There is a small North Orange County city named Villa Park ... and those who live there enjoy a very prestigious address. It is a serene, affluent island of large homes on large lots, completely surrounded by the lovely homes in the hills belonging to the city of Orange.
There is a quiet, rural simplicity to Villa Park, but one cannot help noticing the elegance and richness of the homes as well as a real sense of history. Over the years, I have listed and/or sold many homes in Villa Park. I have always been struck by the feeling of well-being and peace in the area. This is truly a little piece of the world that is so close to everything in Orange County ... yet so set apart!
A bit of recent Market History for Villa Park:
On 1/26/08: ... 41 Active/ 7 Pending - Ratio is 17% On 3/4/08: ..... 48 Active/ 5 Pending - Ratio is 10% On 4/12/08: ... 52 Active/ 8 Pending - Ratio is 15% On 5/15/08: ... 48 Active/ 9 Pending - Ratio is 19% On 8/29/08: ... 45 Active/ 8 Pending - Ratio is 18% On 10/17/08: . 40 Active/ 4 Pending - Ratio is 10% On 12/6/08: ... 37 Active/ 3 Pending - Ratio is 8% On 1/22/09: ... 36 Active/ 7 Pending - Ratio is 19% On 2/23/09: ... 37 Active/ 2 Pending - Ratio is 5% On 4/5/09: ..... 46 Active/ 5 Pending - Ratio is 11% On 5/19/09: ... 50 Active/ 9 Pending - Ratio is 18% On 6/27/09: ... 49 Active/13 Pending - Ratio is 27% On 7/30/09: ... 42 Active/14 Pending - Ratio is 33% On 10/8/09: ... 33 Active/14 Pending - Ratio is 42% On 11/22/09 .. 35 Active/12 Pending - Ratio is 34%
Villa Park market activity seems to be finally picking up! Nearby communities of Anaheim Hills, Yorba Linda and Placentia have much higher current Pending to Active ratios but they also have many lower priced listings. The market is really, really heating up and Villa Park is beginning to feel the impact!!
The slight drop in ratio noted above is not significant. We are entering the slowest part of the Real Estate calendar ... The Holiday Season! Activity picks up dramatically as soon as the decorations come down.
Inventory has fallen significantly and sales have remained steady. We will have to wait and see what happens in Villa Park Real Estate as we move into the New Year ....
A lot of financing today is done through FHA which is not of much use in Villa Park because of low FHA, and conforming conventional loan limits. Jumbo financing is still a bit hard to arrange and this is hurting market activity in Villa Park.
71% of Villa Park properties are listed over $1,000,000. Until the Jumbo financing situation loosens up a bit more, the ratios in Villa Park will probably remain lower and these beautiful and elegant homes will remain harder to sell.
Villa Park is a tiny city of only about 6,500, and the number of listed homes is never huge. The Buyer pool is much smaller, also, for such upscale and expensive homes.
The lowest priced Villa Park Active listing is a 5100 sqft home with 5 bdrm + 5 baths, built in 1992 and listed at $800,000 However, the home has some structural problems that need to be corrected and the price reflects this.
The most expensive listed home in Villa Park is an elegant 12,000 sqft Mediterranean style mansion, built in 2005 on a 39,400 sqft lot with every imaginable luxury feature. It has 5 bedrooms, 8 baths, six car garage and full media room. This home is listed at $5,295,000.
There are now 10 Active listings priced between $800,000 and $1,000,000 in Villa Park. 11 homes are listed between $1,000,000 and $1,495,000. The remaining 14 are all priced over $1,695,000. Villa Park is a very exclusive neighborhood.
The majority of current Villa Park Active listings are standard, or Equity, sales ... meaning that the property is owned by a regular Seller with equity.
The most expensive home currently in escrow is listed at $1,349,000. 4 of the 12 homes had been reduced in price at least once when they "sold".
Six of the 12 homes in Escrow are Short Sales. Six properties are Equity Sales and there are no Bank Repos in Escrow right now.
Eight Villa Park MLS listed homes closed escrow between 9/15/09 and 10/14/09.
