Tag Archives: Private investors

No Splash in the Antelope Valley

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The cool winter winds continue to blow through the Antelope Valley residential land submarket as January moves into February.  Homebuilders and investors alike are taking a cautious approach towards the land buying pool and are hesitant to jump in.

Finished lot inventory (which includes both finished and partially finished lots) currently stands at approximately 2,500 units in the Antelope Valley.  Palmdale holds approximately 1,600 of the lots and Lancaster has the remaining 900.  95% of these finished lots are controlled by private investors who are looking at two to three year holds on their land investments.  These investors are waiting for home prices to increase and for homebuilders to return to this submarket before they make their next move.

The Land Advisors “High Desert Team” continues to keep the pulse of deals in the Antelope Valley with two current listings and one escrow.

Source: Michel Faris, Marketing Consultant, (949) 852-8288 x14

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Has “Winter” Gone Missing In The Imperial Valley?

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Across the Nation, winter months usher in colder temperatures, fewer transactions and expanding waistlines.  In the Coachella and Imperial Valleys, Land Advisors is keeping the heat up and pressure on by closing 240 detached condo pads, 222 acres of prime residentially-entitled “Ag” land, and placing over 500 acres of prime “path-of-growth” farm land under contract!

In 2011, the Coachella Valley and Imperial Valley sub-markets appealed to private investors looking to buy unimproved land for long-term holds.  As we round the corner into 2012, the homebuilding market is beginning to show signs of recovery, and some reports indicate that housing is making a comeback.  That being said, returns on long term plays for land buyers might not be as far out as initially thought. 

CNBC recently reported that homebuyers are jumping back into second home purchases… Good news for the Coachella Valley sub-market, where secondary residences are a high percentage of home ownership.  CNBC Video: Investing in Second Homes

Source: Stone James, Marketing Consultant, (760) 219-7227

D.R. Horton Hears a Who

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While many of the public homebuilders are sitting on the land-buying sidelines this quarter, D.R. Horton hears the call to purchase more land!

Land is scarce in the fictional city of “Whoville” so the D.R. Horton team has taken to several cities in the Inland Empire, and recently closed on transactions in both Eastvale and Chino. 

The Eastvale site consisted of 173 entitled lots just west of the I-15 Freeway. 

Following the mantra of the 1954 book with a similar name, “a deal is a deal no matter how small,” D.R. Horton closed on 43 finished lots in the College Park master planned community. 

In addition, in the first quarter of 2011 Land Advisors assisted D.R. Horton in the acquisition of 53 lots adjacent to California State University – San Bernardino.

2011 TEAM “SB” YEAR IN REVIEW: 

Despite a sluggish market, the San Bernardino Team (Doug Jorritsma & Winn Galloway) participated in several transactions totaling more than $84 million in 2011.  The majority (57%) of transactions was conventional sales; REO’s only accounted for approximately 36% of all transactions.  The Team anticipates the number of REO’s to decline moving into 2012, as many troubled assets have already worked their way through the market. 

On the Buyer side, private investors lead the way totaling 36% of all San Bernardino Team transactions in 2011.  Of the last five transactions, four were purchased by private investors looking for unimproved land for long term hold.   

Echoing the sentiments of the mayor of “Whoville,” “We are here” at Land Advisors to help you with your land needs in 2012.  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Source: Doug Jorritsma, Senior Marketing Consultant, (949) 852-8288 x13 and Winn Galloway, Senior Marketing Consultant, (949) 852-8288 x27

Winds of Opportunity Skipping over the Antelope Valley

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Private investors are taking a cautious approach to buying land in the Antelope Valley.  Home sales are still slow and homebuilders are scarce. 

KB Home is still the most aggressive buyer of finished lot opportunities in Lancaster and Palmdale.  The public homebuilder has captured the Antelope Valley sub-market to the detriment of other public homebuilders. 

The Antelope Valley is the most affordable area of Los Angeles County, and KB Home is taking advantage of record low land values by scooping up several finished or semi-finished land deals.  The homebuilder has always believed in the profit potential of this sub-market and is now reaping the rewards of beating out the competition in land acquisition.

The Land Advisors High Desert Team (Michel Faris & Randy Coe) recently facilitated the closing of two transactions where KB Home purchased semi-finished residential lots in Lancaster.

The homebuilder completed its assemblage with the purchase of additional semi-finished lots within The Reserve for a total ownership of 37 lots.

KB Home also purchased 18 additional single family lots in semi-finished condition in the Sandstarr West community located on the southeast corner of Avenue K-8 and 27th Street West.

Other High Desert investors are waiting for home sales to pick up in the windy Antelope Valley, in addition to the emergence of more finished lot opportunities.  Until the sub-market begins to see signs of a broader economic rebound and improved home sales, performance is going to continue to blow right by.

Source: Michel Faris, Marketing Consultant, (949) 852-8288 x14