Downtown Huntington Beach Real Estate Market??

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Brightwaterhelp_IHB

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is there anyone out there that is familiar with downtown huntington beach that can give me an honest opinion on where they think that particular area is going or is at now in regards to the value of the homes....especially with the new developments coming (the strand and pacific city) and also i keep reading over and over again that the market will continue to slide till end of the year or early next year



reason i ask is that i want to buy there now because i found something i like, but would i be well advised to wait even if i found something i feel is perfect for me now?



thanks!
 
The new developments will completely prevent the value of homes from falling in that area of Huntington Beach. It will be an island of appreciation in the sea of red ink. Just like Portola Springs is holding up the value of Woodbury despite the carnage all around.
 
Since the new devlopments are not quite done yet...i'm weighing whether i buy the house i want right now or wait 6-9 months for further anticipated price drops.
 
My understanding is that values in downtown Huntington have not fallen as much yet as the outlying areas.



All So Cal real estate probably has at least 20-30% more to drop, so if I were you I would wait. The bulk of the price decline should be wrung out of the system over the next 18 months, after that we should expect some continued gradual declines for several years. Unless there is a severe recession, then all bets are off.



So I would sit this out on the sidelines, unless of course your dream home opens up and you can afford a 30% drop in equity because you plan on living there for 20 years and values should catch up again over that period.
 
c'mon, don't steer the guy wrong. One thing downtown SFRs have over those new devs is that they're detached with no HOA. By the way, those newer ones over on the other side of Pacific City from Main Street (by the hotel) are dropping like mad too.



For instance:



<a href="http://www.redfin.com/CA/Huntington-Beach/21338-CIEZA-Cir-92648/home/5983145">21338 Cieza Cir, Huntington Beach, CA 92648</a>



I just looked it up, the dev is called SeaCove at the Waterfront.

Ouch, is all I have to say.
 
i guess i'm having difficulty waiting because of the very few homes i would be interested in the area....since one finally went up for sale, i feel like i should go for it....very very hard decision.
 
Right now, you're paying a premium. How MUCH of a premium is in question, but it would be a premium at this point. Ask yourself if you wouldn't mind the house going down from whatever you pay for it => rental parity, over an undetermined amount of years, before it started going up again. If you don't mind, and you dig the place, then maybe you should get it. I will say that new stuff comes up all the time, and especially now that there are (and will be many more) foreclosures.
 
very good point...i guess i will have to come to that decision on my own....would you think that homes with ocean views in downtown HB will have the same type of foreclosure rates, which is what i'm looking at...or are we just talking about overall real estate market effects to be expected?
 
Short of getting a Foreclosure Radar subscription (although you could try the free trial), go to Yahoo, on the left hand side, click "Real Estate." When the page pops up, type in the zip code for downtown HB, and click the "Foreclosures" button, and then "Search."



On FR, in the area bounded by Adams, Goldenwest, PCH, and Beach Blvd., I count 12 REOs, with 12 more pending auction (a Notice of Trustee's Sale has been recorded), and six Notices of Default recorded.
 
Wow EvaL, I just did one of those Yahoo searches for my zip code (90068) and 106 properties in some sort of foreclosures popped up ! One is even on my street, but I don't know which house it is. :grrr:
 
Homes with trophy ocean view will retain most of its value. Most are better price insulated than homes located farther away from the water. One of a kind property without cookie cutter facimile is the best because there is no exact comp comparison. God has made only so many lineal inches of ocean view so it will always be in demand. Make sure it is on solid ground and located above high tide water level.
 
[quote author="Brightwaterhelp" date=1214366444]is there anyone out there that is familiar with downtown huntington beach that can give me an honest opinion on where they think that particular area is going or is at now in regards to the value of the homes....especially with the new developments coming (the strand and pacific city) and also i keep reading over and over again that the market will continue to slide till end of the year or early next year



reason i ask is that i want to buy there now because i found something i like, but would i be well advised to wait even if i found something i feel is perfect for me now?



thanks!</blockquote>
I purchased a condo nearby - at 7th and PCH - in 1992, during that declining market. Prices continued to decline for a couple more years, and since there were about 80 similar 2BR units in the complex, it was easy to track sales. The major impact of the further decline was that sales volume dried up to almost nothing. Prices were pretty sticky when they were headed down, but exploded upwards in the rising market, after about 1999. As has been said, there isn't a surplus of beachfront. I sold in 2004 and moved to an Irvine rental. So I would say that, if you're SURE you want to be there for the long term and are comfortable with the available financing, go for it, and you will probably end up OK. But, of course, you might be happier if you time the market perfectly and buy a similar place for 10% less in a year or two.



