Coming as no surprise following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, SunCal’s biggest backer of the Marblehead Coastal real estate development, SunCal has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this past Thursday on this community according to the Los Angeles Times.  This 313 home planned coastal community in San Clemente represents just one of 23 SunCal housing projects in various stages of Chapter 11 due to the collapse of Lehman Brothers.  SunCal will need to make quick decisions on which communities to sell off and liquidate and which ones to keep in order to ride out the real estate storm.  SunCal, nevertheless, has indicated it has no plans to sell off Marblehead Coastal.  

SunCal  has indicated that it has “alternative sources” of financing to maintain the wetlands at Marblehead Coastal, some of the 125 acre open space to remain on this piece of land.  Hopefully the other communities that SunCal sells off will help to raise the capital to build this highly anticipated community once the real estate market settles and supports this type of development.  In the meantime, this 243 acre development sitting on an ocean front plateau will continue to be delayed and remain vacant.  Hopefully some good news will arise from this soon. (Marblehead Coastal is the yellow box at the bottom of the picture)

For more information on Marblehead Coastal real estate or to request updates from our team as they arise, please contact us. 

As of early November, San Clemente real estate for sale included approximately 97 total foreclosures and short-sales, representing 17.5% of the current properties for sale.  The total number of San Clemente foreclosures as of November represents a decrease of about 7.5% as compared to our previous update in September.  This is good news as this decrease represents another indicator we are working towards the bottom of the cycle.  As we near the bottom of the cycle, price declines begin to slow before bottoming out and the great deals may begin to dissapear.

San Clemente foreclosures currently range in price from $189,900 for a 560 square foot condo in Rancho San Clemente to $1,730,000 for a 5,633 square foot estate in Viscaya Talega.  The average price for a foreclosure is currently $653,763 with an average price per square foot of $306.  In our last analysis of the foreclosure and short-sale market, the average price per square foot was $308 or 0.6% higher.  For Talega real estate, the newest development of San Clemente, the average price for a foreclosure is $754,415 with an average square footage of 2,667.  This results in an average price per square foot of $282 for Talega foreclosures or short-sales. 

In terms of the concentration of San Clemente foreclosures,  Talega has the most at 34 or approximately 35% of the foreclosure and short-sale market.  Other areas of high concentration include North San Clemente and Rancho San Clemente with 19% and 18% of the San Clemente foreclosure and short-sale market respectively.  Foreclosures west of Interstate 5 closer to the coast represent 9.3% of the total foreclosures while east of the 5 represents 90.7%.

For more information on San Clemente foreclosures, please explore our website or contact us for a free consultation.

For the month of October, San Clemente real estate continues to show improved signs we are working through the glut of inventory to bring supply and demand back into balance, the key for prices to stabilize.  New listings on the market continue to show a large decrease from prior year and homes sold and under contract continue to improve month-over-month.  In addition, San Clemente average sales price continues to demonstrate its strenth relative to the rest of Orange County and California. 

New listings year-to-date are down 22.6% from the same period prior year, representing approximately 300 less homes coming on the market.  Sales, on the other hand, are up 20.5% from prior month with 53 homes sold in the month of October compared with 44 for September.  This brings the total year-to-date sales up to 510 homes as compared with 566 proior year, which is only a 9.9% decrease as compared with an 11.5% decrease prior month year-to-date.  Homes under contract at the end of the month were 40 as compared with 24 prior year-to-date, representing a 66.7% increase.  This may be an early indication of good news to come for November sales.  Lastly, the average days on market for the month of October dropped to 80 days as compared to 98 days for October 2007, representing an 18.4% decrease.  While days on market are still 10% higher than prior year-to-date, October’s significant decrease indicates we are working back to historical averages.  The decrease in new listings and the average days on market coupled with the increase in homes sold and under contract are all positive indicators that the San Clemente real estate market is working through its inventory in order for prices to stabilize.

The average sales price year-to-date is $868,704 as compared with $991,835 for the same period prior year, representing a 12.4% decrease.  San Clemente real estate continues to hold on 2.5 to 3.0 times stronger than Orange County and California real estate respectively.  These sales prices on a year-to-date average are 86.6% of the original listing price and 94.1% of the final listing price before entering into contract.   

For more information on San Clemente real estate, please explore our website or contact us for a free consultation.

In the latest unnerving chapter of the Marblehead Coastal saga, the San Clemente City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to call in performance bonds against SunCal Marblehead LLC to complete infrastructure projects in the development.  According to the Orange County Register’s article on this matter, the City Council authorized city attorneys to file suit against SunCal claiming that they are in default of a 2005 development agreement; if there is no response by SunCal, the City Council will then call millions of dollars in performance bonds to complete projects such as finishing Avenida Vista Hermosa west of Interstate 5 and the widenings of Avenida Pico and El Camino Real near the development.  The City views these improvements as vital public safety issues and can no longer wait for SunCal to work out its financial troubles with bankrupt Lehman Brothers, SunCal’s financial backer in the Marblehead Coastal project.

Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers and other financial giants, money is tight right now and real estate development has slowed dramatically due to lack of funding available for these projects.  It is likely to be a few years before we see home and commercial construction on the site of Marblehead Coastal, so the City Council’s vote seeks to remedy the safety issues caused by unfinished roads.  The widenings of Avenida Pico and El Camino Real is of great concern, and rightly so; the sudden narrowing of major San Clemente streets is dangerous and causes unnecessary traffic.  This move by the city forces SunCal to finish these infrastructure improvements in a timely fashion, something they have been unwilling to do since the 2005 development agreement was signed. 

