CONDO MARKET SURGES HIGH DEMAND, PRICES FUEL CONSTRUCTION, CONVERSIONS.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer A real estate market featuring record prices, strong demand and some of the tightest supplies ever has created a boom in condominium construction and conversion after relative inactivity for the past decade. ``We do have a fair number of attached town homes and condominiums either under construction or in the permit processing pipeline,'' said Peter Lyons Peter Lyons was born in Ireland about 1734. He graduated from Trinity College, University of Dublin. Following this, he came to King William County, Virginia, and studied law under his uncle, James Power. , deputy planning director for the city of Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. . ``We are seeing more attached for-sale projects than you have in the past.'' Price is probably the biggest reason. Condos typically cost thousands of dollars less than single-family detached homes A single-family detached home, or single-family home or detached house for short, also variously known as a single-detached dwelling or separate house . But even condos are getting pricey in some markets. In the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. during March the median price of a condo soared an annual 19 percent, to a record $352,000, but sales rose 32.2 percent, to 493 transactions, the third-highest monthly total ever. By comparison, the median price of a single-family home hit a record $525,000. That's why business is so brisk at The Metropolitan at Warner Center, a 1,279-unit apartment complex on Canoga Avenue south of the Ventura Freeway The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California running from Ventura to Pasadena. It is the principal east-west route through Ventura County and in the southern San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. that is being converted to condominiums. The rebranding of the 29-acre complex is occurring in seven phases over two years. The first one is complete and there were 1,200 names on a priority list, said Phil Sidenberg, director of sales and marketing at the complex. His target audience is first-time buyers in their late 20s or early 30s, primarily women, who work in Warner Center and earn $50,000 to $60,000 annually. ``And they walk in here daily,'' he said. At the beginning of March, 100 units were released for sale and 93 buyers wrote deposit checks the first weekend. ``At the start of April, 60 were released and I had people camping out,'' he said. The units are priced from the high-$200,000 range to the low-$400,000 range. Prices will be adjusted along with the broader market but Sidenberg said there won't be any gouging Gouging can be:
Sidenberg calls home-price increases in the area unreal and unhealthy. ``We could increase the prices dramatically if we wanted to (but) we're just not going to, we're going to do it in a fashion that's not only good for the investors but also the buyers.'' Demand is strong because supply is so tight. At the end of March, there were 1,943 residential properties for sale, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Van Nuys-based Southland Regional Association of Realtors. If Sidenberg were to offer all his units for sale right now he'd control more than 65 percent of the market. Not far away, on the south side of Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east-west thouroughfares in the San Fernando Valley; as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real (the trail between Spanish missions), Ventura Boulevard is the oldest route in the San Fernando Valley. It was also U.S. east of De Soto de So·to , Hernando or Fernando 1496?-1542. Spanish explorer who landed in Florida in 1539 with 600 men and set out to search for the fabled riches of the north. Avenue, another conversion is under way. The upscale Premiere Hills apartments are being turned into the Bell Montanga condominiums. The units, priced from $395,000 to $650,000, went on sale at midmonth and so far eight buyers have put down deposits, said Jeffrey Berris, president of Silverstone Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , the owner. ``Our business plan is to do urban infill multifamily for sale and we're looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. new development as well as existing ones. We feel this is a terrific product and we're excited to bring it to market,'' Berris said. The company is also bidding on another parcel in Warner Center that is entitled for 85 units. Shawn Evenheim, president of California Home Builders, a company that does infill projects in the Valley, adds a twist to the mix. He's building 45 units in the Central Valley that the city considers detached condominiums. But he is marketing them as single-family homes. And he offers a striking example of the strong demand. Evenheim has five or more interested buyers for each of those units and 300 people on a waiting list for a single-family tract of 28 homes he's building in West Hills. One of the projects, The Village at Lake Balboa at the southeast corner of Vanowen Street and Forbes Avenue Forbes Avenue is one of the longest streets in Pittsburgh. It has a length of about ten miles (16 km). The westernmost terminus of Forbes Avenue lies at Stanwix Street in the downtown part of the city, then flows eastward past PPG Place, between the Courthouse and the City-County , was approved for 40 attached condominium units but Evenheim opted for 27 detached condominiums. Each buyer gets the structure and the land while a homeowners association will be responsible for maintaining common areas. ``We think there is a bigger market for that type of project. (Buyers) like to have their own unit and their own walls,'' he said. Even companies primarily known for their single-family product are getting into the condo game. This spring John Laing For John Laing, the 15th century bishop of Glasgow, see John Laing (bishop) John Laing plc is a British developer and operator of privately financed, public sector infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, hospitals and schools through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and Homes formed a new division, John Laing Urban, that will build condos and maybe apartments in the Los Angeles and Ventura County markets. Its initial project is a 180-unit condo complex in Hollywood that features living units above retail space. ``The market is certainly right,'' said Phil Simmons Philip Veraint Simmons (born April 18, 1963 in Trinidad) was a skilled all-round cricketer who played as an opening batsman a useful bowler and a talented slip fielder. He played cricket for a number of First-class sides in the West Indies and England as well as international , who heads the unit that is considering projects in Warner Center, Sherman Oaks, Encino and Studio City. ``You're seeing a demographic shift and demand shift that favors higher density urban for-sale product,'' he said. Ray Pearl, executive officer for the Greater Los Angeles and Ventura Chapter of the Building Association of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , says another, less noticeable force is driving the building surge. The environment has gotten more friendly toward builders in the past several years. A couple of years ago the California Legislature passed a bill that gave builders more leeway in dealing with construction problems. ``The biggest impediment to condominium construction has been the inability to insure a project. If you can't get insurance for a project, you're not going to build it,'' Pearl said. He notes that California has a 10-year statute of limitations A type of federal or state law that restricts the time within which legal proceedings may be brought. Statutes of limitations, which date back to early Roman Law, are a fundamental part of European and U.S. law. on construction defects while other states limit it to two years. And lots of suits were being filed when the statute was about to expire. The legislation gave builders the right to go in and fix problems. Now ``builders are taking a second look at condos,'' he said. Gregory J. Wilcox, (818) 713-3743 greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Buyers at The Village at Lake Balboa will get the structure and the land it sits on, called a zero-lot line development. John Lazar/Staff Photographer (2 -- color) The Metropolitan at Warner Center is now selling condominiums that have been converted from apartments. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion