RESIDENTIAL
One of Orange County’s priciest homes up for sale just became a little more affordable.
Brokers listing what’s believed to be the largest single housing parcel in Corona del Mar have reduced the owners’ asking price for the estate by more than $8 million, to just less than $30 million.
The 2.4-acre home, at 401 Avocado, was listed at $38 million when it first was put on the market last September.
The home, owned by the same family for more than 140 years, has an indoor pool, lighted tennis court and a guest apartment, among other features.
At the initial price, the Corona del Mar home had been the most expensive existing home in OC currently listed for sale.
Now that distinction appears to go to the Newport Harbor mansion of Nevada casino and service station magnate Jerry Herbst.
That six-bedroom home, part of the private community of Bayshores, counts a $31.8 million price tag, according to online housing brokerage Redfin.com
When Herbst bought the home—from actor Nicolas Cage—for $35 million in early 2008, it set a local record for pricey home sales. The house was put back on the market this April.
Big price cuts in the high-end of OC’s housing market have helped get a few deals done. The former Harbor Island home of apparel executive Arnie Simon listed in 2008 at $38 million recently sold for $27 million.
Simon paid $14 million in 2001 for the home, which reportedly now is owned by a Colorado family that made its money in advertising.
High-end broker John McMonigle’s Newport Beach-based McMonigle Group has the listing for the Corona del Mar home at 401 Avocado.
His brokerage also listed in late June another pricey Corona del Mar property on Shorecliff Road, for just less than $28 million. That makes it the fourth-most expensive existing house up for sale in OC, according to Redfin’s listings.
McMonigle’s also finishing up construction work on a $57 million estate on Newport Coast, called Villa del Lago.
At the end of June, there were 11 existing homes in OC listed for sale at prices more than $20 million, according to Redfin. An additional 39 homes up for sale had prices of $10 million to $20 million.
All but 10 of the 50 most expensive homes in the county listed for sale are along the coast.
Loan Mod Bankruptcy
Irvine’s United Law Group Inc., a loan modification company that was in the news earlier this year when it was raided by federal and local agencies, has filed for bankruptcy protection.
The company filed for Chapter 11 reorganization on June 30 in the Santa Ana division of U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
United Law listed less than $1 million in liabilities in its bankruptcy petition. But the company has other problems.
In March, federal and local agencies did a raid on United Law Group’s Irvine offices, citing a federal investigation involving possible loan modification fraud. No arrests were reported at the time.
One of the company’s lawyers, Executive Director Robert Buscho, is representing the company in the bankruptcy matter, according to court documents.
COMMERCIAL
Daiwa Corp., one of the largest makers of fishing gear, is moving its U.S. headquarters to Cypress.
The company, the U.S. arm of Tokyo’s Daiwa Seiko Corp., just leased a 61,433-square-foot industrial building in the Warland Cypress Business Park. Daiwa had been based domestically in Cerritos.
Daiwa plans to move into the building this August. About 65 people are expected to be employed at the site at 11137 Warland Drive, just off Katella Avenue.
The seven-year lease is valued at $2.4 million, which works out to monthly rents of about 47 cents per square foot.
Daiwa’s products include rods, reels, lines, and lures. It began operations in the U.S. in 1966 and initially was based in Culver City.
David Prior, Murray Smith and Todd Taugner, brokers in the Torrance office of Klabin Co./Corfac International, represented landlord Warland Drive One B LLC of Santa Monica in the deal.
Rick Hertel, president of Irvine’s Corporate Real Estate Services, represented Daiwa.
Oakland Loan
Newport Beach-based real estate investment management company Buchanan Street Partners said it funded a $21 million first mortgage loan for an apartment building recently acquired in Oakland.
The first mortgage helped Oakland-based investor Embarcadero Pacific Co. purchase a note for $23.6 million tied to Aqua Via, a 104-unit apartment near Oakland’s Jack London Square.
The note was acquired at a 31% discount from its outstanding balance, according to the company.
The non-recourse loan was underwritten and closed in less than three weeks. The transaction was the sixth investment Buchanan Street has been part of in the past three months.
