There was an article published recently about what $600,000 can buy you in Orange County these days. Basically, the article surmised that your dollar just isn’t going as far as it used to. With homes prices creeping up and more people renting, it really does raise some interesting points but, most important to me, is there any value out there anymore?
In the traditional sense, the value of an item is what price it would fetch in a competitive market. It’s simple supply and demand stuff. Pay attention here, kids. These days it’s a little different. Market price can be vastly changed by others placement of value on certain products or in our case, homes. Somewhere my old Econ 101 professor just fell over (can’t even recall who it was) and my dad’s jaw just dropped…all that tuition dough well spent!
So, I did an MLS search to see how much “home” you could buy for 600,000 large in ALL of Newport Beach. The results? 2 Homes for Sale. 2! And technically, both condos. Not sure why I was actually surprised by this but I was. Now, you can suggest that Newport is just “overpriced” but I beg to differ. It’s really overvalued…in a good way. People love it and are willing to pay for it. Simple as that.
So, how about those 2 condos for sale (one for $544,000, one for $599,000)? Are they a good value for Newport Beach? I could sell the proximity to the beach, the schools, and the weather all day long but like many, it’s hard to explain. In the end, I could run down a day in the life of the local kids during the Summer and have 10 Sold signs posted by day’s end. But, that’s the trick. Finding the value for the buyer. It’s what they feel it’s worth and I say “hell yeah” to that. If you want it, buy it.
As a side note and more of a nudge to my compadres here at Arbor… I just sold an old bike and treadmill on Craigslist. They thought I was crazy. I found the value for 2 really nice people. One that lives up the hill so he can ride to the beach and the other, so he can get exercise while AT his desk. Boom! It’s all value my friends.