House of the Week Results: Sweet Sweet Santa Ana
This week’s House of the Week, a 3bed, 2 bath home in Santa Ana, CA is evidence that even in a market as weak as the one we’re one, people are still buying houses. This may seem like simplistic concept, but the way the media reports it, it’s as if home buying has stopped altogether.
To be sure, its brutal out there, hard to get a loan, prices are falling, but people still need somewhere to live — and no matter how mad it gets that will not change. And with that, the drum roll please . . .
Address: 602 East Camile St, Santa Ana, CA
List Date: 11/27/2008
Sold Date: 12/23/2008
List Price: $294,000
Sale Price: $310,000
Not only did it sell, it sold above list!
Now, does that mean everyone should run out and put their homes on the market because suddenly the buyers are back and bidding wars will once again become the norm? Far from it.
If asked to value this property prior to its sale, we probably would have placed it somewhere between $270,000 and $280,000. One of the most attractive features about the subject is its oversized lot at >9,000 square feet. As for comps, 1275 South Hickory Street, a fairly comparable property sold for $285,000 a few weeks before the subject. Interestingly, this house sold also above list.
In neighborhoods where sellers are undercutting each other to attract buyers (like this one), we are starting to see more and more buyers come in and bid up the properties to above list. House prices have fallen so far from the peak, that even though they are likely to keep falling for a while, buyers see a previous sale of, say, $600,000 and a list price under $300,000 and can’t resist.
For 602 East Camile specifically, we would argue the buyer would have been better off waiting a bit. There are some properties on the market now in the $260,000 - $280,000 range that offer a nice alternative. Also, prices remain in a downward trajectory and it’s reasonable to expect them to fall closer to $250,000 by the summer.
Tags: home prices, property values, Santa Ana