IN-FILL: North County Sees Its Own Housing Boom
By DANIEL D. WILLIAMS
North Orange County’s housing market is booming.
From Anaheim Hills to Huntington Beach, homebuilders say they can’t get enough land to meet demand for homes north of the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway.
Unlike South County, with its sprawling masterplanned communities, North County’s boom is playing out on former oil company land, abandoned industrial space and smaller parcels previously overlooked.
“The new home projects are built through internally created demand by people already living up there who are looking to move up or just move to new,” said John Burns, president of Irvine-based John Burns Real Estate Consulting Inc.
The numbers aren’t anything like South County,San Clemente’s Talega, for one, calls for 4,200 homes. But North OC has seen a surge, with big developments under way in Fullerton, Yorba Linda, Brea and Huntington Beach.
In Fullerton, 1,450 houses and apartments are going up on a former Hughes Aircraft Co. complex. In other parts of Fullerton as well as Brea, former oil company land is giving way to posh housing developments.
Shell Oil Co. and what’s today ChevronTexaco Corp. “decided they had tapped enough of the land,” Burns said. “Also, the former Hughes facility freed up land, making Amerige Heights possible.”
Homebuilders in North County say they’re seeing strong sales so far this year.
“The numbers are intense,” said Jennifer Ball, marketing coordinator for the Orange office of Huntingdon Valley, Pa.-based Toll Brothers Inc.
Sales of lots for future homes also are brisk, according to Costa Mesa-based land broker O’Donnell/Atkins Co. The firm brokered a record number of North County land sales this year, according to partner Craig Atkins, including the recent purchase of 81 Fullerton lots by Los Angles-based Pardee Homes.
“Builders are loading up in anticipation of developing next year,” Burns said.
The strong demand in North County comes from two sources, according to Burns.
North County move-up buyers typically look for new homes with more amenities, even though they may cost more and are smaller than some older houses in the area. People moving to OC from nearby counties are the other factor.
“You have people coming out of the San Gabriel Valley who are looking for something nicer and more affordable,” Burns said.
Here’s a look at some big North County projects.
Fullerton
While North OC doesn’t have a dominant force such as The Irvine Company, Anaheim-based SunCal Cos. is a big player in the area. Its crown jewel: the 293-acre Amerige Heights masterplanned community in Fullerton.
Amerige dwarfs other North County housing projects. Built on former Hughes Aircraft land, the housing portion of the development is taking a step back in time, with nearly half of the roughly 1,500 homes featuring porches in the front and garages in the back.
Costa Mesa-based Brookfield Homes Southland Inc., part of Toronto-based Brookfield Properties Corp., recently sold out the first phase of Talmedge, a new neighborhood within the development.
“Demand for new homes in Fullerton and North Orange County is exceptionally strong,” said Hope Sylvester, Talmedge sales manager for Brookfield.
In another recent deal, SunCal sold off 14.9 acres at Amerige Heights to Seal Beach-based The Olson Co. for $26 million. Olson plans to build 277 attached homes on the land.
According to O’Donnell/Atkins, activity remains strong elsewhere in Fullerton. The land broker said it expects to close three more land deals in the coming months for $44 million.
Orange
SunCal also is making a mark in Orange with its Serrano Heights masterplanned community.
The local arm of Arlington, Texas-based D.R. Horton Inc. is building homes at Serrano of 2,646 to 3,397 square feet. Prices begin in the mid-$400,000s with models set to be ready by summer.
And Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Pulte Homes Inc. has two neighborhoods,Ashbury Ridge and Cambridge Place,set to open in Serrano.
Los Angeles-based KB Home is building Bellagio II, with 72 lots overlooking the Santiago Oaks Regional Park. Plans call for homes with three to six bedrooms and up to 3,192 square feet.
And Highpointe Estates, built by Centex Homes, part of Dallas-based Centex Corp., are being sold. The homes range from 3,218 to 3,586 square feet with prices starting in the high $500,000s.
Yorba Linda
The big development in Yorba Linda is Vista Del Verde, a golf course community next to Chino Hills State Park.
The 843-acre development is a venture of Toll Brothers and Aera Energy LLC, a Bakersfield-based unit of Shell Oil. Vista Del Verde includes the 18-hole Black Gold Golf Course, 73 acres of open space and 10 acres of parks.
Homes range from more than $400,000 to $1 million. Lots are set to be as big as 18,000 square feet.
Early plans call for four distinct villages at Vista Del Verde. The first calls for 443 homes with some large estates up to 10,000 square feet in size. Model homes opened last summer. The community’s $6.5 million elementary school is set to be built in Village One.
Village Two calls for 432 homes, including 60 homes on 18,000-square-foot lots. Model homes opened last summer and building continues through fall. Village Three still is at the planning stage, but initial designs call for 411 homes.
Village Four is not set for groundbreaking until 2010. Plans call for 893 homes.
Irvine-based MBK Homes Ltd. owns 18.4 acres at Vista Del Verde with plans to build 77 homes ranging from 2,300 square feet to 2,900 square feet.
“The acquisition of the Vista Del Verde property represents a commitment to the North Orange County market,” said Stefan Markowitz, MBK Homes president.
La Mirada
Centex Homes laid groundwork this past year for the masterplanned community Hawks Pointe, which straddles the county line and the cities of Fullerton and Los Angeles County’s La Mirada. Located on a former Chevron oil field, Hawks Pointe is a 144-acre project.
Upon completion, the three-neighborhood project is set to have 335 homes with prices starting in the high $300,000s.
Brea
Development continues on the Brea Olinda Ranch. Current projects there include 83 units planned by Walnut-based Shea Homes, KB Home’s 300 units, 85 homes planned by D.R. Horton’s Western Pacific and Riverside-based Van Daele Development Corp.’s 89 properties.
A notable project: Olson Co.’s Artisan Walk in the city’s downtown, which is more urban village than leafy suburb.
“One of the big initiatives by cities is for builders to do urban in-fill projects,” Burns said. “Artisan Walk probably is the best example of that.”
Huntington Beach
The dominant project in Surf City is Newport Beach developer PLC Land Co.’s Huntington Seacliff community, where the last remaining lots are up for grabs.
Seacliff projects include Miami-based Lennar Corp.’s Mystic Pointe at The Boardwalk, which includes townhomes of 1,881 to 2,233 square feet. The three-bedroom homes start in the $400,000s.
Also on tap is the Lighthouse at The Boardwalk neighborhood by PLC’s Christopher Homes. Houses range from 2,456 to 2,861 square feet with prices starting in the low $600,000s.
But Huntington Beach developments are nearing their peak, according to Burns.
“In all, there are seven to 10 projects in Huntington Beach right now,” he said. “There is more activity now than seven-to-eight years ago, but less than two-to-three years ago.”
But the real estate crowd still is hoping for one more big splash in Surf City.
“There’s a nice bit of property left,” said Byron Hoffman, president of Irvine-based land broker The Hoffman Co. “There’s a 30-acre piece that’s going through oil reclamation now.”
There’s talk of homes, a hotel, shops and office buildings at the site, according to Hoffman.
