Norco Hills, 61% off peak

Here's a decent looking deal for anyone interested in Norco Hills. 1493 Harness Ln, Norco, is a 4 bedroom, 3 bath single story home. It's just under 3000 sq/ft and it sits on just over a half acre (unfortunately much of that is a hillside). The home sold new in 2001 for $372,500. It sold near the peak in July 2006 for $883k. It recently went back to the bank and they listed it for $349K. That's the lowest price I've seen in this area by about $50k. There was a listing a few weeks ago on a similar house at $399k. That one went quick and I expect this one will too. I'm sure this will sell over list but we will have to wait and see what the final number comes in at. The loss from peak is $533k or 61% if it sells at list.

This house would actually fit my target profile perfectly but unfortunately I don't like the floorplan. It's in my target area, in my target price and is about the size I want. Now if I can just find a floorplan I like in this price range....





A few streets away in the same tract there is another new listing. This one however, illustrates that some people (especially realtors) still have "hope". 1042 Canyon View is a larger (3900 s/f) 2 story home with all the bells and whistles. It's got the rock pool, the fancy resort style back yard and lots of great upgrades. The lot is much better with an expansive view. But in this market what are those extras worth? The first home is listed for $111 sq/ft and that's probably a fair price. This second home is listed at crack smoking price of $256 sq/ft or a few happy meals shy of 1 million dollars.

The house itself is nice but it doesn't look super upgraded. The flooring is not super high end, I see carpet and 12 x 12 tile. The apliances in the kitchen are ordinary and the cabinets don't look all that spectacular either. It looks like most of the extra would be on the outside. I don't really see anything inside that screams "high end". So what is the view worth? How about the fancy backyard? If we use the same dollar per sq/ft as the base the home's base value is $432k. Now a pool and a view (of the 15 fwy) ait worth $568k. I think the lot is worth an extra $30k and maybe another $100k for the hardscape putting the total value at about $570k.

The asking price is nearly 1 million which is only $50k less that this guy paid in 2005. I don't know if he added all the fancy stuff or it was there. But either way I don't see anyone paying anything close to his asking price.