacing="0" style="font-family:arial"> valign="top"> cellpadding="2"> width="8%">src="http://www.emailflyers.net/images/bullet-gray.gif" width="14" height="14"> align="left"> style="font-family:arial;font-size:13px">Newer Patio Cover src="http://www.emailflyers.net/images/bullet-gray.gif" width="14" height="14"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> style="font-family:arial;font-size:13px">Exterior new paint src="http://www.emailflyers.net/images/bullet-gray.gif" width="14" height="14"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> style="font-family:arial;font-size:13px">Fireplace src="http://www.emailflyers.net/images/bullet-gray.gif" width="14" height="14"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> style="font-family:arial;font-size:13px">Golf Course width="241" valign="top"> cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"> src="http://www.emailflyers.net/images/bullet-gray.gif" width="14" height="14"> align="left"> style="font-family:arial;font-size:13px">Newer Monet Faucets src="http://www.emailflyers.net/images/bullet-gray.gif" width="14" height="14"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> style="font-family:arial;font-size:13px">Newer Copper Piping src="http://www.emailflyers.net/images/bullet-gray.gif" width="14" height="14"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> style="font-family:arial;font-size:13px">Walkability score 86 src="http://www.emailflyers.net/images/bullet-gray.gif" width="14" height="14"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> style="font-family:arial;font-size:13px">Heated Pool/Spa border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10"> bgcolor="#F0F0F0"> border="0" cellspacing="3" cellpadding="0"> valign="top"> face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">MLS: size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> 11017889 Sq Ft: align="left">1481 align="left" nowrap> Yr Built: align="left">1970 align="left"> Bdrms: face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3 align="left">Baths: face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3 align="left">Pool: face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yes - Community align="left"> Parking: face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2 Car Garage align="left"> Asking: size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">$170,000   valign="top"> valign="top"> size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2580 Neptune Place size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Port Hueneme, CA align="left"> 93041 face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">src="http://www.emailflyers.net/images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="18"> align="left">href="http://www.emailflyers.net/map/?id=28637" target="_blank">src="http://www.emailflyers.net/images/mapicon.gif" width="56" height="45" border="0" align="left">href="http://www.emailflyers.net/map/?id=28637" target="_blank"> Property Map Darla Dennis 805-216-1806 size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">href="http://emailflyers.net/contact_agent.asp?id=28637" target="_blank">HomesbyDarla@yahoo.com nowrap> href="http://emailflyers.net/go.asp?id=13930" target="_self">www.HomesbyDarla.com nowrap> Lic#: 01796649 valign="top"> Movewest Realty, Inc.

2185 Ventura Blvd
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Home Inventories Shrink in Ventura County

Decreasing home inventory is very good for home sellers. It’s just supply and demand – when there is less supply there is usually greater demand, ie: Gradually increasing home prices. Although this may be just a short term decrease in inventory, I’m cautiously optimistic. Here’s why…

Every month I do a little report for myself to see where our market is heading. Generally I see mild trends that may not change significantly for 6 or 8 months at a time. This month was different.

In Camarillo, the total number of Single Family Detached homes for sale dropped from 155 to 134 - Townhomes dropped from 43 to 34. Last July we had over 200 SFD homes on the market, so to drop to 134 homes in just 8 months is a strong trend.

In Oxnard, the total number of SFD homes for sale dropped from 253 in January to 147 at the end of February! Townhomes dropped from 168 Units to 77 Units! The number of properties that went into contract was still high but that is because there is usually an average 30 – 90 day lag between when homes are listed and when they go under contract (accept an offer).

Most of the other statistics I check showed similar drops as you can see.
It appears that we are beginning to see a possible shift in our marketplace from a strong buyers market to the possibility of a housing inventory shortage.

The next several months could be very significant in terms of changing from a buyers market to the beginning of a sellers market. Certainly these numbers (if they continue to fall or hold at these low values) would tend to indicate that our market is bottoming.

A continuing trend like this would seem to point the way in Ventura County towards gradually improving home values.

Mark Thorngren


Mark Thorngren
Realtor DRE# 01413932
Movewest Realty Inc.
Direct (805) 504-0228
Mark@MarkThorngren.com
www.MarkThorngren.com

Free Realty Times Video News Letter



Fair Warning

This email is for folks who are considering the purchase of a new home sometime this year. I have included 2 attachments which describe in detail our local market changes for Camarillo and Oxnard. Basically, our existing home inventory is shrinking rapidly. Fewer homes to pick from means increasing home prices.

