20 percent off in Riverside County

Beaumont, Calif. is a city in Riverside County that you drive past on the way to Palm Springs. You don't stop there because it's hot and slightly in the middle of nowehre. Nothing really to see.

You certainly don't live there...right? Well, thanks to the run-up in real estate prices, builders started to erect lots of houses out here beginning a few years ago because the land must have been incredibly cheap. Commute time to Redlands: 20 minutes. Commute time to Riverside: 30 minutes. Both of those assume no traffic (haha).

Over the past few years, the area has experienced a surge in population - enough to have it recently considered the No. 6 fastest growing suburb in the country. In 2000, the population was slightly more than 11,500. By 2006, it had increased to 26,625.

There was probably also a surge in real estate values, but that's a thing of the past:
73 Emory Avenue, Beaumont, Calif., 92223
Size: 6 beds, 3 baths, 3,236 sq ft (built in 2006)
MLS: E07078608 (74 days on Redfin)
Current asking price: $369,900
Asking price/sq ft: $114
Purchase price: $464,500
Purchase date: 3/31/2006
ZipRealty price track: Price Reduced: 06/05/07 -- $419,000 to $399,000
Price Reduced: 06/26/07 -- $399,000 to $389,000
Price Reduced: 07/06/07 -- $389,000 to $384,900
Price Reduced: 07/19/07 -- $384,900 to $375,900
Price Reduced: 08/09/07 -- $375,900 to $369,900
From listing: Beautiful huge 5 bedroom 3 bathroom 3200+ sqft with an 845 sqft. Huge 4 car tandem garage on a big 7000 sqft lot. Landscaped backyard with custom concrete patio and walkway around side $7500 spent. Home is a great nearly new beazer home located directly across from wal mart & home depot near sun lakes. Floorplan is amazing with living rooms upstairs and down, a huge masterbedroom and walk in closet big enough to be a spare bedroom, come see this one it will not last long and is priced to be gone this weekend.
So which is it - 6 bedrooms as the listing says, or 5 as the listing description claims?

I don't really like the term "McMansion" - but this is kind of a dead ringer.

Assuming this behemoth is sold at the current asking price, the loss would be $116,794 in less than a year and a half - about a 20 percent decline.

Could you imagine if more of Southern California real estate cost $114 per square foot?