Lake Forest 2 Homes & Neighborhoods

It has been pretty quiet the last week, but yesterday 4 new REO (bank-owned) listings came on the market.  There is a waterfront in the Lake Forest Keys priced at $763,900, a 4 bedroom, 2800 square foot house with 3 car garage priced at $579,900 in the Serrano Ridge neighborhood, a 2 bedroom condo in Lakeside Park at $255,000 and a 4 bedroom in the Oaks  priced at $474,900. 

These are all aggressively priced and are not expected to last very long.  Call me if you would like to see any of them.

Lakeside Park Homes in Lake Forest 

Lake Forest Keys Homes in Lake Forest

Serrano Ridge Homes in Lake Forest

The Oaks Homes in Lake Forest

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Here are the latest neighborhood reports for Lake Forest II real estate.  The activity is fairly quiet and there haven’t been a lot of changes, so I’ll save my comments about these neighborhoods for future posts.

Serrano Woods Condos 8-17-2008

Ranchwood Homes 8-17-2008

Lake Park West 8-17-2008

Prairie Ridge 8-17-2008

Parkwood Estates 8-17-2008

There are currently 5 active listings in The Oaks neighborhood of Lake Forest – with at least one of each of the 4 floorplans.  The list prices today range from $504,900 for the 1596 square foot “A” plan, to $659,000 for the 2100 square foot 2 story “D” plan.  So far this year, there have still been no closings.

Recommending the correct price of a home in the Oaks is challenging because the turnover has always been low, and recent comps scarce.  Most of the 164 homes are single story, and have strong appeal to “empty nesters” who are traditionally long term owners.  They are “zero lot line” homes, with front doors located along the side of the house, rather than facing the street, and many of them have locking gates, making them feel more private and secure.  The contemporary design of these homes includes high cathedral ceilings with windows located near the peak, and include open atriums inside the house.   In 1974 when these homes were first built, the homebuilder won several awards for unique architecture.

Latest real estate activity report for The Oaks Neighborhood in Lake Forest

A new bank owned listing came on the market in Lake Park West this week, in a good cul d sac location and priced competitively at $582,750.  It had not been on the market since the last owners bought it in 2005 for $800,000. 

From the information available on the tax rolls, it seems that they put down about $120,000 when they bought it, then took out a $60,000 line of equity in 2006.  I wonder why they didn’t attempt to do a short sale, as it would have delayed the foreclosure for at least several months.  The trustee sale was completed on 7/08/2008, and went back to the bank who listed this week with one of their REO brokers.

I stopped by to see it the first day on the market, and although there are a few items that need fixing, I think it is one of the better values available today.  (I’ll add more details and photos tomorrow.)

Here is the latest activity report for the neighborhood:
Lake Park West YTD 08-09-2008

Popular Lake Forest II Neighborhood

Forest Creek has always been a popular neighborhood in Lake Forest, and the values seem to be holding better than other neighborhoods.  When properties are priced correctly (not at the 2005 real estate frenzy levels) , they are selling very quickly.

There is currently one bank-owned foreclosed property on the market and one totally remodeled “green home” available.  The homes that are in escrow now, all sold much faster than the average 81 days that it is taking to sell in Lake Forest.   (I represented the buyers on one of those homes in escrow, and have 2 other buyers who are waiting for the right home in Forest Creek to come on the market, so please call me if you hear of one coming up!)

Report of this year’s activity : Forest Creek Homes 8-09-2008

Prior posts about Forest Creek

So far this year, 3 condos have closed escrow in the Serrano Woods neighborhood.  One was a traditional sale, one was a short sale, and one was a bank-owned foreclosure.  There is currently one short sale in escrow, and one listing on the active market. 

The Serrano Woods condos are well-located at the corner of Serrano Road and Toledo, providing convenient access to the Sun & Sail Club, Rancho Canada Elementary School, Serrano Creek Park, and the shopping center at Heritage Hill. 

Here is the year-to-date report : Serrano Woods Condos

View prior posts about Serrano Woods

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Pricing is everything in this market!  The only sales this year have been severely reduced after being on the market a long time. 

There are 3 active listings today, and one short sale in a hold status.  There have been 2 closings this year. 

Indian Hills Homes in Lake Forest