Inventory creeping up?

[paperboyNC]

BTW, New listing in PS @$491/SF- listing says major upgrades (dont they all?).
It'll be interesting to see where the current crop of PS homes end up on SF basis.

41 Native Trail?http://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/41-Native-Trl-92618/home/40101856

That house does have a lot of upgrades - just look at the listing photos.  Definitely can't replicate the interior upgrades and landscaping with spending "much less" than $140k.  But it's hard to compare since you haven't done paperboy's math exercise with an OH home.  What you can argue is you don't need all those upgrades or care for that taste so why pay for it.

If your kids are going to trash a house anyways here's one across the street from Orchard Hills for $383/sqft http://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/2-Upland-92602/home/5813395

3 car garage
5000+ sq ft lot

Not a bad house at all.

 

[O Hills]

BTW, New listing in PS @$491/SF- listing says major upgrades (dont they all?).
It'll be interesting to see where the current crop of PS homes end up on SF basis.

41 Native Trail?http://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/41-Native-Trl-92618/home/40101856

That house does have a lot of upgrades - just look at the listing photos.  Definitely can't replicate the interior upgrades and landscaping with spending "much less" than $140k.  But it's hard to compare since you haven't done paperboy's math exercise with an OH home.  What you can argue is you don't need all those upgrades or care for that taste so why pay for it.

If your kids are going to trash a house anyways here's one across the street from Orchard Hills for $383/sqft http://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/2-Upland-92602/home/5813395

3 car garage
5000+ sq ft lot

Not a bad house at all.

Yeah, good price-- it's "discounted" because it backs Culver.

9 Atascadero is nice- $473/SQFT
So is 27 Calistoga at $481/SQFT

 

[OpenSky]

 

[eclipxe]

I'm hearing whispers that the drought is a factor in the recent pullback. That out of state/country money is slowing partly because of water security fears. Any anecdotes or thoughts on that theory?

No one cares about the drought. CA has always been in a drought and always will. Some years the warnings will be more dire, some years less dire. We'll have a big El Nino and get rain and massive floods and everyone will forget the crisis du jour, then repeat in 5-10 years.

 

[OpenSky]

>

 

[lnc]

I'm hearing whispers that the drought is a factor in the recent pullback. That out of state/country money is slowing partly because of water security fears. Any anecdotes or thoughts on that theory?

No one cares about the drought. CA has always been in a drought and always will. Some years the warnings will be more dire, some years less dire. We'll have a big El Nino and get rain and massive floods and everyone will forget the crisis du jour, then repeat in 5-10 years.

What happen if the drought lasted more than 200 years?

Through studies of tree rings, sediment and other natural evidence, researchers have documented multiple droughts in California that lasted 10 or 20 years in a row during the past 1,000 years -- compared to the mere three-year duration of the current dry spell. The two most severe megadroughts make the Dust Bowl of the 1930s look tame: a 240-year-long drought that started in 850 and, 50 years after the conclusion of that one, another that stretched at least 180 years.
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_24993601/california-drought-past-dry-periods-have-lasted-more

 

[MFWIC]

The air has water content of at least 40-60%.  There is a lot of water everywhere, which will require energy to extract.  For examplehttp://www.eolewater.com/
A fully self sufficient water generation setup using wind power.  Not feasible for California because water is cheap, and that system produces drinking water which you wouldn't want to waste on vegetation or baths.

Seattle and Oregon has abundant source of freshwater when it becomes economically feasible to pipeline water down.  Until then, water from Colorado is the cheapest source currently. 

Keep in mind that the agriculture sector consumes 85% of the water in California.  So no matter how much more people conserve, it is not going to make a dent to the water usage needs.  There can be a lot of efficiencies implemented in farming, especially looking how it is done in these small Irvine plots that I've seen.

 

[paperboyNC]

If Americans all became vegetarian we'd use 50% less fresh water in the whole country. It takes 13lbs of soybeans/wheat to produce one pound of beef. Eventually the gov't will drop meat subsidies, prices will rise to the true cost and society will use a lot less water.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

If Americans all became vegetarian we'd use 50% less fresh water in the whole country pigs would start flying.

You might as well have said "If Irvine prices drop 40%" if you're going to bandy about impossible scenarios.

 

[daedalus]

Not impossible.  Paperboy nailed it.  I have been saying for years that the cost of water should be higher.  How valuable is it, after all?  You triple the usage cost on someone's water bill and they will likely think twice when taking a long shower.  Subsidies are just an economic perversion.  I strongly suspect the inverse correlation between smoking rates and tobacco costs are markedly better than the inverse correlation between smoking rates and drug education.  Not that *I'm* about to give up my red meat or green lawn. 

