Did you hear news reports saying homebuilding at Orange County’s largest master-planned communities is on the downswing?
Those reports are wrong—or at least misleading.
OC’s top three land development sites, Irvine Co.’s Irvine Ranch, FivePoint Holdings’ Great Park Neighborhoods, and Rancho Mission Viejo LLC’s community of the same name sold a total of 1,848 homes in 2019, according to a ranking of
national communities by John Burns Real Estate Consulting in Irvine. That’s down 12% from a year ago.
That decline, along with work wrapping up at 2,379-unit Baker Ranch and nearby newer projects in Lake Forest, contributed
to a 19% drop in sales for the area’s top homebuilders last year, according to our latest list starting on page 26.
But indications are the handful of top land developers were largely reloading in 2019, prepping new phases—some with a
renewed focus on more affordable options—which the Business Journal conservatively estimates could bring
in $3 billion or more of home sales over the next few years.
Here’s an overview of some of the largest local development coming online.
Great Park Neighborhoods
Land sales to homebuilders at the former El Toro Marine base continue at a healthy clip.
Property records and regulatory reports suggest land sales to builders are running in the neighborhood of $550,000 per home lot, and $5.5 million or so an acre.
“At our Great Park community in Irvine, home sales by our guest builders remain consistent with seasonal trends,” said Chief Executive Emile Haddad during a recent earnings call.
“Anyone who visits the Great Park in Irvine can see proof of concept of how we build communities,” said Haddad, whose firm last month said it sold its first batch of home sites at its Valencia development in Los Angeles County. Those went for about $190,000 a lot.
The 2,100-acre neighborhood on the former El Toro Marine base, which has seen more than 4,000 homes sold or built over the past six years, is No. 19 in a national ranking bestselling master-planned communities by John Burns Real Estate Consulting.
It had 553 net sales last year, up from 480 the year prior, thanks in part to the opening of William Lyon Homes’ Novel Park.
Next up for 2020: Rise, a neighborhood with more than 500 homes, city filings indicate. Lennar, Pulte and Shea are the initial batch of builders. Models are expected soon and pre-sales have begun, FivePoint’s website said.
Based on initial pricing, the development could bring in nearly half a billion dollars’ worth of sales.
