[solman]

Pardee has always given me the printed out price list… I just have to be persistent in asking for it. Their Carmel Valley models have a good 150k of upgrades. They charge enormous margins.

However, using the builder for some options is just plain smart. For example, it costs more to get a contractor to demolish your existing granite/tile countertop, in order to put on a new one. You’re better off choosing what you want from the builder. Also, the builder has an incentive to do a good job: when you go through pre-close inspection, if you find problems (bad wood work?), they have to fix it before you’ll close escrow. Your average contractor may just say ‘tough’, as he has a mechanics lien on your property, and you have to pay or go to court.

Warmington homes (Stonebridge) has a neighborhood called Viscaya, and their models look great. I’ve priced out what it costs to upgrade everything to model, and minus crown moulding, it’s about 40k. Flooring is another 40k. I’ve priced the Pardee homes before, and they need at least 100k before flooring, due to nickel-and-diming.

[solman]

zk,

Saratoga homes barely fit on the Ridge lots. Well, many of the Ridge lots are longer than the home, but certainly not wide enough for a Derby Hill. Some have only 8 feet from house to brick wall on the sides. Derby’s are almost twice as wide as Sara’s.

I seriously doubt Derby will be scrapping future phases to put CR & Saratoga’s on their lots. First of all, it would make the street look inconsistent, with house sizes changing shape suddenly. Second, Derby lots are too large to “waste” on a CR/Sara home. Profit would be lost.

[solman]

These layoffs will not affect the housing market whatsoever. Check out monster.com. 420 openings in engineering in San Diego in the past 60 days. Those people will get re-hired by the likes of TI, Moto, or QCOM.

[solman]

My guess: to increase the people who see the listing. More price changes equals more time you show up in “what’s new in MLS today”.

[solman]

powayseller,

If we had another offer, as you did, a month after the first, we would take it no questions asked. So you were very wise to get out. This is a declining market. We’ll get 10% less than our first offer now, 60 days later. No question.

Our mortgage is under $1400/mo with impounds, so it’s best to stay put until we can find a new place. I figure sellers will accept contingencies now that the market has shifted. We certainly would!

As for following CV, I’m guessing that’s because a lot of folks (including me) would love to live there. So we all hope it will crash, so we can afford to get in. If CV is hurting a bit, I’m guessing other areas will be hurt much more. I can attest to the fact that Mira Mesa has FEW FEW buyers. What, boats/RVs parked on the street & shopping carts all over the place are no longer desirable? 🙂

[solman]

powayseller,

We got 2 buyers the first weekend. Got an offer 5% below asking. We countered, they wouldn’t budge a dollar. So they walked. That’s the last time we ever saw a buyer.

We’ve since lowered our price below that offer. I see all the other houses lowering by 5% every few weeks… it’s not working for them either. I live in Mira Mesa, and the market seems very slow here.

So in order to sell, I think we’ll have to lower at least 10% more. In that case, we can’t afford the new house, so we’re walking away from that. And like I said before, I’m thinking this is fortunate. I’ll be anxiously awaiting 10-20% drops in CV.

As for renting, we have a baby and a dog, and so need a yard. I suppose we could rent a house, but why pay so much money in rent? Like I said, our house is very cheap comparitively, and so it’s actually worth it to keep living in it.

[solman]

dontfollowtheherd,

Add me to the stats. Signed up for an expensive new home in CV, but haven’t been able to sell our old house. Heck, we haven’t even seen ONE buyer in the last 60 days. Price reductions of 5-10% have resulted in NOTHING. We’re the 6th cheapest house in our area, even though we have tons of upgrades. So we’re backing out of the new house.

I figure this is fortunate for us. In 6 months, as you say, both houses will be cheaper. Since our old house is MUCH cheaper to start with, we’ll save money overall. It’s a good thing we don’t NEED to sell. That would be scary.