 

[paperboyNC]

Not impossible.  Paperboy nailed it.  I have been saying for years that the cost of water should be higher.  How valuable is it, after all?  You triple the usage cost on someone's water bill and they will likely think twice when taking a long shower.  Subsidies are just an economic perversion.  I strongly suspect the inverse correlation between smoking rates and tobacco costs are markedly better than the inverse correlation between smoking rates and drug education.  Not that *I'm* about to give up my red meat or green lawn. 

Yup. My IRWD is the same no water what I do. We were out of town for an entire month and it was the same. So now that I know a long shower costs almost nothing, I shower away.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Hmm... had to adjust my sprinkler times/frequency because my water bill was higher than normal.

Maybe I have a ZeroLot leak in my water usage somewhere... does IRWD have a water usage breakdown like Edison?

 

[Irvinecommuter]

Hmm... had to adjust my sprinkler times/frequency because my water bill was higher than normal.

Maybe I have a ZeroLot leak in my water usage somewhere... does IRWD have a water usage breakdown like Edison?

My water bill has a breakdown...IRWD tier the rates.  You get an allotted amount depending on the size of your home and number of people living in there.  Water gets more expensive as you use more water.   
http://www.irwd.com/services/residential-water-rates

TBF, you really feel the pinch if you have a huge yard or a pool.  With all the water saving appliances these days, everyday water use is relatively low.  I mean, even at the highest rate, you're paying about $13 for about 750 gallons of water.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Do they break it down by hour?

 

[OpenSky]

>

 

[paperboyNC]

I pay $1.05 per 748 gallons of water (CCF) up to 5 and $1.51/CCF for the next tier. I typically use 3-7 CCF per month. My flat charges are $25.90/mo so my bill varies from $29.05 - $34.17. So if I more than double my water usage, my bill goes up only $5.12. It's hardly any motivation to conserve water. Of course I also have a very water pinching home with all new appliances, a front-loading washer and very few sprinklers.

 

[ZeroLot]

Hmm... had to adjust my sprinkler times/frequency because my water bill was higher than normal.

Maybe I have a ZeroLot leak in my water usage somewhere... does IRWD have a water usage breakdown like Edison?

Trust me, you don't want an "ZeroLot leak" in any utility devices.

Turns out it was a bad wire that was sending strange signals to the circuit board that controls the FAU. Hence the odd hours at night it turned on and off.  That was one possessed wire.

 

[qwerty]

Hmm... had to adjust my sprinkler times/frequency because my water bill was higher than normal.

Maybe I have a ZeroLot leak in my water usage somewhere... does IRWD have a water usage breakdown like Edison?

Trust me, you don't want an "ZeroLot leak" in any utility devices.

Turns out it was a bad wire that was sending strange signals to the circuit board that controls the FAU. Hence the odd hours at night it turned on and off.  That was one possessed wire.

so sounds like the issue is now fixed?

 

[ZeroLot]

Hmm... had to adjust my sprinkler times/frequency because my water bill was higher than normal.

Maybe I have a ZeroLot leak in my water usage somewhere... does IRWD have a water usage breakdown like Edison?

Trust me, you don't want an "ZeroLot leak" in any utility devices.

Turns out it was a bad wire that was sending strange signals to the circuit board that controls the FAU. Hence the odd hours at night it turned on and off.  That was one possessed wire.

so sounds like the issue is now fixed?

Yes, thank goodness.  We can now finally use the AC and know that our bill won't go beyond $150.  We've been enjoying 75 degrees in the house and our projected bill for this month is $140 and that's only with the wire fixed for just one week in that bill.

 

[eyephone]

Hmm... had to adjust my sprinkler times/frequency because my water bill was higher than normal.

Maybe I have a ZeroLot leak in my water usage somewhere... does IRWD have a water usage breakdown like Edison?

Trust me, you don't want an "ZeroLot leak" in any utility devices.

Turns out it was a bad wire that was sending strange signals to the circuit board that controls the FAU. Hence the odd hours at night it turned on and off.  That was one possessed wire.

so sounds like the issue is now fixed?

Yes, thank goodness.  We can now finally use the AC and know that our bill won't go beyond $150.  We've been enjoying 75 degrees in the house and our projected bill for this month is $140 and that's only with the wire fixed for just one week in that bill.

Are you going to get reimbursed for the "issue"?