3 Southern California communities among fastest-selling home projects in US
BY JONATHAN LANSNER | JANUARY 12, 2024
Southern California is home to three of the nation’s 50 fastest-selling master-planned communities.
The trio – the Inland Empire’s Ontario Ranch and Great Park Neighborhoods and Rancho Mission Viejo
in Orange County – sold a total of 2,187 homes last year – up 70% vs. 2022, according to annual
rankings by new-home tracker John Burns Research and Consulting. The 50 best-selling communities
nationwide sold 34,000 homes last year – up 24% from 2022.
Master-planned communities benefitted from a healthy supply of lots for construction, and builders
willing to help lower house hunters’ mortgage rates – costs that slowed overall homebuying to record
lows in 2023. Here’s how the three ranked Southern California projects fared, according to the report…
Rancho Mission Viejo, No. 31: 532 sales vs. 311 in 2022 – a 71% jump.
“We are very pleased with the way homebuyers have responded to our new Village of Rienda since its
grand opening in April 2022. The first phase of Rienda is nearly sold out, with more than 840 homes
sold to date,” said Stephanie Walker, Rancho Mission Viejo’s vice president of marketing.
Across Southern California, new homes are the relative “bargain” housing.
November’s median new home price across the six counties was $673,000 vs. $740,000 for the overall
market, according to CoreLogic. Builders have upped prices by 15% in three years vs. a 23% jump for
the entire market.
Still, only 14,829 local new homes sold in the year ended in November in six local counties – off 28% in
a year.
