Yorba Linda California Real Estate and Homes for Sale Tom Pelton and Paula Pelton Updated June 25, 2009

What spurred the governement bail out?
Steep home-price declines and a rise in mortgage delinquinces and foreclosures have badly hobbled real estate mortgage giants Fannie and Freddie. The two firms have registered roughly $14 billion in losses over the past year. If they had failed, the damage to the mortgage and housing markets could have a catastrophic effect on the U.S. economy, as well as, the worldwide economy.

What´s happening in Yorba Linda
Homebuyers in Yorba Linda and surrounding areas of Southern California are encountering competition when writing offers on homes that are well priced in the marketplace. This competition has boosted sales with record home sales over the last 12 months posting in August. Property inventory is shrinking and buyers are finding out the hard way that a lot of the homes listed as available are in fact off the market and under contract as the homeowner awaits lender approval for their short sale. With rates dipping lower we will see a surge of buyers into the marketplace as this will lower monthly payments and therefore increase a buyer´s purchasing power.

Yorba Linda Real Estate and Foreclosures
While real estate news is dominated by more bad news of foreclosures, the Yorba Linda real estate market has been less effected by foreclosures.  This is in sharp contrast to Inland Empire real estate which has been much harder hit by foreclosures than Yorba Linda.

Yorba Linda Chamber of Commerce
The role of the Yorba Linda Chamber of Commerce is to foster an alliance between business owners, residents, and local government. Through a mutual exchange of services and information, the Chamber of Commerce strives to promote Yorba Linda as a desirable community in which to conduct business, live, shop  and visit.

Yorba Linda California Real Estate
Property in Yorba Linda and the adjoining Anaheim Hills Placentia real estate area is some of the most desirable in the country.  So desirable that in recent years it has been extrmemly difficult to buy a home in Yorba Linda.  Currently, the real estate market has shifted in the Buyers favor.  There is a 24 month supply of inventory of homes for sale at current sales rates.  However, the average days on the market for a properly priced home in Yorba Linda is 78 days.  So the best buys still don't last long. 

Over the past decade, real estate values have risen anywhere from 7% to 23% per year.  Even entry level single family homes began at $600,000 and some massive estates as high as $4,000,000.   With the recent slow down of the real estate market, prices have adjusted by aproximately 10% in most areas of Yorba Linda and Anaheim Hills.

Yorba Linda Realtor, Paula Pelton provides home shoppers a "Hot List" of best buys in the Yorba Linda and Anaheim Hills area.  Paula Pelton says, "this is a great time to buy a home in Yorba Linda.  Sellers are motivated, some will pay Buyers closing costs and other fees" 

But don't expect to buy a home for a steal in Yorba Linda or Anaheim Hills.  Although some homes are selling pre-foreclosure as a "short sale"  we're still not seeing very many foreclosures or bank owned sales" says Paula Pelton.

Fine Homes International Yorba Linda
In 2007, the US Census reported Yorba Linda as the highest per capita income city in the United States.  That came as a suprise to this laid back and unpretentious city.  "Yorba Linda has attracted high income people from throughout Orange County coastal communities who are attracted to the larger lots, open spaces, and supurb schools" says Pelton.

This report will give you information about the Yorba Linda housing market to keep you up to date on changes as they develop.  You´ll also see what Yorba Linda has to offer, so this site provides information about this beautiful city and it features residents enjoy so much.

Yorba Linda is a peaceful, quiet, and enjoyable city of approximately 65,000 people.  The community is in the North East part of Orange County California.  The name Yorba Linda comes from the city´s founding family, the Yorba family.  So the name means "Beautiful Yorba".
Yorba Linda was recently identified by the U.S. Census as the highest Per Capita income city of the entire nation.

On 10/01/08, there were 427 active Yorba Linda listings. As of 1/25/08, there are 392 total active properties including single family residence and condos listed for sale. The inventory decline continues.

The number of listings is expected to increase as the new year gets underway and people list homes for sale.

