No End in Sight for Toll Brothers’ Luxe Push in OC

Toll Brothers Inc. is adding another high-end housing development to its Orange County portfolio.

Its latest addition, a 47-lot site in Yorba Linda, will likely be one of its highest-priced local communities, which is saying something for the Horsham, Pa.-based builder, whose local developments’ homes top $2 million.

The builder, whose market value is about $8 billion, recently reached a deal to buy the Stonecliff Estates development site in Yorba Linda, roughly 30 acres on the northwest corner of Lakeview Avenue and Bastanchury Road. It’s a little more than a mile northeast of the Richard Nixon Museum and Library.

The site was listed for sale a few months ago by Sal Provenza and Curt Crandall at the Irvine office of land brokerage WD Land.

It traded hands for about $44 million, a little under $1.5 million per acre, or nearly $940,000 per lot, among the highest per-lot prices for an OC housing development site not along the coast.

The land was technically bought by an undisclosed land banking firm that will sell the lots to Toll Brothers in phases, according to Provenza.

Stonecliff Estates has been in the works for nearly a decade and was sold by an entity listed in marketing documents as Bastanchury Holding Co. LP.

The sellers are affiliated with Kuwait Finance House, a large Islamic banking firm that was one of the initial equity investors in the development, according to Provenza. The property is believed to be its only OC land investment; it also has some commercial property holdings in the Los Angeles area, he said.

Toll Brothers, which bills itself as the country’s largest luxury homes builder, is no stranger to Yorba Linda (or OC, where it’s now selling at 16 different projects), and has built a few developments in the city over the past three years.

Its latest, the 119-unit Enclave project, is about a half-mile from the recently bought property. It opened last year with prices near $2 million, and was about half sold as of a few months ago, according to brokerage data.

Stonecliff Estates will likely have a higher price point, thanks to some of the largest lot sizes—about a half-acre, or a little more than 20,000 square feet—for a recent OC housing development.

Most of Toll Brothers’ other area luxe homes in Irvine and other parts of OC have lots in the 6,000- to 12,000-square-foot range. Its Alta Vista development in Irvine’s Orchard Hills community, for example, with some homes priced at nearly $3 million, has lots of about 11,000 square feet, according to WD Land.

Homes at Stonecliff Estates were envisioned to be a little more than 4,000 square feet to nearly 6,000 square feet on the half-acre lots under the prior ownership group’s proposed designs, which Toll will likely tweak.

A community opening should be in about nine months, according to WD Land’s Provenza, who previously worked on land acquisitions for Toll Brothers.

Record Year, Rents

Apartment construction in OC is projected to reach an all-time record this year, according to a new multifamily research report by the local office of Marcus & Millichap.

Nearly 7,500 units will be completed at large apartment projects across the county, a record level and one that will increase OC’s base of rentals by 3%, the report said.

The heavy development is having a slight impact on vacancy rates, which have ticked up to 4%. But that hasn’t slowed rental appreciation, which has also risen 4%. Average monthly rents now stand at $1,972.

Construction should keep pushing on into next year. There were nine apartment projects with more than 300 units under way in Anaheim and Irvine combined at the start of the fourth quarter, and two projects, each larger than 500 units, were going up in Huntington Beach, the report said.

Marvelous Mansion

Screen Shot 2017-12-14 at 8.24.44 AM (1)Via Kim Haman / Orange County Business Journal

December 4th, 2017

The home at 22570 Hidden Hills Road in Yorba Linda sold on Nov. 1 for $6.1 million, coming in under its $7.5 million list price in May. The sale represented the highest ever in the city. Nestled onto a private, 3.1-acre ridgetop lot, the estate features views that stretch to the ocean on the horizon. The 8,320-square-foot, contemporary-style home, formerly owned by the executive chef of Yardhouse Restaurants, Carlito Jocson, includes a restaurant caliber kitchen with Viking appliances, a large Subzero refrigerator and an adjacent 1,200- bottle, temperature-controlled wine storage room. Outdoors, there’s another full-service kitchen featuring an ample bar-seating area and wood-fired pizza oven. There are five bedrooms and six baths, as well as a 13-person theater and a billiards room, and a whole-home Crestron system. The grounds include a basketball court, full outdoor bath, and space for a helipad. The home was designed by DKY Architects’ David Streshinsky. Raj Qsar and Christina Boladian of The Boutique Real Estate Group represented the seller, and Edward Englehart of First Team Real Estate worked on behalf of the buyer.

