Lake Forest, CA

The Orange County Great Park is now offering FREE balloon rides on weekend evenings, in addition to the Thursday through Sunday daytime flights.

They also started providing evening entertainment with dancing on Friday nights, and concerts on Saturday nights. The lineup includes a wide range of entertainers from surf rock bands to Benny Goodman, to country western. Check their event calendar here.

I may be there, so if you see me, please say "Hello!"

I was recently speaking with a young single who is considering buying her first home. She is filled with excitement, anticipation and fear. However, in her heart she knows there is an opportunity presently that has not been available in the last few years and does not want to miss the window. As we are talking I couldn’t help but think, she is me (a few years back) and the market is sooo similar.

I was young, moving up in my career (making a whole $35k) single and trying to determine what was the best move financially for me, “Was there any possibility” When I spoke with family and friends, I heard the same thing over and over, "don’t buy the market is going to go down further", "no way could a condo cost $125k in South Orange County". "Don’t you think you should wait until you’re married?" "What if you meet the man of your dreams, he will think you are to independent" and it went on and on. The only person, who said go for it was my mother, who raised seven kids on her own, never owning a house again after my parents divorce. She quietly would just keep asking "how the house hunt is going"

The market at the time (1995) was filled with uncertainty: there were tons of short sales on the market, Interest Rates were high (8.25%) and the economy was in a scary place. So I began the hunt, first getting pre-approved, looking at the lender like he was crazy when he said I could afford a mortgage that was double my rent; at the time $650 a month for a tiny 1 bedroom apartment in ,.

Working with the lender was a trip in itself, did you ever see the Sex in the City episode when Miranda bought her condo and the lender kept looking at her with a look of horror, said over and over check the SINGLE box, SINGLE box again….. "Are YOU going to be comfortable buying a home on your own, was the consistent question?" Yeap, I had the same guy.

Then I found it, a great condo in Portola Hills, 2 bed/3 bath REO, we put the offer in and wow they came back and said it was mine. I was sooo excited then fear set in “I need to come up with some money”, “How am I a going to be able to do it”. The lender had told me about this program called FHA and I was all in for $7000.00

I will never forget the first night in my new home, friends came over we had the traditional champagne and pizza. Mom and sisters came over the next day and I will never forget my mom’s face as she said, “you did it!” You see that was in Oct 95, my mom passed away in Dec 95. One of things she said to me before her passing was buying that house brought her comfort in knowing I would be secure without you needing someone to take care of you. (sorry boys, no slam, just mom was happy that her little girl did it).

So back to my new client, she is scared, excited and anxious. We have put numerous offers in, but to her dismay we are competing with multiple offers, why because buyers are realizing the window of opportunity is limited, there are only 52 properties in the Saddleback area priced under $200k. Yes, that is right under $200k. ($200k!)

I just keep saying this is such an amazing time, for you to get in! Now remember, I wrote above it was 1995 when I put an offer in for $125k. So in 13 years that window of opportunity has appeared again and ironicly we have FHA again to help.

As we finished up looking today, she turned around and said, wow amazing,

It is Possible!

Kelly Turbeville is one of South Orange County premier Realtors® focusing in the Saddleback Valley and the communities of Lake Forest, Portola Hills, Foothill Ranch, Trabuco Canyon, Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita. Whether she’s helping a first time buyer accomplish the goal of homeownership, or coaching a homeowner on how to use their equity to step up into a nice home or use it to buy an investment property or finding exclusive properties for the high end consumer. Kelly is committed to making it happen. So if you’re considering selling or buying a home in Saddleback Valley, call Kelly to schedule a free consultation. Whatever your dream, with Kelly at your side, Its Possible!

The above information is provided as an opinion and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Based on the levels of inventory, it looks like we are shifting back toward a seller's market! When the ratio of active listings to sales, or new escrows gets down below 6 months, it has generally been considered a market that favors sellers. This doesn't mean that prices are likely to rise soon, but that it is more likely that a buyer will take action sooner when a well-priced property comes on the market.

