Shilton says that according to the Mayor and City Council members with whom he spoke, “the number of units that are likely to be constructed is close to and could exceed 2,000 units. This includes the 274-unit site on the corner of Beach and Ellis that we sold to Greystar last year and the the Plaza Huntington Beach mixed-use project owned by Decron.” He adds that Decron intends to build 272 units near the corner of Beach and Warner.

In addition, when developers of for-sale housing evaluated the site, they met with resistance from the City based on discretionary issues including the separation that they desired from the adjoining retail and the lack of accessibility of a gated community to the general public, Shilton says. “In the end, the site was sold to a commercial user who is likely to garner the City's cooperation and support.”

Jeff Carr, SVP, and Gregg Haly, SVP, both brokers with CBRE in Newport Beach, CA, tell GlobeSt.com that South Orange County values have continued to increase across all market segments due to positive absorption in 2012. They note that two primary factors will sustain this growth moving forward. “First, there are no new development projects on the horizon and second, we continue to see record low interest rates. Consumer confidence seems to be improving and with values stabilizing, demand for South Orange County commercial real estate is again on the rise. We saw values bottom in 2009 and 2010, and stabilization occur during 2011 and 2012. We foresee a mild, steady growth in both rental rates and building values over the next few years.”

The well-located property garnered significant interest from developers and users of a variety of property types including multifamily, for-sale housing, retail and auto dealerships,” said Rogers in a prepared statement. “We procured 13 competitive offers, and the property eventually sold for over the list price.”

Shilton commented that the location was ideal for Hardin since the site had previously been entitled for an auto dealership and has 394 feet of frontage along a main commercial artery within the city.

In July 2012, Shilton and Rogers completed the $10.25-million sale of 2.737 acres of land located at the southeast corner of Beach and Ellis at 18502-18510 Beach Blvd., also located here. That site was sold to a national multifamily developer who entitled it for 274 units and is about to break ground on the project. Both properties are located within the Beach Edinger Specific Plan.

Shilton and Rogers specialize in the sale of land for development and multifamily properties within Orange and Los Angeles counties. In 2012, they closed on transactions totaling approximately $39 million, representing more than 500 existing and future units.

As GlobeSt.com previously reported exclusively, in December 2012, Charles Dunn Co. completed the $15.5-million sale of a 46,213-square-foot office building at 11859 Wilshire Blvd. in Brentwood, CA, and brokered a 19,042-square-foot lease between Acento Advertising and landlord Douglas Emmett at 2001 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica, CA. Roger Beck and Gelena Skya-Wasserman of Charles Dunn represented the seller in the Brentwood sale and the tenant in the Santa Monica lease agreement.

Is South Orange County in danger of being overbuilt? What's your opinion? Tell us in the comments section below.