Silverio Garcia is a local Mortgage Broker who sent me today - the email you see below. This combination of inventory changes and increasing mortgage costs have not taken effect yet, but they may indicate some changes for buyers, that will soon make home ownership more expensive. I’m thinking sometime yet this year we may begin to notice some gradual price changes.

Here is Silverio’s email:
I'm sure by now you have heard rumors that FHA is increasing their premiums. While a Mortgagee Letter has not yet been issued we felt that we should introduce the information we have at this point. When the Mortgagee Letter is posted we will issue a formal notification of change.

With the increases hopefully borrowers who have just been thinking about buying may be ready to spring into action to avoid the increases. Please inform all of your clients of these changes and let’s get them into escrow before these changes are effective. Please call me 805-479-9283 if you have any further questions or if you need any of you clients to be pre-approved TODAY!!!!!!!!!


Increased annual premium - 10 basis points across for the board to 1.25% ( Today it’s 1.15%)
Implementation - April 1, 2012: Case numbers assigned on or after April 1st

Additional annual premium increase for loans over $625,500 - 25 basis points to 1.50% ( Today it’s 1.15%)
Implementation delayed until June 1,2012: Case numbers assigned on or after June 1st

Increased upfront premium - 75 basis points: Total upfront premium - 1.75% (Today it’s 1.0)
Implementation - April 1, 2012: Case numbers assigned on or after April 1st
Applies to all loans regardless of LTV or amortization term

Silverio Garcia

Update on Moorpark Highlands - The Pinnacle

Update on Moorpark Highlands Communities

The Pinnacle

The Pinnacle is a small hillside community of beautiful upscale homes tucked away behind two separate, private gated entries. Located off Ridgecrest Drive just North of Moorpark is this latest Moorpark Highlands development.

The original KB development was a bit of a non-starter. It began as a Pardee Homes community with four models of homes approved though the City of Moorpark. Pardee sold the development and the city approved home designs to KB Homes. KB built three model homes which simply sat unsold. They were nice homes, but the market simply wasn’t there.

Toll Brothers purchased the property and the city approved plans for four of the Pardee Home Models. Working with the City of Moorpark, Toll Brothers had three additional floor plans approved and the development re-plotted to accommodate these models. Toll Brothers rebuilt one of the model homes to the luxury standards they are known for, and simply sold off the other two older KB model homes. A new Toll Brothers “San Miguel” model home was constructed and opened to the public last September.

Sales were slow to begin until buyers began to realize the quality and value inherent in these new homes. That sounds like a sales pitch, but my personal opinion is that Toll Brothers had some real challenges to overcome with public perception until the reality of what was being built here became apparent. I’m told sales are steady now. There simply is nothing new in Ventura County being built in this price range to this quality standard.

The price list for these seven models show prices ranging from roughly $855,000 for a Santa Susana model up to about $1,040,000 for a Chateau version of the Isla Vista Model. These are Feb 1, 2012 prices and will likely rise as sales continue to improve.

Homes are built from 7 available floor plans which include both single and 2- story homes. Currently there are 17 home lots released for sale out of a total of 132 lots in The Pinnacle. Three additional homes are in escrow and 18 homes have already sold. By my count, that means that presently there are 111 lots left to sell. Homes take 7 to 9 months to build and according to their onsite sale manager – Kathleen Martin – they expect to sell about 40% of them as single story models.

I like these homes. They come with many options, including extra rooms, balconies, wet bar or fireplaces. You can choose from 5 types of granite for your kitchen counters, different marbles for the bathrooms or standard tile. Kitchen cabinets are self-closing so you don’t need to fear bruising your side on sharp edges while you bustle around the kitchen with your hands full. Kitchen Aid appliances are standard for the kitchens.

Kohler tub and plumbing fixtures come standard in the bathrooms. Master bathrooms are lavish with jetted tubs and separate shower enclosures. They include double basin Pullman cabinets and often come with a little makeup counter. Count on a large walk-in closet for Mom, but Dad will have to share or he’s on his own. (Some plans have his/hers walk-in closets).

These homes offer $20,000 multi-slide patio doors which slide right into wall recesses, 2 or 3 zone air conditioning and options for pre-installed recessed solar panels that will offer considerable energy savings over the years. These solar panels are well executed and blend in with the contours of the homes instead of looking like a high school science project gone bad. Solar panels are an option who’s time has come. They just make good sense in Ventura County.

Solar panels come with a 20 year lease from Sun Run - a major solar provider - for $45/month. Since most home sizes average 4,000 to 5,000 square feet I’ll leave it to the reader to imagine how much this could save in heating and air-conditioning costs. Also, solar power is an option that allows the use of tankless water heaters, thereby eliminating the costs of continuously heating 75 gallons of water in the standard water heater installed here.

