993inNC

I happened to be looking at condos in southern California this morning on RE.com. I had been looking at the southern Riverside County area (Temecula/Murietta) since I have a pretty good understanding of that area.
For giggles, I checked the LA area, and to my surprise there seemed to be amazing deals. Specifically, it seems the Santa Ana area has condos for 100k (2 bed/bath), but you just cross the 405 into Costa Mesa/Irvine and the prices go to double that +........what gives?

Is or has Santa Ana become "the hood"? Or are there other issues that cause such a price differential?

I've heard CA is in the financial crapper as of late and we are half serious about looking for a nice vacation pad/future investment payout, out there and was hoping some of you guys could shed some light on whats going on in the SoCal.

epj993

I worked in downtown Santa Ana for nearly 17 years and this is pretty much the case. There's some redevelopment and a few streets that look like Beverly Hills, but by and large it's old and moving down the scale.

Temecula & Murietta have been pretty hard hit so there's probably some good deals to be found. You might even check out some beach/near beach areas as prices are somewhat "reasonable" - relatively speaking.

goofballdeluxe

I don't wanna sound like a pompous ***, but being born and raised in Los Angeles makes me somewhat an authority on this subject. All these neighborhoods mentioned are neighborhoods no one I know would ever want to live in.

The fact is, in the desirable parts of town, prices are still high. In the crappy parts of Los Angeles County and it's surroundings, you can find great deals.

vicrossi

Wow, You must know some very important people

993inNC

Well, I'm also looking in San Diego (know the area a little). Seems just south of downtown is reasonable and out towards Balboa Park looks okay. May need to take a little road trip this summer

goofballdeluxe

Nope. But the people I know can afford $40 for a membership here. I'm sorry if you live in one of the neighborhoods I mentioned. Didn't mean to hurt your feelings.

vicrossi

Hi Chris, I actually sold my house in Torrance, less than 2 miles from the beach and moved to Murrieta. It is a great family oriented community, all the schools are "California distinguished" for what is worth. Tons of outdoor recreation Hiking, mnt biking etc. clean air and less than an hour from San Diego, Palm Springs, and mountain resorts. Not to mention drives up to Palomar Mountain in the p car. And yes there are great deals to be had in real estate.

gonzilla

I can't imagine you'd really enjoy a "nice vacation pad" in Santa Ana.

Look at it this way... California's RE prices were so superinflated that you're not going to get a great "deal" on anything anytime soon. They're still inflated. Just because they've gone down some doesn't mean they are in-line with everything else. So I'd forget about the "future investment payout" part of it as well.

The house we bought in 2/07 is a small 2BR/2BA with an office, 1100 SF, 5000 SF lot, 1 car garage about 3 miles from the beach. We paid $690K for it. It's not a particularly great area, but it's okay. It was also the cheapest "liveable" house that we found when we were looking. On Zillow.com, it has the following sales figures listed:
02/27/2007: $690,000
11/30/2004: $623,000
01/05/2001: $270,000
08/29/1997: $215,000
12/23/1993: $175,000

So between 1/01 and 11/04 it more than doubled in price. Why? My salary didn't double. Car prices and food prices didn't double. It was all speculation. There's no real reason for it. The house should have sold to us for $425K at the most.

So to live in this house, I pay (mortgage and property taxes combined) $4700/month. Now sure, I get to "write off" my interest payments. Great. But it's still $4700 out of my checking account every month. And the write off is equivalent to about $1500 back. So I'm out of pocket for roughly $3200 a month. And for that $3200 I get to have the opportunity to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars due to the over-inflated market. Now if I were to rent this house I would expect to pay between $2500 and $3000. In addition to that, I wouldn't have to go out of pocket on any repairs or maintenance to the house. Yeah, it wouldn't be "mine", but I'd be perfectly fine with that.

Now here's where it gets fun... I ain't selling it for any less than I bought it for. I can't afford to. So while Zillow estimates that my house is only worth $580K now, I'll sit here for the next 30 years until the thing's paid off. I've got a 30 yr fixed and I don't have to go anywhere as long as I can keep up the payments. I think this is the deal for lots of people who didn't get a horrible loan. I see places sitting on the market for a long time and not selling because sellers refuse to take a bath and buyers think that they should be getting screaming deals. The only houses that seem to be moving out here are foreclosures. To get a "normal" deal on a house in Socal the selling prices and peoples' incomes need to get closer together.

My advice... Keep your money and rent a place on the beach when you want to visit. You'll thank me later.

993inNC

I know, its a great place. I moved my in-laws to and from Murietta a few years back. We looked to move there in 2000 and then decided to stay here, but talked her parents into moving there in between our mind changing Always kicked myself for not jumping in then.......'course looks like a good decision now
I love the ride over.....74 (from Elsinore)to the beach, great road!

993inNC

Where I feel for your situation, I can't see how an investment now (sometime this year)in a sub 100k couple years old condo could go wrong. The stuff I've been looking at for years have gone from 300k to under 100k. Now I agree in the super inflated scenario, but when I can buy there for cheaper than here........somethings wrong!
I'm in no rush, may do nothing, but it sure is tempting! I can't get a mortgage (have way to many) so I need to find something I can write a check for, or sell something with plenty of equity to pay for it, so in the mean time, I'm in my exploratory phase.

vicrossi

No hurt feelings here goofball, you're right thanks for reminding me to pay for a membership, been meaning to do it for a while but have been too busy driving the p car, not stuck in traffic.

goofballdeluxe

If I wanted less traffic, I hear Wyoming is great for that.

I'm not trying to argue with you, but the simple fact is one reason homes in the outlying areas cost less is they're less desirable to live in for most people. Even with great schools, hiking trails and less traffic, homes in Murrieta sell for a fraction of what a house in the congested Hollywood Hills do. And there's a simple reason for that. It's not where most people who come to Southern California want to live. Demand dictates pricing.

People don't exactly flock to Southern California for the affordable housing and lack of traffic. I suppose if someone is moving to Southern California specifically for less traffic, cheap housing and hiking, Murrieta is probably great. So are Bakersfield, Barstow and Lancaster.

Wyoming has all that too.

gonzilla

I agree with Goofball. If you're looking at stuff in the sub-100K range, I would HIGHLY suggest that you check out the situation/area thoroughly. There's no such thing as a free lunch. The problem with the outlying areas is that people have discovered that they're not all that great of a deal. The commute into the city is hellish and with gas prices going up, those areas have lost a lot of their allure.

In the end, you get what you pay for (and most often lately, a lot less!).

Kika

Santa Ana won't serve as a vacation pad. As far as investment, that is largely depedant on timing, if you can hold it long enough for it to increase, or generate immediate positive cash flow as a rental, then maybe. Rentals are getting hit hard, and lots of places are vacant, the rental community can pretty much get what they want right now.

Personally, I wouldn't invest in Santa Ana, but that is more so because I don't know the area very well. I am sure there are good deals there, just like anywhere else. I don't think there is much upside to Santa Ana right now.

The low risk areas that will always have good resale are PV, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, South Redondo and most of Torrance that I know. I am sure there are others, but I have lived in Torrance about a mile from the Beach for the last 16 years.

I think Long Beach has some nice areas too, but Long Beach is fairly large and there are not so attractive areas as well.

Do your research, remember, if it looks TOO GOOD to be TRUE, well, it probably is...

Kika

I guess I am just a bit older than Mike, thus, we were fortunate and bought our house in South Torrance in 1993...

VRBO.com for beach house rentals!!! you can also thank me later....