[solman]

Santa Rosa homes start at $1m in PHR. I have the price sheet right here with the FAQ that spells out the monthly fees:

Is there an association?
Yes, there are 2: West Santa Rosa Community association is currently $55/mo and will rise to a minimum of $150/mo at buildout. West Highlands Pacific Homeowners association is $35/mo.

Is there a CFD?
Yes, there are 2: Solana Beach school district at $300/mo. San Dieguito Union High School district at $85/mo.

Let’s see:
HOA: $35 + $150 (minimum at buildout) = $185
MR: $300 + $85 = $385
Total = $385 + $185 = $570.

Keep in mind that the $150/mo HOA is specified as a MINIMUM at buildout. So these fees start at $570/mo and could rise with the HOA costs.

[solman]

Right, I was talking about Saratoga (Carmel Country Highlands), not Pacific Highlands Ranch. PHR can go as bad as $600/mo for HOA & MR for their more expensive homes.

[solman]

Those Saratoga homes have an HOA from 60-150/mo, and a MR of 104/mo. Worst case total is $254/mo, not $1000!

The homes with the incentives are right on Carmel Mountain road, and hence the trouble selling them. I went to a release a couple weeks ago and all 5 properties sold in 5 minutes, with 10-15 other couples disappointed they couldn’t buy one.

Similarly for the more expensive Derby Hill. They have a list of over 500 people waiting to spend $1.2-1.5m, and they always sell out on release day.

Carmel Valley does indeed seem invincible. At least for now.

[solman]

I live in Mira Mesa, have for over 6 years. Definitely the best bang for your buck in San Diego, in my opinion. Great retail, very convenient commute to Sorrento Valley, 4 exits on the 15 so plenty of options to avoid heavy traffic, etc. And it’s SO cheap compared to any other area, except perhaps Chula Vista.

My neighbors are the coolest. One invites us to all his July 4 and birthday parties. Everyone’s really down to earth.

That being said, the neighborhood is definitely in decline. There are Target shopping carts left on the side of the road every block or so. People park huge RVs on the street, and sometimes on their front lawn! One guy stucco’d his entire house lime sherbert green on Gold Coast Drive. I can’t stop laughing every time I drive by. I feel bad for his neighbors though. There are a large number of renters in the neighborhood. Every 6 months, I’ll see a street full of broken car windows, as the kids went crazy the night before. The list goes on and on.

So it’s time for us to move, unfortunately.

[solman]

I actually believe those sales agents (gasp). Here’s why.

They’re rushing the first 3 phases out in order to have them built by December. As some folks may know, a company’s quarterly & annual results are important to shareholders. Getting the homes built (closed escrow) by December means that the revenue will count against that particular quarter (and perhaps year). It makes sense that if Pardee (owned by Weyerhaeuser) isn’t moving enough units in their northern properties that they would try to make up for it by selling more of their (presumably nicer) southern properties.

I’m not saying they haven’t also factored in the fact that the RE market is slowing. I’m sure that factored into this move. But rushing the first 3 releases seems more geared to a December close than any type of ‘panic’ by Pardee. I’ll bet releases 4 to 6 of the Ridge will be much slower, perhaps every 4-6 weeks, since they’ll be closing after December, and hence no particular rush.

It also makes sense that Pacific Highlands Ranch units would move slower: the commute is much worse (56), and the Mello Roos are much larger.

[solman]

Keep in mind that you cannot buy one of those Derby Hills homes now. They say they have a waiting list of at least 460 names from phase 6 still waiting to buy. When I saw the models, I saw throngs of people going through them (they are very nice). Folks seem to have no problem paying the $1.2-1.4m for these homes. Now Pardee’s cheaper developments (Saratoga, Pacific Highlands) aren’t doing nearly as well… they’re starting to offer incentives. So the top end seems to be doing pretty well.

I was also wondering why they’re rushing to sell those new homes (Ridge at Saratoga). The sales guy said they’d be selling all phases in a short period, with move in for the summer (4+ months). This contrasts with Derby Hill which is going at 6 weeks per phase offer, 8 months to build.

[Author]

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