Lot sizes run from about 31,000 sq ft to as much as 47,000 sq ft for lots fronting the arroyo on the West side of the development. I’d say more typical lot sizes range from 14,000 to 20,000 ft for more central properties. Landscaping, pools with Jacuzzi and lavish BBQ areas highlight the spectacular views that many of these homes enjoy.

Imagine sipping something cold and delicious while sitting comfortably in your favorite patio chair on a stonework patio shaded by a wooden beamed framework. Your spouse grills nearby on a permanent BBQ with maybe a mini-bar and gas warmers. Your kids and your neighbors’ kids splash around in the pool or play down the street at the Moorpark Highlands 7 acre park with tennis and basketball courts.

After dinner when the kids are in bed, you and your spouse can share some time in the Jacuzzi and admire the marvelous hillside views.

It’s not my intention to try to list all the wonderful features of these homes – go online to http://www.thepinnacleatmoorparkhighlands.com/ call Kathleen Martin or Diane Valenza at (805) 532-2007 or call me for more in depth information or to schedule a private viewing.

My bottom line impression is simply that these homes start with a high standard of quality and build additional enhancements to your taste.

Now let’s talk about the fine print.

Each home comes with two HOA fees. There is a $95 Moorpark Highlands Master Association Fee and a $145 Pinnacle Association Fee – total $240/month. There is also a very substantial Mello Roos for each property from the City of Moorpark. The local Mello Roos is a 40 year posted bond or city tax. Over the course of the 40 years this adds up to between $50,000 and $70,000 (depending on home size) paid to the City of Moorpark by each home owner.

When you buy a home in the Pinnacle Community, Toll Brothers will pay off your Mello Roos! To my knowledge, no other Moorpark Highlands development has offered its’ buyers this bargain. Of course this begs the question – don’t they just tack that cost on to the home price? The sales office has stated to me that the cost of the Mello Roos is not passed along to buyers. Toll Brothers is serious about selling these homes at a value price.

Some of the other nice things about Toll Brothers homes include what they call a “First Home Buyer Orientation” which is a 300 item checklist that each homebuyer reviews 5 to 7 days before closing on their new home. A “Second Homebuyer Orientation” is completed just before closing to ensure completion of any discrepancies found during the first orientation. This is a very nice way to reinforce buyer confidence in the quality of their new home. A ten-year limited warranty comes with your new home.

These are not exotic mansions and you won’t see many captains of industry helicoptering to and from these homes. Short of that, these are fine homes in a pleasant semi-rural area. Just be aware that there are not many homes in this development. It is a rather special place to raise a family or to retire in comfort.

Just the way I see it,
Mark Thorngren

(805) 504-0228
mark@movewest.com
http://www.markthorngren.com/

Cherry Hill at Moorpark Highlands

Cherry Hill at Moorpark Highlands

Located just North of Moorpark, California is one of the few remaining new home tracts in what is called the Moorpark Highlands. The Moorpark Highlands is a very large area of new homes which includes a number of different tract communities built by several distinguished home developers. Ranging in ascending order of size and price these include Pardee Homes - Waverly Place condominiums (sold out); KB Homes - Sterling Heights Community of single family homes (sold out) and Toll Brothers - Country Club Estates at Moorpark (sold out).

I may be missing a tract or two, tucked away among the two massive hilltop areas, but Cherry Hill by Pardee Homes appears to be the last major new home development still actively building new 3 to 5 bedroom homes.

Cherry Hill homes are built to three basic floor plans and with 5 different styles:
French, Early Californian, Tuscan, Spanish Monterey and Coastal. Contact Pardee Homes at PardeeHomes.com to download pictures and floorplans of what these styles look like. Plan 1 homes are 2600 square foot homes, Plane 2 are 2900 square foot homes and Plane 3 are just over 3100 square feet (3500 square feet with optional loft).

The homes are located in a gated community and closely spaced up the side of a large hill on maybe half a dozen streets. Many of these home sites were built with an eye to a view of the surrounding mountains. I would say the views are above average for many new home communities.

The experienced new home shopper will note that model homes are usually lavishly upgraded with all the bells and whistles and do not always closely reflect a standard new construction home. It’s also worth note, that if the developer goofed somewhere or just did something silly on a model home, then he probably did it more than once in succeeding homes.

Everyone wants to know price. These homes have dropped considerably in price. I have a price sheet from September 2008 and one from this week – March 2010. Here is what has happened in 1½ years.