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Real Estate Video Influencer Awards

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Congratulations to the top 10 agents and the five honorable mentions in home tours and listing videos! This was an extremely difficult category to judge with so many quality entries. While we saw many highly produced samples, we focused on the story that each video told and how well they were able to explain the amenities and characteristics of each home.

We took into consideration the human element first. If a video did not have the real estate agent, homeowner, or even actors to help bring the home to life, they were eliminated from the competition. Needless to say, slideshows need not apply.

What we ultimately came up with was a balanced list of videos that includes both highly produced videos and videos every agent can create. Check out the top agents in the Listing Video category and get inspired by their creations!

Who can tell the story of a home and why it’s so magical better than the person who specifically built the home, custom to his family’s wants and needs? We love this video because we can see and feel why this home is so important to the homeowner.

#1 Raj Qsar // Home Tour Video Award

Raj is no stranger to awards. In 2017, Raj was named The Real Estate Influencer of The Year by Inman News. In 2016, Raj was named to the prestigious Swanepoel Power 200 Honoring the Most Powerful 200 People in Residential Real Estate. On his YouTube channel, you can find a variety of interviews with him where he discusses how important it is for real estate agents to utilize video in their business. Raj truly captures the luxury and cinematic essence of his high-end listings, on top of leveraging unique storytelling within his highly produced listing videos.

The Boutique Real Estate Group

TheBoutiqueRE.com | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram

Now Hiring Buyers Agent

💥 My team is excited to announce we are expanding. We are looking for a motivated 🏡 Realtor who wants to join my personal real estate team. Needs to have a RE License, work weekdays/nights & weekends, love technology, have a very flexible schedule and is super outgoing. We will train you on everything. If you know anyone who is looking to start a career in real estate or if they are in real estate but not doing what they feel like they can do please have them apply here 👉 www.JoinTheBoutique.com and to learn more about our company please visit 👉 www.TheBoutiqueRE.com ☺️

BuyersAgent-ListingAssistant

2017 REAL Trends Finalist for Best Overall Website
2017 Inman News Innovator Award for Most Innovative Brokerage
2017 Inman News Real Estate Influencer Of The Year
2016 Top 100 Real Estate Influencers on Social Media
2016 Inman News Innovator Award for Most Innovative Brokerage
2016 SP 200 The Most Powerful People In Residential Real Estate
2015 Inman News Innovator Award for Most Innovative Technology
2015 Top 33 People Changing The Real Estate Industry
2014 Best Real Estate Video of The Year
2014 Inman News Innovator Award for Most Innovative Real Estate Agent
2014 Next Generation Real Estate Brokerage
2014 Top 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders in The USA
2013 Top 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders in The USA
2013 Top 20 Real Estate Videos in The USA

You’re Invited // Legacy Loung & Music Mixer // Corona del Mar

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RSVP Here: 

Mix & mingle at our swanky Corona Del Mar office. Experts on asset protection and digitizing photos/videos will share tips on preserving treasured memories and valuable possessions for your lasting legacy. “Unplugged” musical performance by Burden of Groove, including the Realtor-Hostess-Vocalist, Greta Tucker. Refreshments will be served.

For more info please contact Greta Tucker at 949-339-9940 or Greta.Tucker@TheBoutiqueRE.com

Trump tax plan unveiled, wealthy homeowners to pay more

BY JOTHAM SEDERSTROM, Inman News

In a dramatic departure from a preliminary tax reform plan unveiled earlier this year, the latest draft of what’s been dubbed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, authored by House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, would limit the mortgage interest deduction to new and existing loans of $500,000 and under, down from $1 million, and cap property tax deductions at $10,000.

Released Thursday to members of Congress, the revised proposal would disproportionately impact high-earning homeowners reeling from high property taxes on the West Coast and Northeast while potentially reducing the incentive for millions of Americans to buy new homes.