On 11/27/07, the Pendings number stood at 46. As of today, there are 43 properties in escrow.

Of course the real estate market changes from month to month, sometimes as frequently as from week to week.  Some months there is an increase in buyer activity and other months inventory my increase as buying activity decreases.

Although sales seem to be slower these days as the market has trended downward, surprisingly, days on the market for homes that sell has continued steady at about 60-70 days.

A very high percentage of the homes on the market never sell.  Otherwise, the current inventory would be a 10.5 month supply of homes!

With hundreds of homes on the market in Yorba Linda, Buyers have a lot of homes to choose from.  This means a home Seller must be competitive on price and the condition of the home to sell.   When supply exceeds demand, we call it a "Buyers Market" since Buyers have more leverage in negotiating.

32% of all current Yorba Linda listings are priced at over $1,000,000. 

The ratio of 11 Pendings to 122 Actives is an unchanged 9%. The more expensive listings that sell are selling fairly quickly ... but not many are in escrow! 3 homes (27%) in this range "sold" in under 30 days.

3 in this range were listed under $1,300,000 when they "sold". The most expensive pending property is listed at $2,280,000.

Some homes stay on the market much longer than others and go through several price reductions. Unless there is some serious flaw in condition or location ... this almost always means the home has a list price that is too high in comparison to recently sold homes in the immediate area. These are the homes that can wind up selling for far below original list price after many, many months on the market.

Prices have definitely dropped in all categories. But, the bottom has not fallen out .... and probably won't.

Of the 382 homes currently listed in Yorba Linda, 70 are attached properties. Overall price range for attached listings is $225,000 to $899,000.

Average time on market for attached homes is 116 days. This figure includes one unit that took 226 days to go pending.

The majority of attached homes are priced between $300-500,000 with most of these over $400,000. The properties vary greatly in size, views and amenities. Yorba Linda Real Estate offers several very nice and even upscale attached home developments

Detached homes range from $390,000 to $4,500,000! The least expensive is a 2bdrm/1bth patio home with 842 sqft and a 2 car garage. The most expensive detached home is an elegant 5 bdrm/6 bth mansion, with 6,700 sqft, built in 2004, on a huge lot with a panoramic view.

There are 16 detached Yorba Linda properties listed under $500,000. 35 residences are in the $500's. 37 homes are listed between $6-700,000. There are 44 homes listed in the $700's and 33 in the $800's. 25 listings are priced in the $900,000's.

The best selling detached category is the $800,000's with an 21% Pending to Active ratio. This is followed by homes listed under $500,000 with a 19% ratio. No other price ranges have ratios worthy of mention.

Average Days on Market at time of sale, as reported by the agents, is approximately 79 days for detached homes under $1,000,000.

27 (63%) of the total 43 pending properties had been reduced in price, at least once, by time of sale. One list price had been raised.

31 Yorba Linda Homes closed escrow between 12/15/07 and 1/14/08. About the same number as my November report.

Looking at all price ranges and categories, average ratio of sales price to list price, on resale homes, was 95%. 5 homes sold at 100% or more of list price.

Under $1,000,000, the closing ratio was also 95% of list for both condos and detached homes. The lowest ratio was 85%. All other ratios were 91% or more.

For resale homes over $1,000,000, the average ratio of sales to list price was 99% for two properties. New construction homes, listed on the MLS, averaged 86%.

Most experts predict that immigration into Southern California will continue to exceed available housing. If this happens, prices will continue to increase over time even if interest rates rise as well. Historically, there have always been "Boom or Bust" cycles.

Many of the homes here have gorgeous views! You can take your pick of city light, golf course, pastoral and even Catalina views! Because most of the area is elevated, evening brings cooling breezes on even the hottest days.  Vista Del Verde community is one good example.

Yorba Linda has two excellent golf courses! The Yorba Linda Country Club is private and located in the central part of the city. The fairways are surrounded and viewed by tract homes built in the 1970's as well as many elegant custom homes built before and after that time. The recently opened, public, Black Gold Golf Course is located in the hills of Northwest Yorba Linda.

