Woodbury East New Homes on Facebook.

The other day I noticed an interesting ad on Facebook: Woodbury East New Homes – New OC townhomes for sale! Private patio, 2 car garage, 1180-1850 square feet, 2/3 bed, 2.5 baths. Close to the Irvine Spectrum Center. First of all, that private patio verbage is ridiculous; they should say “smoking box” instead of “private patio.” Now having taken a recent but fading interest in the new Woodbury East homes for small people, I was very curious to why they might be advertising, and in Facebook of all places.

The reason why I’m so surprised that they’re advertising in general is because they sold the first phase so easily; 15 minutes is insane success in any economy, let alone an economy in trouble. But the fact that I’m seeing the ad in my Facebook profile also makes me wonder about Facebook’s contextual advertising program. It must be working if it figured out that it should show me this ad, even though I haven’t really mentioned much about it in Facebook, if at all. It’ll be interesting to see how their ad program evolves in the next year or two.

Woodbury East, Plan C, Floor 1

Amy (my girlfriend) and I went over to Woodbury East this morning to take a gander at the model homes to see the hype. First time in a while we took the Impreza; I figured I’d get a short drive in before I drop it off to YimiSport in an hour to get my Cosworth short block put in. I won’t be seeing that car for a whole week! But anyway, after we scouted plans C and D, we definitely agreed on C being the best of the 4.

Another angle.

The problem was, they were all tiny! The private patio wasn’t so private and about the size of a smoking box you’d find in international airports. The two-car garage takes up most of the first floor, not leaving much of a living or dining space. I honestly felt like I was walking around in a toy house that kids play with. I didn’t have much of a problem with the second floor; if only they’d made 3 floors instead of 2.

The garage is at least 100 square feet smaller than the one in my current townhome and we have so many parts lying around: exhausts (2), downpipes (2), STi seats (2), tires (16), wheels (8) and that doesn’t include my random suspension parts. Then there’s our tools, surfboards, snowboards, the list goes on. The search continues.

The Irvine Company's newest community.

The other day a buddy of mine sent me a link to a blog post on the OC Register about the new Woodbury East homes on the other side of Irvine next to the 5 freeway. I didn’t go to the grand opening myself, but from what I heard, hundreds of people lined up before the sales offices even opened. I’m not sure if that’s grossly exaggerated or right on the money, but what isn’t a rumor is that all 13 townhomes sold out in less than 15 minutes. That’s the whole first phase and they’re only building 58 homes total.

Plan D, Level 1.

Ivy by William Lyon Homes is the first community for sale in Woodbury East and is the Irvine Company’s latest. The pricing ranges from $350,000 to a little over $400,000 for 2 or 3 bedroom townhomes with 2-car garages. The plot sizes are a little small, but not terribly; the largest at 1,500 square feet. After doing all the math, you’re looking at almost $700 a month on top of the principal, interest and property taxes. It’s not a steal, but decently priced.

Plan D, Level 2

What was really surprising to me is that despite the economic tsunami that plauges the news night and day, each potential buyer that showed up prequalified for loans without exception. Now I only wish I’d camped out too! I wasn’t even doing anything that morning, except sleeping. The next phase will be released in 4 to 6 weeks.