Plan 1 - was $734,475 now $692,000 which is a 43K price drop

Plan 2 - was $775,400 now $689,150 which is a 86K price drop

Plan 3 - was $797,975 now $740,225 which is a 57K price drop

Wow! – kind of takes your breath away, especially if you were an original buyer. That is pretty typical of what has happened with most new construction. What an opportunity if you are just now in the market!

Along with the advantage of interest rates around 5% and both the 6.5% federal tax credits for current home owners and 8.5% state credits for current home owners buying new construction homes, makes this a very rare time for people who want to move up. It’s the perfect storm for buyers of new construction homes. Unless the federal tax credit is renewed soon, it is set to expire for new offers at the end of this month (April 30).

What is bad about these prices. They do not include the Mello Roos that comes with each home. See my blog about Mello Roos for more complete information, but this is basically a way of taxing the individual home owners for city services – which include a new school district for the homeowners – but without having to call it a tax.

The Mello Roos runs about 1.9% of the home’s purchase price per year. The good news is that the school district has seriously considered not accepting a new school site for Moorpark Highlands. I don’t profess to be an expert about the local School District politics but I do know that most school districts are hurting for money right now like everyone else. They are not inclined to want to budget for more teachers, facilities and maintenance, even when they are mostly provided for by the Mello Roos.

What does that translate to for new home owners. Something even more rare in new home construction. A break on the Mello Roos. It could be a 30% to 40% reduction on the annual Mello Roos for those new home purchasers according to the sales counselors. Not sure what that does to class size in existing schools.

How big is Cherry Hill? There will be 149 units built total. A total of 4 -5 homes are now - or will be - available by the end of June in the 3 different plan models. Counting the 4 homes available, I believe there have been a total of 92 homes already released for sale or sold. Mostly sold. That figures out to about 60% of the last new homes are built and sold. Just over 50 homes have yet to be built at Cherry Hill.


Plan 1

Plan 1 has the master bedroom downstairs and it usually opens onto the back patio. There is a second bedroom at the opposite corner of the home which would make an excellent “granny flat” or bedroom for a teenager with a loud music problem. The second bedroom has it’s own full bath and is wedged between the garage at the front, and a den or optional 3rd bedroom as you move back towards the center of the house.

The den can be an office or built as another bedroom. There already is a formal living room and another family room, so this room has many good possibilities depending on your needs.

The kitchen is one of the primary home status symbols and is of course quite nicely done. In keeping with other new home developments, the kitchen faces the family room so that Mom can enjoy conversation with her guests/family while preparing all the holiday meals. The family room and kitchen face out to the backyard through large windows, so the kids playing there can be observed without worry.

There is one upstairs bedroom with a full bath or it can be a loft/office with additional storage in what would have been the bathroom.

Things I liked.

The front entry has a closet. There are so many new homes being built without a cloakroom or front coat closet. I guess if you live in California, you aren’t expected to wear a coat.
The master bath has the bathtub oriented out from the wall so that you can enter from either side. The two vanities are separated by the tub so you don’t mix up your Rogaine with your wife’s Clarol.
The large walk-in closet has two doors, one at either end, but guys know better than to expect to use any of it.

Things I didn’t like.

The back yard is smaller than other models because there are more ground floor bedrooms for the same size lot as the other two model plans.
This home has a 2 car garage separated by the front door with a 3rd garage on the other side but facing parallel to the street. If there is any other car in the driveway, your aren’t going to get a vehicle out of that garage. Makes a nice workshop though. Also, if both garage doors are open, it makes your home look more like a downtown parking garage.


Plan 2

The ground floor of this two floor home is laid out with the entryway facing a long hallway that runs beside the staircase as you walk to the rear of the home. There is a wall that separates the home into basically a front half and a rear half. Each half contains 2 rooms which open to the central hallway.

The formal living room is followed by the dining area and then the wall. On the other side is the kichen facing to the rear of the house through the family room. At the intersection of the kitchen and family room is a hallway running off to the left side of the home where there is small bedroom and full bath. There is also direct access to the 3 car, tandem garage from this hallway. This is almost a 3,000 square foot home, so there are 2 air conditioning units at the rear of the home. They are fairly quiet but are located just outside the ground floor bedroom. I think this location is unfortunate in terms of view and noise - which isn’t bad – it just doesn’t need to be that way.

Upstairs is a spacious family room / loft area which was modeled as a family room. It can be built as a 5th bedroom. Toward the center of the home and opening directly into the family room is a full bath with double vanities for the bedrooms and loft use. To the rear of the family room / loft is a doorway opening to a side to side hallway. Along the hallway are two separate bedrooms with their own doorways. At the far end of the hallway is the upstairs laundry.