The fairways are surrounded by gorgeous, newer homes of varying sizes! Construction in this upscale planned community, Vista Del Verde is ongoing.

Yorba Linda has historically been known for it's large lots. You will find horse property here! There are many custom areas with very large lots. Newer tract construction since the 90's has tended to concentrate on very large, elegant homes on smaller, but ample, lots. In general, Yorba Linda homes have more space around them than the homes in surrounding communities.

You will find few Homeowners Associations in Yorba Linda but they do exist in some tracts. Special tax assessments in the newer areas are comparatively low. The many parks, greenbelts and horse trails are usually maintained by the city and a small charge appears on tax bills.

The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District is very highly regarded and considered one of the finest in Orange County. A brand new, additional High School is scheduled to open in central Yorba Linda in 9/2009!

There is very little commercial development in Yorba Linda. The only large commercial site is located down by the freeway away from most residential areas. The historic downtown area has been beautifully preserved and is the site of several annual Fairs and other events.

And, of course, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library is a great asset to the community and a wonderful way to spend an afternoon!

Yorba Linda really is a beautiful community in the rolling hills of North Orange County.  With easy access to all that Orange County has to offer, it's a great place to live.

You will love Yorba Linda! Once you discover the benefits of the location, the amenities of the community, and the quality of the people who live here, you'll be hooked on Yorba Linda.

ZIP Codes: 92886, 92887

More Yorba Linda Information From Wickapedia
Yorba Linda is an affluent suburban community in Orange County, California, approximately 13 miles northeast of Downtown Santa Ana, and 40 miles southeast of Downtown Los Angeles.

As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 58,918. However, more recent development in eastern outskirts and northern hills of Yorba Linda has increased the population to nearly 71,000. One of Yorba Linda's most famous residents was the late former President Richard Nixon, who was born and raised in the city. Yorba Linda serves as the home of Nixon's presidential library.

The city is listed by CNN as the 21st best place in the U.S. to live [1], making it the second highest-ranked Californian city in the survey. [2]. Similarly, in an article by CNN Money, titled "The Richest (and Poorest) Places in the U.S." Yorba Linda was the richest U.S. city as reported by the Census data showing median household income of $121,075 higher than any other city in 2006

This area was the home of the Chumash, Tongva and Juaneño Indians. In 1769 the Spanish expedition of Gaspar de Portolà passed through that included a soldier named Jose Antonio Yorba. In 1784 Yorba was granted 15 Spanish Leagues of land, that he called "Rancho San Antonio" later, through a family marriage, Yorba granted a parcel to Juan Pablo Grijalva, that became Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana in 1810. In 1834, his third son Don Bernardo Yorba I, 1801-1858 combined his father's lands with those granted to him by the Mexican provisional Governor José Figueroa, creating one of the greatest ranchos during that time and of that area. Most of this original land was retained after the Mexican American war in 1848 by descendents of the original Yorba family.

A section of the land was sold to the Janss Corporation in 1907, and it proceeded to subdivide the land and sell it for agriculture and manufacturing. It was connected to Los Angeles by the Pacific Electric Railroad. The small town turned into a growing city in the 1960s and after a failed annexation bid by Anaheim in 1963, Yorba Linda incorporated in 1967. The site of the Don Bernardo Yorba Ranchhouse is listed as a California Historical Landmark.

U.S. President Richard Nixon was born in Yorba Linda in 1913 and lived there until 1922. His reconstructed home is listed as a National Historic Landmark and a California Historical Landmark. Adjacent to this home is the Richard Nixon Library and Museum.

Another early 20th century resident of Yorba Linda was writer Jessamyn West, who was a second cousin to Richard Nixon on her mother's side of the family. The Wests moved to California from Indiana in 1909 and young Jessamyn attended schools in Yorba Linda and Fullerton. West later authored a number of books and collections of poems, including the 1945 novel The Friendly Persuasion, which was turned into a film, Friendly Persuasion, in 1956, starring Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire and Anthony Perkins. A city park named in her honor, Jessamyn West Park on Yorba Linda Boulevard at Club Terrace Drive, is situated on the West family's former farm property.