The Trump administration’s original tax framework included a proposal that would potentially jeopardize homeowners with a $70 billion annual tax expenditure by doubling the standard tax deduction, housing experts warned at the time.

The latest reform plan raises the standard deduction from $12,700 to $24,400 (married), $9,350 to $18,300 (head of household), and $6,350 to $12,200 (single), the Wall Street Journal reported.

“One of the major advantages of homeownership is that deduction, and if people choose not to use it because of the doubling of the standard deduction, it will remove, to a degree, the incentive to buy a home, said Matthew Gardner, chief economist at Windermere Real Estate, citing numbers by the Tax Institute Center that project that the percent of filers claiming the deduction would plummet from 21 percent to just 4 percent should the bill become law.

The revised proposal, meanwhile, would maintain a plan to reduce the tax rate on limited liability companies and other so-called pass-through entities to 25 percent, but would be limited to passive owners, leaving principal investors with a blended top tax rate of 35 percent.

As new details of President Trump’s tax code reform gradually came to light Thursday, real estate industry trade groups cautiously doubled down on earlier criticisms of the proposal.

“We are currently reviewing the details of the tax proposal released today, but at first glance it appears to confirm many of our biggest concerns about the Unified Framework,” said  National Association of Realtors President William Brown in a statement to Inman News.

“Eliminating or nullifying the tax incentives for homeownership puts home values and middle class homeowners at risk, and from a cursory examination this legislation appears to do just that,” Brown added. “We will have additional details upon a more thorough reading of the bill.”

The mortgage cap and limited property tax deductions threaten to jeopardize high-income taxpayers with expensive homes, according to the Wall Street Journal. The plan also maintains the top bracket of 39.6 percent for high-income households and would phases out the estate tax, which includes estates worth approximately $5 million or more, according to the report.

For professional services firms — a definition that could extend to include real estate brokerages in addition to law firm and financial advisers — the proposed 25-percent pass-through rate may no longer apply, as the default rate would be considered 100-percent labor income.

“This bill leaves too many small businesses behind,” said Juanita Duggan, CEO of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), in a statement. “We are concerned that the pass-through provision does not help most small businesses. Small business is the engine of the economy. We believe that tax reform should provide substantial relief to all small businesses, so they can reinvest their money, grow, and create jobs.”

Aaron Lesher, CPA and head of customer success at Hurdlr, said he “tends to agree” with the NFIB that the new rates don’t do enough to help small businesses, but he sees where real estate professionals may still be able to benefit from the changes.

“Even though real estate agents could be considered professional service providers, the nature of their brokerage relationship is usually that of an independent contractor,” Lesher said. “Since real estate brokerages don’t typically withhold taxes for their agents or provide many benefits outside marketing, and agents are still responsible for business expenses and taxes, agents would still be viewed as businesses and be able to claim the 25 percent treatment.”

Short on details and broad in scope, the earlier proposal, negotiated over several months among a group known as “The Big Six,” including Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, National Economic Director Gary Cohn and top House and Senate Republicans, would have lowered corporate rates from 35 to 20 percent while slashing the number of personal tax brackets from seven to three.

The revised plan holds true to the corporate rate of 20 percent, but breaks down the tax brackets into four groups rather than three: 12 percent, 25 percent, 35 percent and 39.6 percent, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional details about the tax plan.

Yard House top chef sells Yorba Linda estate for record $6.095 million

via OCregister

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Carlito Jocson, the top chef for Yard House restaurants, has sold his modern, 8,320-square-foot house on three acres in Yorba Linda for $6.095 million.

Property Link Here

That sets a record for the most expensive home sale ever in the city, according to the Multiple Listing Service.

The house, on one of Orange County’s highest peaks, hit the market in September 2016 for $10 million. The price dropped to $8.688 million in February 2017 and $7.5 million in May.

The estate includes a full-size outdoor kitchen with a bar and wood-fired pizza oven. Flanking a zero-edge swimming pool are two glass-tiled fire pits. A meditation garden with more than a dozen olive trees and a disappearing entertainment system are among the outdoor features.

Inside, the solar-powered house has a restaurant-caliber kitchen, 1,200-bottle wine room and a home theater.