There are many great things about the neighborhood, but there are some 'downsides' also. If you are NOT completely familiar with the neighborhood, maybe I would suggest you rent for a year. It's noisy and congested in the summer (duh!). It's a time-consuming drive to work, if you work anywhere but HB. That's because it's a long, frustrating, congested drive to a freeway on-ramp, whether you head east, north, or west. Depending on the exact location, your street may be completely blocked off for 10-14 hours for the annual marathon and the 4th of July parade. Not a big deal if you like parades and running. But if, for example, you're a doctor on call and MUST have the ability to leave home on one of those dates, it's a problem.
 
I just did the Yahoo search and it looks like it is powered by Realty Trak. I hope the paying customers get better info than what the free search results come up with. Just did a search on our zip code and three pages into it I see our house. It was posted on June 20th as an REO. The bank took it back on March 30th and we took ownership on May 9th.
 
I also purchased an ocean view condo in HB in '91 and prices declined 20% over the next three years and took 9 years to recover.



This time around, I have a feeling prices have a lot more to fall, and 20% decline on on $400,000 is $80,000 but 20% on $1mil is $200K so you are talking an order of magnitude difference and if prices fall 30-40% over the next 24 months, which is entirely possible, you a looking a loss that's more than I paid in 91. Paying $80,000 less on my mortgage at 6% would have cut my mortgage payment by $470/month, not a trivial number but absorbable in the grand scheme of things. The same analysis of $200k comes in at $1,200/month, now your talking some serious money. In '91, $400K got you a two bedroom on PCH with ocean view.



I agree that if you work in Irvine you shouldn't buy in downtown HB, the commute will take an hour in bumper-bumper traffic and kill you. Traffic on PCH is bad on the weekends, but locals know better than to take PCH, so there's only some mild delay to the stop signs. Use Adams to get from Golden West across Beach Blvd. and your fine.
 
WOW...ok, so basically if i buy this house today it would be a really bad idea....i guess i'm trying to find any reason to go for it, because i absolutely love the location...i've spent a very long time looking in the area for a specific spot in downtown that would make me happy (not too close to the crowds, close to the water, etc.) I also work only 4 miles away so commuting is not an issue. the place i want is in distress, not yet in foreclsoure but definitely in a short sale situation and the owners are in the middle of a divorce...so i figured with all of these factors i should do it...but if everyone really feels that i would still lose an additional 20% on a $1.5M home then i should wait...i know i won't find a place llike this anytime soon though....i'm only interested in about 3 or 4 different streets and within those streets only 3 or 4 homes total.
 
Try to lowball them and see what happends. If you pay 25% less than what you think you should be paying, it can't fall that much more.
 
[quote author="Brightwaterhelp" date=1214446577]WOW...ok, so basically if i buy this house today it would be a really bad idea....i guess i'm trying to find any reason to go for it, because i absolutely love the location...i've spent a very long time looking in the area for a specific spot in downtown that would make me happy (not too close to the crowds, close to the water, etc.) I also work only 4 miles away so commuting is not an issue. the place i want is in distress, not yet in foreclsoure but definitely in a short sale situation and the owners are in the middle of a divorce...so i figured with all of these factors i should do it...but if everyone really feels that i would still lose an additional 20% on a $1.5M home then i should wait...i know i won't find a place llike this anytime soon though....i'm only interested in about 3 or 4 different streets and within those streets only 3 or 4 homes total.</blockquote>


Tell us a little more about this home or better yet a link so our opinions could be more helpful and less vague for you. Some statements would blanket over the HB housing market and some may only apply to the specific microcosm of specific locations.
 
[quote author="Brightwaterhelp" date=1214446577]...i guess i'm trying to find any reason to go for it, because i absolutely love the location...i've spent a very long time looking in the area for a specific spot in downtown that would make me happy (not too close to the crowds, close to the water, etc.) ...</blockquote>


There's your reason.



Now just decide how much money you're potentially willing to flush down the toilet to get your must have, busted and divorced the previous owners, place.



and then go for a walk down PCH and look at the for sale and rent signs.



and stop at Starbucks get a coffee and reflect back to what 'downtown' was like in the mid-90s.
 
[quote author="No_Such_Reality" date=1214449879][quote author="Brightwaterhelp" date=1214446577]...i guess i'm trying to find any reason to go for it, because i absolutely love the location...i've spent a very long time looking in the area for a specific spot in downtown that would make me happy (not too close to the crowds, close to the water, etc.) ...</blockquote>


There's your reason.



Now just decide how much money you're potentially willing to flush down the toilet to get your must have, busted and divorced the previous owners, place.



and then go for a walk down PCH and look at the for sale and rent signs.



and stop at Starbucks get a coffee and reflect back to what 'downtown' was like in the mid-90s.</blockquote>


I'm new to the area. What was downtown HB like in the mid-90s?
 
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