CNN Money reports that among towns of between 65,000 and 250,000 in population, Yorba Linda had the highest median income in the United States at $121,075. This Orange County town is considerably wealthier than the city that came in second place, Pleasanton, located in Northern California's Bay Area, which had a median income of $105,956.

Yorba Linda Culture

There are no movie theaters in Yorba Linda, yet there are over a dozen religious buildings, including various denominations of Christianity, a Jewish synagogue, and a mosque.

Roman Catholic Churches: St. Martin de Porres, St. Clare de Asis. Yorba Linda Friends Church is the largest Quaker church in the world and their worship center is one of the largest theaters in California, with a capacity of over 3,000.

MTV is currently in the process of possibly starting a spin-off to the popular TV show, "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County", entitled "Yorba Linda: The Hills of Orange County".

Yorba Linda's Geography

Yorba Linda is located at 33°53'10?N, 117°47'21?W (33.886014, -117.789089)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 51.4 km² (19.9 mi²). 50.2 km² (19.4 mi²) of it is land and 1.3 km² (0.5 mi²) of it (2.47%) is water.

The Demographics of Yorba Linda

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 58,918 people, 19,252 households, and 16,094 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,174.4/km² (3,042.3/mi²). There were 19,567 housing units at an average density of 390.0/km² (1,010.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 74.80% White, 1.17% African American, 0.37% Native American, 11.10% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 2.70% from other races, and 3.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.26% of the population.[5]

There were 19,252 households out of which 44.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.3% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.4% were non-families. 12.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.05 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.3% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $89,593, and the median income for a family was $96,132. Males had a median income of $66,712 versus $41,820 for females. The per capita income for the city was $36,173. About 2.5% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.9% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

Yorba Linda Government Services

The Yorba Linda City Council consists of five members elected by the city residents to four-year terms (three term maximum). A city manager is hired by the council to run day-to-day operations of the city. The council annually elects one member to serve as mayor, who presides over council meetings and is the city's public representative.

Law enforcement is contracted out to the Brea Police Department. In the past, Yorba Linda has been rated one of the safest cities in the United States.

Fire services are provided by the Orange County Fire Authority with three stations located within city limits.

The Yorba Linda Water District is based within the city and provides water services to Yorba Linda and surrounding cities.

Education in Yorba Linda

Yorba Linda is part of the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District. This district is home to nearly 28,000 students.

Several schools in the district have received the California Distinguished School award, which is given to schools with qualifying marks in test scores, application, and visitation. The award-winning schools are: Esperanza High, El Dorado High, Tuffree Middle, Friends Christian Middle School, Bernardo Yorba Middle, Yorba Linda Middle School, Travis Ranch School, Fairmont Elementary,Glenknoll Elementary, Bryant Ranch School, Mabel Paine Elementary, Van Buren Elementary, Linda Vista Elementary and Brookhaven Elementary.

St. Francis of Assisi School serves as the only Catholic school in the city. Many parents looking for a private school education send their high schoolers to nearby Lutheran High School of Orange County in Orange, California, Servite High School (boys) or Rosary High School (girls) in Anaheim, or Mater Dei High School (co-ed) in Santa Ana.

There are no high schools located in Yorba Linda, but at least one public and one private high school are planned to be built by 2008. Most Yorba Linda students attend Esperanza High School in nearby Anaheim. Historically, many students have also attended Troy High School in nearby Fullerton, Valencia High School in neighboring Placentia, and El Dorado High School, also located in Placentia.

External links

·        City of Yorba Linda official website

·        Yorba Linda Water District

·        yorbalindahistory.org Developed by the Yorba Linda Public Library. Includes historic documents and photographs.

·        Yorba Linda travel guide from Wikitravel

·        Bancroft, Hubert Howe (1882). The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft. San Francisco: A.L. Bancroft & Co. ISBN 2539133