Laguna Beach, California Crawls With Baby Boomers
by Blanche Evans
Local Realtors say the Baby Boomers are taking over, with lots of investment in California's Riviera, otherwise known as Laguna Beach. "Laguna Beach is a picturesque coastal town with a mix of old and new," says Realtor Fran Bertini. "Many homes have views--depending on the location. Coves and small bays add to the city's charm. Slightly in from the beach, the town ascends into hills divided by canyons. In the early 20th century, it was an artists' colony and is still devoted to the arts. The city has a quaint and pretty downtown with many small shops. Like most coastal communities, you can enjoy the clean air quality." Says Realtor Stacy McCullough, "Many people assume the real estate market has declined over the past several months. True, January through the end of April were months that favored sellers with inflated home selling prices and a feeding frenzy of buyers. Since then, however, Orange County has returned to a more "normal" market where homes typically take three to five months to sell, something we have not experienced for several years. Home inventories in the marketplace increased from May through early September but those inventories have been declining since mid-September as buyers continue to buy. McCullough suggests, "So what's really happening in Orange County real estate?The season of "seller's greed" is waning. Homes are selling at increased sales prices but the rate of increase has slowed. Sellers still try to list their homes at inflated list prices but have to adjust those list prices quickly to market value to attract buyers. The sold prices, however, are recording higher in value at the end of the year than the recorded values at the beginning of 2004 especially in coastal areas and newer neighborhoods. Home values increased in value by 24.3 percent over the past 12 months. The projection for 2005 is for home values to increase between 13 percent and 17 percent. The Mission Viejo Ranch has recently been approved to build and provide approximately 23,000 new homes over the next 20+ years. It is estimated that Orange County needs approximately 14,000 new homes a year just to keep up with demand. All this spells out upward pressures on home values making Orange County still a great place to own, buy and sell real estate. And there are still many buyers who continue to take advantage of the continuing very-low interest rates and creative loan products." "The coastal communities of south Orange County are commonly called "the "California Riviera" for its beautiful beaches and mild climate," says Realtor Pamela Horton. Horton says, "Baby boomers dominated the residential market in 2004 accounting for 74 percent of home sales, according to the California Association of Realtors' "Survey of California Buyers." A typical California home seller was married, 47 years old, earned $135K annually and had sold a home before. The last two weeks in December in Laguna Beach showed much activity with 13 properties in escrow and a low total inventory of 112 residential listings. It is expected that inventory will increase in the next few months with spring being a very active market." |