It is frustrating to see such a wonderful coastal development like the planned Marblehead Coastal community fall by the wayside, both from a real estate and economic standpoint.  The commercial and entertainment portions of the planned development would be a nice boost for San Clemente from a financial and social perspective, adding to an already wonderful coastal town.  On top of that, a prime piece of coastal real estate is sitting untouched, which is frustrating to a real estate professional like myself as I’m very excited to see more examples of why San Clemente real estate is some of the best California has to offer.  While it will take time for the vision of Marblehead Coastal to come to fruition, at least the city is taking the right steps to ensure that SunCal improves public works projects instead of making San Clemente residents deal with SunCal’s lack of progress on these fronts.

For more information on Marblehead Coastal and San Clemente real estate, please contact us.

According to this article in the Orange County Register, home sales in Orange County showed gains over year-ago totals for the third month in a row, with the September mark hitting an all-time year-to-year percentage gain since DataQuick began tracking home sales data 20 years ago.  The total amount of Orange County homes and condos sold in September 2008 totaled 2,667, an increase of 62% from September 2007.  As stated in a recent blog on our website, San Clemente home sales rose almost 33% from year-ago totals.  After a 33-month lull where home sales showed declines from the previous year’s numbers, it looks like buyers are finally re-entering the marketplace to take advantage of the excellent deals in Orange County and San Clemente real estate.  The median selling price in Orange County is down 25% from last year, while San Clemente real estate has seen an 11.5% decrease in sales price from year-ago numbers. 

From people looking to purchase their first home to investors searching for the next great investment opportunity, this is truly an excellent time to explore the San Clemente real estate market.  For more information on San Clemente homes and condos, please do not hesitate to contact us.

For the month of September, San Clemente real estate continues to show signs we are working towards a bottom.  New listings on the market continue to show a steep drop and home sales are approaching 2007 sales volume based on San Clemente homes and condos sold and under contract at the end of the month.

For the year, new listings on the market are down 23.8% from prior year.  This is great news as inventory is not building up as quickly, which helps to alleviate some of the downward pressure on home prices. 

Average sales price year-to-date for San Clemente real estate is $880,826 as compared to $995,776 prior year, representing a 11.5% decrease.  Buyers and sellers should keep in mind that Orange County and California real estate have faired much worse over the past year with price drops over 25% and 35% respectively.  While the San Clemente real estate market has been subjected to the correction, prices have held on much stronger indicating that demand for housing in this market is clearly above the county and state averages. 

Year-to-date, there have been 454 San Clemente homes and condos sold as compared with 513 prior year, representing a decrease of 11.5%.  While sales are still down with prior year, it should be noted that in August sales were down much more from prior year at approximately 16.3%.  This change is due to September 2008 sales of 44 compared with 33 for September 2007 or a 33% increase.  October could show signs of improvement over prior year as well as homes currently under contract at the end of September are 39 as compared with 25 prior year, representing a 56% increase.  October sales, however, may not fare as well depending on how the financial crisis impacts the market, how quickly the government’s bailout plan could begin taking effect, and how consumer behavior will be effected by all of this.

For more information on San Clemente real estate, please explore our website or contact us!

President Bush has signed into law the $700 billion bailout of our nation’s financial system.  While there were many mixed emotions over the bill, it is a necessity to restore credit to our financial markets, specifically the real estate market.  While the bill will take months to take effect on Main Street, it is a key first step to help home sales pick up and prices stabilize in our nation’s real estate markets.  

San Clemente real estate has held on much stronger than other markets in the region; however, this bill is key to restoring confidence as sales pick up, inventory clears, and prices stabilize.  All of these factors will result in fewer San Clemente foreclosures and return the market to historical averages.  In addition, the bill helping to restore the credit markets will allow buyers who have traditionally been approved in normal markets get approved once again.  This is great news for San Clemente residents selling their homes.

For more information on San Clemente real estate, please explore the rest of our website or contact us!

This week the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) reported that August sales in California were up 57% from the same period a year ago.  In the San Clemente real estate market, sales were stable with prior year, however, homes under contract were up 280% indicating that buyers are being priced in and finding deals they are willing to stomach in the current environment. 

As we continue to reiterate, San Clemente real estate has held on very strong relative to the state.  In August 2008 the median price was down approximately 10.2% over the 12 month period while California median price according to C.A.R. was down 40.5%.  This means that San Clemente homes and condos have held on about 75% stronger when compared to the state. 

All of the above is some positive news for San Clemente real estate.  For more information, please contact us!

This article illustrates that San Clemente real estate continues to hold on strong not only on a county or state level, but also on a national level when compared to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city housing index.  This index for the month of July showed a decrease in home prices of 16% for the 12 month period.  During this same period as noted in one of our previous blogs, “San Clemente Real Estate Market Performance - July 2008 vs July 2007” San Clemente home prices declined only 9.36% for the same period.  This clearly illustrates that real estate markets are highly localized as San Clemente real estate has declined about half of what this 20-city index has.

For more information on San Clemente real estate, please contact us!

The most recent sales data for Southern California real estate recently came out and the San Clemente real estate market continues to demonstrate its strength.  Southern California median home price fell 34% in August compared to the same period a year earlier according to this article on CNN.  San Clemente real estate, however, has only fallen approximately 10% over the same period based on our analysis of the San Clemente real estate market’s performance for August 2008 versus August 2007. 

 For more information on San Clemente real estate, please contact us!