Jocson was one of the Yard House’s original founders and went on to become a vice president and the corporate executive chef.

Raj Qsar and Christina Boladian of The Boutique Real Estate Group co-listed the house; Edward Englehart and Leslie Cole of First Team Real Estate represented the buyers.

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NurtureCon 2017 Online Conference

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I’m speaking at the #NurtureCon Online Conference- let’s hang out! This online conference starts October 23rd and runs through Friday October 27th. ‘ll be speaking on How to Make Real Estate Movies that Sell Houses. The event is definitely targeting real estate agents and brokers who want to up their game at lead nurturing, lead generating, branding, video and content, but it also extends to those working in any professional real estate capacity / admin, realtor spouses, team leads and real estate trainers.

Interested in joining me?

Get your free ticket here!!!

 

Wall Street Journal Home of The Day, A Lemon Farm in Orange County

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Location: 27112 Highland Dr, San Juan Capistrano, CA Price: $11,888,888

Spanning two lots, this property in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., comes with a Mediterranean-style mansion and 430 lemon trees.

By: Sarah Tilton, Wall Street Journal

Dorian Knape looked at 70 houses before she and her husband, Jim, found this property in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. ‘We had been looking for a couple of years for a unique property in Orange County that would give us ocean views and privacy,’ she says. The couple paid $5.5 million in 2007 for the more than 5-acre property. They then embarked on a multi-year remodel of the house, the guesthouse, the six-car garage and the garden. ‘It’s in town—you’re not in the middle of nowhere,’ says Mrs. Knape, adding that it is about a five-minute drive to the freeway. The couple took the approximately 9,800-square-foot Mediterranean-style main house down to the studs. ‘I wanted it to be timeless,’ says Mrs. Knape. The family moved into the home in 2010.

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Mrs. Knape estimates they have put approximately $8 million into the two-lot property. On the second lot, which was recently rezoned agricultural, they planted 430 lemon trees, she says. An accountant by training, Mrs. Knape started a medical device company with her husband and more recently started Pucker Urban Farm. Along with fresh lemons, she sells individually packaged drink shots called Mrs. Pucker’s Lemon Shot. They are made by squeezing the juice from the lemon and the peel as ‘the power is in the peel,’ she says.

‘It’s been a great family home,’ says Mrs. Knape. The outdoor loggia, shown here, has a coffered ceiling with built-in heaters. ‘You go through our gate and you don’t realize you’re in a city anymore,’ says Mrs. Knape. The property has a saltwater pool with ocean views. A sport-court is now a staging area for the lemon business. ‘It’s been a labor of love,’ she says of the lemon farm. They added a full outdoor kitchen with a dishwasher and a pizza oven. The chandelier in the entry and the railing on the staircase were among the few original details that the couple preserved. The walls in the entry are Venetian plaster.

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The main house has five bedrooms, six full baths and two half baths. The master suite includes a 308-square-foot closet. ‘It’s a sanctuary,’ says Mrs. Knape. The master bath, shown here, is 420 square feet. The fireplace in the library, shown here, was originally in the living room. Mrs. Knape added the burl-wood panelling. The living room is Mrs. Knape’s favorite space in the house. ‘You can go in there and look out at the formal garden. It’s very serene, and you can open up all the doors and walk out to the backyard,’ she says. There is a player piano in the living room which she says she designed around the Christopher Guy settee. The formal dining room looks out at the pool and the ocean. ‘The theater was [a] focal point,’ says Mrs. Knape. ’The kids come home and they use the theater with their friends.’

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A glass wall separates the wine tasting room from the temperature-controlled cellar. The couple also renovated the approximately 1,000-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bath guesthouse. The couple also added a gym. The couple are selling as their children are grown and they are planning on downsizing. Mrs. Knape says she will miss the serenity and the privacy. ‘I’s like you’re in your own world,’ she says. Mrs. Knape is 59 years old; Mr. Knape is 55.

The home has an asking price of $11,888,888, a nod to Chinese numerology, which considers eight a lucky number. Raj Qsar and Christina Boladian of The Boutique Real Estate Group share the listing.

Link to WSJ Article.

Link to Property Website.