Sunday, February 17, 2008

Sierra Hieghts, new tracts in 2008??

Believe it or not two new tracts are just opening in Riverside. Sierra Heights is just north of Victoria and East of La Sierra. It's up in orange grove country and has a nice view of the valley. I was stunned when I ran across these this weekend. I was even more stunned when I saw the prices. Apparently Lennar and Standard Pacific did not get the memo about the collapse of the market.

Standard Pacific has 4 models in Sierra Hieghts. They area all big and all expensive. The homes start at just over 3000 sq/ft and go to over 4700 sq/ft. They sit on large lots of about 1/3 acre. But with starting prices in the mid $500's you have to wonder if they will sell. They had sold signs on a few of the available homes (amazing). So it does look like there are still buyers that also did not get the memo.

The Lennar tract did not have the models open yet although they looked finished. They have 4 models and they are big homes as well. The smallest home is just under 3000 sq/ft and the biggest is over 4600 sq/ft, website says the prices will start in the upper $500's. Good luck with that!

I wonder how long before they start dropping the prices? These guys are asking $160 -$170 sq/ft when up at lake hills they have dropped many of the new homes down into the low $130's sq/ft. You can drive up to Bridle Creek and get a similar sized home on an acre for less than these. I'm guessing they are opening with the higher prices to test the waters first.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Who in the IE, exactly, do they think will be buying all of these homes? Which dumb ass lender is loaning people that much money these days? I don't get it.

There is a small tract going in on La Sierra, north of Hole. The sign says "Starting in the $400,000s." Bahahahahaha!!! For 2000 sq.ft.??? In THAT part of town? BAHAHAHAHAHA.

Somervale II is a bit further north on La Sierra and Arlington. It's a nicer location and they're advertising 1800 sq. ft. homes "From the low $300,000s." It's also gated and has a private park. It's pretty cute in there...if you want to live on top of your neighbor. DH and I went looking at those homes a year ago. They wanted $480,000 for the largest model.

Rob Dawg said...

What are the HOAs and Mello-Roos? I'm betting some serious coin for the sewers and roads.

Anonymous said...

These tracks have actually been open for a while. I remember taking a look at them over the summer or early fall. Prices have actually dropped since then, they started out closer to 800k! The Lennar models were open too, I wonder why they were closed when you went by on a weekend.

The tax rate was close to 1.8% with the special assessments, and the HOA was over $250/month if I remember correctly. Standard Pacific was willing to pay the HOA for new buyers for a couple of years, but after that you were on your own.

golfer_X said...

That's strange. I asked the sales rep at the standard pacific homes if they had just opened and he said yes. When I saw the Lennar models were not open I assumed they were just getting them finished. They were definately not open. I parked the car got out and jiggled the door just to make sure.

It's also the first time I've seen sign spinners for this development. They musta been trying to keep a low profile

Rob Dawg said...

If I may. What follows is a personal observation. When I mapped the location I was stunned. NoEffinWhersVille.

golfer_X said...

These are actually only about a 2 miles from Tyler Mall. They're not out in the boonies by any stretch. They are hidden away behind and orange grove and not very well advertised making them a little difficult to spot. I found them completely by accident whilst following signs to a REO open house.

Anonymous said...

the lennars are not new...instead they have stopped building, sold all the inventory, and are closing. for their next trick, they will start new models of smaller homes, on the same lots, from probably not much less money.