The most expensive Closed Villa Park property sold at $1,445,000 with a 88% ratio of Closed to List Price. Standard Equity sale. There were only four closings over $1,000,000
Two Short Sales averaged closing prices at 96% of List.
One bank owned home closed at 98% of list.
The remaining 5 closings were all Equity sales and averaged 93% Closed to List price.
There are many real bargains in Villa Park right now!
The ratio of sales to list price can swing widely based upon so many factors! These include Pricing (#1), location, condition, Seller motivation and length of time on the market.
The market has definitely slowed down compared to the pace of a couple of years ago. Prices have fallen a lot. The relative and uniform high cost and luxury of Villa Park may make it a little more difficult for this small city to recover from the Real Estate Slump.
However, well priced, well appointed and well located homes can still sell quickly even in the higher price ranges.
Some homes stay on the market much longer than others and can go through multiple price reductions. If there is no serious flaw in the location or condition .... they do not sell because they are simply priced too high for what they offer. These are the homes that can wind up selling for substantially below list price after many months on the market.
Most experts predict that immigration into Southern California will continue to exceed available housing for years to come. If this is the case, prices should begin and continue to rise slowly, in the future, even if interest rates rise as well.
There are few special tax assessments or homeowner's associations in Villa Park. You will see an occasional smaller home built in the 1940's-50's, or even before .... next door to a huge, elegant home built or renovated in the 1990's or later. One by one, the smaller, older homes are being bought up and reconfigured.
Most lots, in the central, northern and southeastern part of Villa Park, are about 20,000 sqft or more. In the southwestern part, you will find beautiful homes that are likely, but not always, to be on smaller lots. There are very few vacant lots left in Villa Park.
You will find many custom homes in Villa Park. However, the majority of homes were built in the very late 1960's or 1970's as tracts of spacious, single story homes on large lots. You will also find an ample number of two story homes. As time went on, these homes have been added on to, upgraded and individualized until it is usually hard to tell they were built as a tract.
About 35-40 Villa Park homes back onto a beautiful reservoir that is also a bird sanctuary. You can live in Villa Park and have a water view! Or, you can hop on the freeway and be at the beach in 20 minutes!
Villa Park begins to climb into the hills as you go North. Most of these homes have beautiful views of Orange County city lights! Many of the most expensive homes are in this area ... but you will also find them in all areas of Villa Park.
There are no townhomes or apartments in Villa Park. Also, there is almost no commercial development ... only a supermarket, gas station and a few small shops in a strip mall on the Western side. This is not a problem, however, because the freeway and the stores, offices and malls of Orange county are just minutes away!
Villa Park schools are part of the Orange Unified School District. Villa Park High School is known for excellence in it's academic and sport programs.
If you are looking for quality, tranquillity, space and elegance ... you must experience Villa Park. Let me show it to you! You will love it!
About Marlene Prescott:
Thank you for viewing my Market Conditions report! I have been happily and successfully representing Buyers and Sellers in North Orange County and the Corona area Since 1982. I love Real Estate and it shows!
In 2001, I ranked among the top 6% of all Prudential agents nationwide. I have been affiliated with Prudential California Realty for the last twelve years. The prestige and clout of Prudential, combined with my own expertise and experience, is a winning combination.
You will find me professional and easy to work with! Your questions and concerns will be addressed promptly and completely. A transaction is about you ... and I will always keep your best interests as my primary focus. I really listen to what you say.
I am a native Southern Californian, but went to High School on the Oregon coast before graduating from the University of Oregon. Following graduation, I was a social worker in downtown Los Angeles for eight years before I married and moved to Yorba Linda in 1972. I have a son and a daughter who are both currently living on the East Coast ... I try to visit them often.
I love to garden, read, attend live theater, travel and paint rooms in my house (among other homeowner things). I love my cats and crafts .... and life in general! I am forever searching for a highly scented candle and a good novel with substance!
EMail me at MarlenePre@AOL.com or call me at (714) 998-7250 with any questions you may have about my little corner of the world or our Real Estate market. You will receive a prompt, thoughtful and reliable response!
These reports reflect the views and opinions of their authors and are not necessarily the views and opinions of Realty Times.
