May 12, 2008

Dr. Housing Bubble Slams Santa Ana

In a post on Friday (”Real Homes of Genius: Biggest Ever Percentage Housing Drop Ever in Santa Ana! 68 Percent Drop in 1 Year. The Journey of One Home in an Epic Housing Bubble.“) on the Dr. Housing Bubble blog, Santa Ana was slammed for being the home to a property that has dropped 68% in its list price in one year. This property was the recipient of the Dr. Housing Bubble’s “Real Home of Genius” award… not quite the award you strive for, I suppose.

Dr. Housing Bubble has an interesting point in that when outsiders think of the grand “OC”, they’re not thinking of Santa Ana (the most populous city in Orange County):

“Orange County, an area with over 3,098,121 people sometimes has a reputation at least nationwide as being an exclusively prime area. What most people that don’t live or work here realize is that the media perception of the “OC” is guided by a few prime cities such as Laguna Hills and Newport Beach. These tiny cities hold a very small percentage of the overall county population. The largest city Santa Ana, has 353,428 people making up for over 11 percent of the entire county.”

Hit TV shows like the O.C. and Laguna Beach make outsiders think we all live in 4,200+ square foot homes with a pool and spa in the backyard. Well, those of us that live in Tustin, Orange, and Santa Ana (and many other OC cities), know better.

Dr. Housing Bubble picks on a property (recipient of their “Real Home of Genius” award) that has reduced it’s price 49 times in the last year. Seems a little (if not a lot!) ridiculous. My guess is that this property is a short sale and the sellers had to show good faith to the bank to show they were trying to get over asking. I can’t find this property in Redfin, so I can’t verify any of the details Dr. Housing Bubble posted. I don’t doubt the story is true, just peruse Santa Ana listings and you’ll find many others that tell the same tale.