Lots for homes at The Strand at Headlands, a 121-acre Dana Point project several years in the making, were sold with a bang this month.
The first batch of 25 undeveloped lots at The Strand sold for $148 million, setting a number of land sale records for Orange County.
The three-day sales process exceeded already lofty projections, both in terms of revenue and interest, developer Sanford Edward said.
The lots, each one-fifth of an acre, went for an average of $5.9 million apiece. The nearly $30 million per acre price is about five times the price per acre seen at some of the county’s most expensive lots in places such as Irvine’s Shady Canyon.
The 12 lots directly at the front of The Strand, overlooking the coast, went for even more. Those hit a combined $41 million per acre, far and away a record for the county, Edward said.
A total of 118 home lots are up for sale at The Strand, with the developer releasing the remaining parcels in smaller batches. The next sales are set for January.
Buyers in this month’s sale included locals and others from Boston, Chicago, Scottsdale, San Francisco and Las Vegas, Edward said. He declined to give names.
Some buyers scooped up multiple lots, he said.
The buyers have six months to submit design plans for their homes. Construction should begin within two years. The buyers can expect to spend another $4 million or so for their custom homes, which are likely to run between 7,000 to 8,000 square feet each.
The Strand is an anomaly in the county’s changing housing market, where sales have been declining for months and prices are weakening. The lots on a hill overlooking the ocean are a market unto themselves, luring wealthy buyers to what could be one of the last developments of its kind in the county.
The Strand faced a lengthy battle to get approval from state and local authorities.
Edward’s Headlands Reserve LLC bought the land from the Chandler family, former owners of the Los Angeles Times, about eight years ago.
“I was optimistic, and maybe a little naive,” he said. “I thought it would take three or four years.”
Approvals finally were granted in 2004.
One upside of the delay: Edward’s initial projections assumed the premium lots would sell for $1.2 million.
Plans for a 90-room hotel and condo project still are being worked on, and should be submitted for approval later next year.
Also on tap: 35,000 square feet of shops, a restaurant, a 10,000-square-foot spa and a 9,300-square-foot beach club. n
