Lido Isle – Newport Beach Harbor

A suburban community in the famous Orange County, California, the city of Costa Mesa is home to around 120,000. The community is located just minutes from some of California’s most beautiful beaches, and thus it is home to some high-priced residential real estate. The Costa Mesa real estate market has seen drops from its pre-crash highs as residents were affected by the downturn in the American economy. The number of foreclosures has risen in the recent two years in the community and many homeowners have found themselves owing more on their homes than they are now worth.

Despite a rough two years, the market has recently shown potential signs of stabilization and improvement. Monthly statistics from February showed one of Costa Mesa’s Zip codes seeing an improvement in price, while the other saw prices take a dip, according to DataQuick Information Systems. The Zip code with a rise saw a median monthly price of $565,000, a 15.3% rise year-over-year. The other area saw a median price of $461,750, an 8.6% drop from a year earlier. Sales activity was up in the first Zip code 37.5% to 22 homes sold in February, while activity remained flat year-over-year in the second, with sales volume of 27.

More recent statistics of Orange County real estate prices show an increase in activity in March. Costa Mesa saw 32 and 36 sales in each of its Zip codes for the month. The 36 sales marked a 24% improvement year-over-year, while the 32 accounted for nearly the opposite, a 22% yearly decrease. Prices in both areas of Costa Mesa saw yearly improvements. One area saw a median price of $515,00, a 12% rise, while the other saw a median of $467,500, a 24.7% rise.

Foreclosures in Costa Mesa showed signs of slowing near the end of 2009, a positive sign for those with Costa Mesa homes for sale, as fewer foreclosures will likely lead to an increase in prices if there are fewer rock-bottom-priced foreclosure homes in the mix. According to the Orange County Register’s real estate blog, in the fourth quarter of 2009, there were 23 foreclosures in Costa Mesa, down from 29 in the third quarter of 2009 and down from 27 in 2008’s fourth quarter.

A beautiful oceanside community on the Makena Bay on Maui’s southwestern side, Makena, Hawaii, lies nestled among several top-tier golf courses. The Makena real estate market showed positive signs near the end of 2009.

In the month of December, the region saw a median single-family home price of $1.7 million, up from $935,000 in November. In December 2008, there were actually no sales in the area from which to draw statistics. The total dollar sales volume in the area was $6.37 million, with four homes sold in December. One year ago, there was only one home sold, at a price tag of $935,000. This area had the highest median price of homes for sale on Maui in December.

The Makena real estate market saw a continual increase in volume but a dip in prices. There were 10 condos sold in December for a median price of $770,000. In November, there were nine sales with a median price of $1.32 million and one year ago there were just eight condo sales, but the median price was a higher $1.82 million. The Makena area condo market had the third-highest median condo price on Maui during December.

For all of 2009, there were 18 single-family Makena homes for sale sold, a decrease of 28% from 2008, when there were 25 sales. The yearly median sales prices of single-family homes for 2009 was $1.53 million, down 34% from a year ago when it was $2.3 million. Condo sales showed a similar trend: There were 71 sales of condos in the region in 2009, a dip of a hefty 60% from 2008’s sales volume, when there were 179 condos sold. The yearly median sales price was $1.32 million, down 40% from a year ago.

Cupertino, California, famous for being the world headquarters to the international computer brand Apple Computers, is a high-priced real estate market home to some of Silicon Valley’s priciest neighborhoods. After the onset of the financial crisis in 2008, the market saw its sales volume and prices plummet before beginning a roller coaster journey of ups and downs.

Most recently, the Cupertino real estate market has shown some signs of improvement, perhaps offering cautious optimism for those invested in or looking to invest in the market. In February this year, the median price of a home sold in the city was $1.097 million, down slightly from January’s $1.18 million but up substantially from the median price one year ago in 2009, when it was just $930,000, according to local realtor Cherie Colon. Average prices have shown progress likewise: In February, the average was around $1.08 million, up from around $989,000 one year ago.

In February, however, Cupertino homes for sale spent an average of 47 days on the market. This was down slightly from January’s average of 49, but it was also up by 28% from a year ago, when the average was just slightly over one month, at 36 days. Sales in Cupertino are also now meeting or exceeding listing prices, with the sales vs. listing price in February at 100.7%, up from 98.3% in January and 96% one year ago.

There were 38 properties pending sale in February, up 81% from January’s 21 and up more than 111% from a year ago, when there were only 11 properties pending. The market has also seen inventory dwindle. In February, there were just 46 active homes listed, versus 99 a year ago, a drop of more than 53%. That figure did, however, rise slightly from January of this year, when it was down to just 38 homes on the market. Sales volume has remained steadily constant over the year: In February, there were 12 homes sold, versus 13 in January and 11 in February 2009.

The manmade island of Lido Isle is located in Newport Beach, California and was created in 1906 as part sandbar and part mudflat. Today, the area has gone through multiple construction phases and development and is now home to more than 1,800 people. As one of the best pieces of Newport Beach real estate, Lido Isle was one of the first master-planned communities in California and resembles traditional Mediterranean resorts. The European theme was continued in the naming of several local streets, including Barcelona, Genoa, Nice, and Ithaca. French influences can be seen at Via Lido Nord and Via Lido Soud, two of Lido Isle’s main thoroughfares.

Home to several contemporary and modern homes as well as some Mediterranean-esque properties, Lido Isle is a beautiful place to live and play. The semi-private community enjoys a number of community clubs, a yacht club, and some spectacular stretches of beach. All residents must be a part of the Community Association which ensures strict standards are adhered to. The annual Newport Christmas Boat Parade is one of Lido Isle’s biggest events. Living on the island is particularly comfortable for residents who enjoy beach living without being far from large centers of retail and commerce.