Everything that is wrong with Lake Forest real estate in one example.

An available apartment for sale on El Toro road in Lake Forest, California, 92630

Bedrooms: 1

Bathrooms: 1

Square Footage: 610

Appliances: Stove, dishwasher, sink

Interior Amenities: vaulted ceilings, attic
(WTF? I know there are no basements in California, but since when has an "attic" ever been considered an "amenity"?)

Building Amenities: Patio, swimming pool, guest parking, hot tub

Price: Wait for it..........$225,000!

A couple of things:

1.) Note the realtor sales pitch on this one. This is Classic Orange County:

FIRST TIME BUYERS, OWN IT!! GET YOU HELP WITH DOWN PAYMENT!! IF YOU HAVE GOOD CREDIT AND MAKE UNDER $70,0000!!"

Is this realtor yelling at us about a 1 bedroom apartment? And is that "$70,0000" somewhere between zero and "eleventy thousand dollars"? Is it close to fifty-eleven thousand dollars?

2.) The median income in Lake Forest is around $74,000. Therefore, this price is fucking perfect! Brilliant! Wait, did you say you have a family with children? Umm......hmmm...what are we going to do about that?

3.) Well if the blurry photos don't win them over, then why not upsell "El Toro Road"? You know you want to!

El Toro road, for those that have never visited this beautiful city in south Orange County, is just about the most congested, noisy and dangerous roadway you can frequent through Lake Forest. Yes indeed. There are 6 lanes of traffic and between 5:00 a.m and 1:00 a.m. it's pretty much packed from Laguna Niguel all the way to freaking Cook's Corner.

The state of California seems to consider El Toro some sort of speedway as the speed limit is set at 55 mph. You know what that means. Everyone's driving at 65 mph. And there are shitloads of traffic lights-like ever 100 meters. Prepare for this chorus to run through your brain while trying to sleep inside that lovely 1 bedroom adobe:

Brrrrrhhhhhuuum! ......Screech!.......Honk....Brrrrrrrruuuuuum!!!........Screech!

And thank goodness there's a Home Depot on El Toro road near the 5 freeway too, otherwise one would observe far fewer 18 wheel big rigs on this illustrious thoroughfare!

OK, enough slamming the apartment and it's location.

Let's just imagine for one second that there are some wonderful neighbors next door, a friendly staff at the front desk, and that the realtor is a very nice person. The single prospective buyer should be very happy. Plus there is a pool.

But that's really not the point. How is it possible that the market here could even consider a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom 610 sq. feet apartment to be worth $225,000 or almost 3 times the median income here, and nobody asks why?

I mean, yes, 50% of the population in Lake Forest could afford this apartment, and rather easily. But most have the common sense not to be so high on drugs as to actually buy it.

And so it is also true that 50% of the population of Lake Forest cannot afford such an apartment because of their income.

This is an example of insanity. Of local home values, no matter how small the property, gone horribly awry. This is Orange County real estate.

There was a time, I suppose, when realtors stated $225,000 for a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment and did so with a straight face.

Not any more.

This is not serious.

Sooner or later this market will become sober again.