While there are still many bank-owned homes coming on the market, many seem to be getting more agressive with the pricing right from the start. There are now 38 active REO listings, 53 REOs in escrow, and 25 that have closed in the last 30 days. Assuming an average escrow time of 6 weeks, the 53 properties in escrow, indicate a pace of about 8.5 sales per week. At that rate, the 38 actives would be gone in less than 5 weeks, if no new ones came on the market!

The short sales are the hardest to evaluate due to the fact that each seller, lender, and listing agent is unique. Many of the currently listed short sales will not qualify due to some circumstance of the seller, and will eventually become foreclosures. Many of the listing agents who take the short sale listings are unqualified, and don't really understand the process. Most of the lenders are understaffed and overwhelmed, and not capable of responding to the best offers in a timely manner, so many of the buyers who made offers on these homes will drop out or buy something else by the time the lender makes a decision. At this time, there are 148 properties listed as active short sales in the MLS, with 30 currently under contract, and only 7 that have closed in the last 30 days.

For homes that are neither bank-owned or short sale status there are a total of 135 on the active market, with 42 in escrow, and 20 that have closed in the last 30 days. The active inventory ranges from $179,400 up to $1.8 million, and the average is $635,000. For those that have closed or are currently in escrow, the time on the market is an average of 60 days. For "non-troubled" homes, the inventory is very thin in many size and price ranges. I just witnessed a home that became available on Friday afternoon, with instructions that it could be shown beginning Saturday morning, and by Sunday morning, the status had changed to "Pending." In my opinion, this was priced right at the level that the market now dictates - not the "testing" end, or the "give-away" end, but right where it attracted attention from the buyers who were ready to act.

The activity level in Lake Forest is finally picking up! Right now, we have 114 properties in escrow and 49 that have closed in the last 30 days. Assuming that the 114 is about 6 weeks of activity, the 332 active listings represents an approximate 4 month inventory. Or using the 49 closings, it could be 6.5 months. Either way, it's much better than it has been for quite a while.

The troubled properties (short sales and foreclosures) still make up about 58% of the active properties and 68% of the current escrows. Of the 49 closings in the past 30 days, 32 of them were either short sales or foreclosed.

The pricing now begins at $135,000 for a bank-owned one bedroom condo, and goes up to $1.8 million for a custom lake front home. There are currently 2 single family houses priced at $399,900 and one other in a "hold" status. The first "under $400,000" sale of a single family home since November 2003 happened last month whan a bank-owned home that was listed for $414,000 closed at $395,000.

I specialize in Lake Forest, but work the entire Orange County area, and have identified and described several other well-priced properties on my other blog at (LiveLakeForest.com) If you have been waiting for some good buying opportunities, please contact me as soon as possible to help you find the right one!

As I show properties to potential home buyers moving to the area, one of the first aspects mentioned is always how clean and well taken care of South Orange County is. With that in mind, I wanted to share an event that is a great way to give back to the community.

Aliso Creek Clean-Up Day – Saturday May 31 from 10:00 am – 12:30

If you have ever walked, jogged or rode your bicycle along the Aliso Creek Trail then plan to spend a couple of hours on Saturday the 31st keeping it beautiful. You will be provided with all you need, gloves, bags, a volunteer T-shirt, even a beverage and snack, they need you to supply the energy.

If interested meet south of Cherry Park at Cherry Avenue and Fernbarck. All volunteers must sign a volunteer waiver with the city of Lake Forest.

What a great opportunity to volunteer with your little ones (8 and over) or maybe the scout troops, teens and small groups.

For specifics contact the city at 949.461-3450

Kelly Turbeville is one of South Orange County premier Realtors® focusing in the Saddleback Valley and the communities of Lake Forest, Portola Hills, Foothill Ranch, Trabuco Canyon, Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita. Whether she’s helping a first time buyer accomplish the goal of homeownership, or coaching a homeowner on how to use their equity to step up into a nice home or use it to buy an investment property or finding exclusive properties for the high end consumer. Kelly is committed to making it happen. So if you’re considering selling or buying a home in Saddleback Valley, call Kelly to schedule a free consultation. Whatever your dream, with Kelly at your side, Its Possible!

The above information is provided as an opinion and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.