Pew Survey Shows Homeownership Is Still Popular

Despite the decline in housing prices, the vast majority of Americans still believe buying a home is the best investment they can make, according to a nationwide survey released Monday.

A survey of 2,142 adults by the non-profit Pew Research Center found that 81 percent agree that buying a home is the best investment, nearly identical to a similar poll taken in 1991.

The survey also found that 82 percent of homeowners who said their home is worth less now than it was before the recession strongly or somewhat agree that homeownership is the best long-term investment a person can make.

And while some pundits have speculated that the real estate downturn will lead to more people deciding to rent in the future, the Pew poll debunks that view. Fully 81 percent of renters surveyed said they plan to buy a house at some point, while just 17 percent plan to continue renting. Just 24 percent of renters rent out of choice, with the remainder doing so because they can’t afford to buy a home.

Increased Land Values Leads Builder to Sell Instead of Build

In another sign that homebuilding may be picking up in Southern California, an Irvine-based developer/homebuilder announced this week that it has sold 11 acres in the Orange County community of Lake Forest .

Trumark Homes said it sold the property, acquired just 20 months ago, because of the “dramatic increase in the value of land across coastal Southern California.”

The company had planned to start the construction of 68 to 72 single-family detached homes on the property in late 2010, but changed its mind after receiving several unsolicited inquiries about the purchase of the undeveloped land — known as “paper lots” — over the past few months.

Said Michael Maples, the company’s president and CEO:

The property is now worth three times what we paid for it in August 2009 and it simply made more sense to sell it than to build it out. Once we officially took it to market, we got 20 offers from both public and private homebuilders at an extremely attractive price point.

The former Whisler Family Trust property, located on the corner of Regency Lane and Osterman Road in Lake Forest, was sold to a public builder at an undisclosed price.

Maples attributes the sharp increase in land values to increased optimism about the housing market in core areas of Southern California, as well as the recent surge of new home sales on the north end of the Irvine Ranch. Homebuilders are eager to get back to work, he said, and coastal markets are rebounding faster than those in the Inland Empire.



Once-Controversial Development to Be Finished After 27 Years

Back in the early 1980s, when your blogger was a cub reporter for the late, lamented Simi Valley Enterprise, the City Council spent hours upon hours wrestling with whether to allow 47 acres south of Royal Avenue and Corto Street in the southern part of town to be developed. Nearby residents were aghast that open space they considered their birthright would be developed – and worse, that two-story homes would be built adjacent to an existing neighborhood of one-story houses.

But after several years of debate and many redrawn plans, in late 1984 the council adopted a specific plan for the parcel that allowed 208 single-family homes to be built. The plan also stated that only 26 units would be allowed on the 5 acres at the southeast corner of the two streets, and that those homes could only be built after the first three phases of the project were completed.

Flash forward through the presidencies of Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II and Obama. The rest of the project was built years ago, but now, 27 years after that specific plan was adopted, it appears construction will soon begin on the last section of the development.

Tuesday, the council is expected to add Tri Pointe Homes LLC to its managed growth permit allocation system, meaning the company should be able to soon start developing the site and ultimately be awarded permits to build 43 Mission-style homes with zero lot lines. Ironically, given the protests about density a quarter-century ago, most neighbors seem to like the design.

The Simi Valley Acorn reported last year that at the Planning Commission hearing:

Jerry Auerbach, who lives near the site and travels Corto Street daily, said he looks forward to such a “unique” development.

“There’s a feeling of community, of safety, the way that the walkways are set up, the way that the paseo kind of goes around,” he said. “It kind of gives you that warm feeling that the community is going to be spending time together, the kids are going to be out there playing together.”

Real estate broker Eric Bordo, who lives nearby, agreed.

“I look at the community as a completion of the whole neighborhood,” Bordo said, adding that the development will increase property values and bring money into the city during a time when few developers are building.

There were a number of holdups over the years, including flooding concerns, and it took time for some of those problems to be resolved. But local resident Tamara Plotkin pretty much summed up the feeling of the neighborhood:

“I think that empty lot is an eyesore and it’s really sad to see it lingering there, accumulating debris. I think it would be really good to develop this area.”



New Report Shows Need for More Housing Over Next 15 Years

The respected, nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California today released a report highlighting how California's continued growth will place further demands on the state's infrastructure needs - including new housing.

After the elderly, adults in their late 20s and early 30s will be the fastest-growing age group. Between 2009 and 2025, the number of adults ages 25 to 35 will increase by almost one-third. This is the age at which young adults typically get married, start families, and establish their own households—driving up housing demand.

Given that it often takes 10 years or more before a proposed new-housing community moves from an idea to reality - due to the state's cumbersome planning process and the ever-present threat of litigation - it's critical that builders and local governments begin planning today for the wide range of housing that will be needed for the Californians of tomorrow.

The report includes highlights of other growth factors, including where the biggest population increases will take place and the changing demographics of the population. You can download it (PDF) here.

Increased Activity Leads Warmington to Hire Sr. Project Manager

Due to a recent increase in homebuilding activity, James “Jay” Deckard has rejoined the new-home building company of Warmington Residential California as senior project manager for its Southern California division.

Deckard was previously employed by Warmington for approximately 12 years before leaving to pursue other real estate-related endeavors, including owning and operating his own homebuilding firm in Tampa, Florida.

As senior project manager, he will oversee the project management efforts for all of Warmington's Southern California communities, which include three that are now selling and three others that are slated to open this year. His responsibilities also include due diligence for land acquisition on new opportunities, which Warmington is aggressively seeking.

Currently, Warmington’s Southern California division is building and selling new homes at Day Creek Highlands in Rancho Cucamonga; Elements at Pine Valley Estates in Chino Hills; and Poinsettia Ridge in Carlsbad. Three additional communities are slated to open this year: Stonehaven Estates II in Chatsworth, Seaside Highlands in Encinitas and Edgehill Terrace in Vista.

You can read the full press release here.