Orange County is one of the most supply-constrained markets in the U.S. for new home development, but you wouldn’t know that based on the surge of sales at the region’s four largest sources of new homes last year.
The four largest master-planned communities in OC currently selling homes—the Irvine Ranch, Five Point Communities’ Great Park Neighborhoods in Irvine, Baker Ranch in Lake Forest, and Rancho Mission Viejo LLC’s latest developments in South Orange County—saw new home sales jump a cumulative 31% last year, with 3,425 sales, according to a new report by John Burns Real Estate Consulting.
Each of the four sites saw year-over-year gains in sales, and all placed among the top 20 master-planned communities in the U.S. for sales last year, according to the Irvine-based consultancy’s data.
Each of those projects was selling at prices typically running $800,000 or more, well above the national average, according to the report, which credited the local developers with nonetheless providing enough value to draw buyers.
“Great design and product differentiation were key to success this year (in OC),” the report said. “Success definitely was not all about price.”
The four OC communities were the only projects in California that made the top 20 list for sales last year.
Sales moving ahead on the Irvine Ranch, including Cypress Village, Portola Springs, Stonegate, Eastwood and Orchard Hills, brought a new distinction for Newport Beach-based Irvine Company: It took the title of top-selling master planned community in the country last year.
Irvine Co.-overseen projects had a cumulative 1,989 sales, up 19% over 2015, according to the report.
The Irvine Ranch has been California’s top-selling spot for new homes for several years running, but had trailed The Villages, a retirement community near Orlando, Fla., for the top spot in the country for much of that time.
The Villages dropped to No. 2 in the country last year with 1,966 sales as it began to run out of lots for construction.
That doesn’t appear to be an issue for Irvine Co., which is still in the early stages of sales at Eastwood and has new phases of development under way at Orchard Hills and Portola Springs, among other projects in North Irvine.
Another sizeable project it has in the planning process, a 1,180-home development planned for land it owns in Orange called Santiago Hills, initially was expected to start work this year, but now will be pushed back to 2019, the company said last month.
FivePoint Gains
Aliso Viejo-based master developer Five Point Communities saw the biggest year-over-year increase in sales of any large master-planned community in the country, with sales at its Great Park Neighborhoods jumping 90%, according to the report.
Great Park Neighborhood’s Beacon Park provided the bulk of the 535 sales at the Irvine development last year, giving it the No. 9 spot in the U.S. for 2016, up from No. 42 in 2015.
The developer has seen a portion of its newest community at the former El Toro Marine base—Parasol Park—open for sales over the past few weeks, with a formal kickoff planned this month.
Some of those attached homes—which emphasize a more urban feel designed to attract first-time buyers and empty-nesters—will come with prices on the low side for Irvine, starting around $500,000.
Rancho Mission Viejo’s latest collection of homes, called Esencia, brought in 458 sales last year, according to the John Burns Consulting report. That was up 52% from 2015, and gave the South OC development the No. 16 spot in the country for sales.
Esencia opened in late 2015, and plans call for 2,700 attached and detached homes when it is built out.
Baker Ranch in Lake Forest—a project headed up by Walnut-based Shea Homes and Toll Brothers in Horsham, Pa.—took the No. 19 spot on the list, with 443 home sales last year. That was up 25% from year-ago levels.
