144 new townhomes come to Lake Forest with prices starting under $600,000

Lake Forest will get 144 new townhomes with prices starting under $600,000.

Silveroak is Landsea Homes’s latest addition to its 543-home IronRidge community in Portola Hills. The builder has begun pre-sales for the project, which offers three plans ranging in size from 1,311 to 1,693 square feet of space with up to three bedrooms, three bathrooms, an outdoor deck and a two-car garage. Model homes will be ready for viewing later this year.

Landsea says pricing will start from the high-$500,000s, “a very attractive price-point for the region,” said Tom Baine, president of the company’s Southern California division.

Silveroak comes to market as Orange County house hunters are shying away from new homes.

In May, builders countywide sold just 262 residences — down 42% in a year. The lofty median selling price of $944,000 — down 4.3% in 12 months — suggests Silveroak may draw budget-conscious buyers.

Regionally, builders aren’t having much more luck. Six-county sales of 1,705 new homes were off 18% in a year. The median of $534,000 was down 8.3% in a year.