125 Days Later: Lake Forest Home Still Won't Sell

125 days on the market is really not that much time.

It's only two (correction FOUR) months.

It's now May and homebuying season should be in full swing for families dying to quit renting and start "owning".

And so it is that a 4 bedroom, 3 bath single family home is put up for sale in little old Lake Forest town. Close to the main thoroughfare for which the area was once known (El Toro Road), close to shops, but nestled tightly into a typical OC suburban tract.

22612 Auburn Dale Dr., Lake Forest, CA, 92630

Asking price: $564,900

Asking price/ sq ft: $309

Income requirement: God only knows. Let's divide by 4 and say $140,000 per anum.

Purchase price: $721,000 (holy hell!)

Purchase date: 6/13/06

Size: 4 beds, 3 baths, 1,829 sq ft (built in 1977)

MLS: P619632 (126 days on Redfin)

Zillow Zestimate: $548,500

2007 property tax: $2,187

HOA dues: unknown

Type: Contemporary

Stories: 2 Levels

The Listing: Great price to purchase in 'pride of ownership' Sunwood tract! Priced for a quick sale. Oversized backyard offers room for a pool and possible RV parking too! New roof was installed in 2006. Home has a wonderful flowing floorplan with vaulted ceilings in living & dining room & spacious family room with fireplace. Concrete and covered patio for family fun and weekend entertainment. Large master suite. Free Lawn service for 12 months. Don't be shy.. write it up.

I'm not sure what "pride of ownership" refers to when we're witnessing the current owners vacating the the adobe an entire 9 months after purchase. But OK.

"Don't be shy". I doubt shyness has anything to do with the original $721K price tag or the $156K sales discount in 2008 on this home.

Man, thankfully by now we're all fluent in "Realtor speak" around here.

Love the bit on room for "possible RV parking too!". And with an exclamation mark! These homes on Auburn Dale Drive are situated pretty close together as it is. But, I mean, if you really want to win friends and influence your new neighbors, yeah, go ahead. Park that gas-guzzling vehicular monstrosity of yours in the skinny alleyway right next to your new house (and theirs). The neighbors will just love you for that I'm sure.

And how about "Priced for a quick sale." Well, maybe.

This home was purchased in June 2006 during the sub-prime, no doc hay day for a logic defying $721,000. I will surmise that back in those days nobody in Lake Forest, California even thought twice about a.) leveraging themselves to the freaking hilt, b.) following realtor bullshit lies like "get in now while you still can " and just "refinance later", and c.) paying $394.00 per square foot for a 30 year old single-family home.

But then here we are today, after 2 months on Redfin, and this ideal home for a young family is priced with a $156,100 discount off the original buy price. That's a lot of dough, isn't it? Not if one considers that this home was criminally overvalued in the first place when it was purchased 2 years ago-as were most OC homes.

Still, $565,000 might be a good sale price if one considers comparable homes of similar size and configuration sold over the past 3 months in the area.

But clearly this home is another textbook example of buying at the market peak in Lake Forest, California, well before the certain-to-come market correction. Now prospective homebuyers/fence sitters in Lake forest continue to ponder in amazement as to just when the eerie doppler-effect-effect-distorted, ice-cream-truck-like music might stop.