The master bedroom is quite comfortably large and looks out upon the backyard. The master bath has a separate closet for the toilet, which might be a bit tight if you are inside trying to shut the door. The double vanity is side by side with the tub and shower enclosure immediately behind the sinks. There is a large single door walk-in closet at the far end of the master bath.

Things I liked.

The loft area is upstairs away from the family room downstairs. If adults are entertaining downstairs, the kids don’t have to shut themselves away in their bedrooms, yet they are far enough away not to cause a noise distraction if they want to watch tv or play video games.
The back yard is considerably deeper than plan 1, since more of the bedrooms are upstairs in this model.
The street appeal is nicer in my opinion since you have only a 2 car garage door in front, along with a front door that is not tucked away between garages. A nice cut glass door or carved hardwood door can really enhance a home’s appearance. Also the living room window fronts the home, so it is possible to see when family or guests have arrived.
The model had a nice balcony off the master bedroom with enough depth for table and chairs to fit comfortably.

Things I did not like.

The downstairs is not as open a floor plan as the plan 1. It has a strong front and back feel to it.
The coat closet is located under the staircase or worse, around the corner in the hallway leading to the back bedroom. That only works well if you come into the house from the garage.
The upstairs loft has a full bath directly off it. A half bath would work just as well. It forces the occupants of the two bedrooms behind the family room to walk through the family room / loft in order to use the bath or shower. That would also force the family room occupants to go downstairs or to the master bath to use a bathroom.
It’s probably just me, but if you are carrying on a conversation with your spouse, while dressing/undressing in the master bedroom, it’s going to be like listening to a train going by. One of you walks away from the bedroom to the walk-in closet, which is past the toilet closet, past the vanities and tub to the far end, where you walk through a single doorway and turn either right or left to find your hangar at either end of the walk-in.
Maybe they could install a walk-in closet intercom and video monitor?! Maybe have a satellite feed to the bedroom.
Also, if you had an infant, you would want to keep the little one in their crib with you in the master bedroom. A separate nursery would be rather difficult to reach quickly from the master and way far away from anyplace downstairs. This is a better home for older kids.


Plan 3

This is a puzzle palace. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very comfortable puzzle palace and with the optional loft it can be pushing 3,500 square feet. It just doesn’t flow. If you were in the Navy you would love it. Like a miniature cruiser, it has all these little hallways (passageways) and doorways (hatches). The upstairs bathrooms and laundry are tucked away in hidden places. You’d need movie theater lights to find your way around upstairs after dark. The bathrooms do offer better privacy and access to nearby bedrooms than the Plan 2. There is a downstairs bedroom but it is tiny and makes a better office or hobby room.

The downstairs is similar to the Plan 2 in that you have a definite front half and back half to the home, but the kitchen has a massive crescent shaped island that should have it’s own zip code. There is also a breakfast nook that has two outside walls as it pushes out a bit into the backyard. There is plenty of natural light to eat your outmeal and yogurt by, (or eggs and bacon if you wife isn’t watching).

Things I liked.

The living room is an actual room, not an area.
The kitchen has upgraded appliances and cabinet quality. The breakfast nook is fun.
The master bedroom can be built with a good sized balcony and the bedroom at the front of the house has a nice long balcony as well. Some of these homes have breathtaking bedroom and balcony views of the surrounding mountains.

Things I didn’t like.

Besides the intricate floor plan, the master bedroom is directly above the large screen tv in the downstairs family room. Most of these homes will not have the optional upstairs loft, so late night entertaining will probably happen directly under your bedroom slippers in the
family room below.


Summary

These are very comfortable homes in a very scenic location. I like the room sizes for the most part, though some of the bedrooms are merely adequate. The homes are sensibly designed so that space is more often used for practical comfort rather than to impress. Even though there is a minimum setback between homes, you have a good chance of finding at least one room in your home with a view that includes more than your neighbors kitchen clock.

The driveways are usually large enough to accommodate at least 2 cars and there is a bit of front yard for most homes. Things just aren’t as cramped as lower priced new homes tend to be and though the streets are still a bit narrow, you can safely park on them.

There is a good deal of flexibility in how you can have your home built and that adds a lot of creative individuality to the neighborhood. It doesn’t have the production line feel of manufactured homes that so many other developments have.

This is a pleasant upscale community with quality homes and with a better than average location.

The prices are still considerable and the Mello Roos doesn’t help, but if you can afford one of these homes you’ll experience a very pampered Southern California lifestyle.

Happy House Hunting
Mark Thorngren

(805) 504-0228
www.markthorngren.com

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