House Estate World

Monday, August 6, 2012

Irvine Housing Blog

Posted: 06 Aug 2012 05:00 AM PDT

Mandeville houses in West Irvine have probably seen it all when it comes to the swings in Irvine real estate market. They doubled from their initial offering price of around $300,000 in 2001 to around $653,000 during 2007, and slid back to around $366,000 in 2012.

Prices seem to have stabilized again, with two properties with this area listed close to $500,000. Whether they will sell for the listing price is a different story, but here is a quick comparison of the two Sapphire properties – one on the market now, and the other sold four months ago, and then a six year history of the “Sapphire” homes of Mandeville.

117 SAPPHIRE, IRVINE CA 92602

Listing Price: $495,000
Beds/ Bath : 3 Beds/ 2.5 Bath
Area: 1500 SF
Price/ SF: $330

Monthly Fixed Expenses:
Mortgage, at 3.5% 30 YR Fixed: $1778
Home Owner’s Association Dues: $225
Property Taxes + Mello Roos: $507

Monthly Fixed Expenses: $2510

97 SAPPHIRE, IRVINE CA 92602

SalePrice: $366,000
Beds/ Bath : 3 Beds/ 2.5 Bath
Area: 1500 SF
Price/ SF: $244

Monthly Fixed Expenses:
Mortgage, at 4.1% 30 YR Fixed: $1415
Home Owner’s Association Dues: $225
Property Taxes + Mello Roos: $470

Monthly Fixed Expenses: $2105

Here is a six year history of the “Sapphire” properties:

2006:
02/2006 107 Sapphire $653,000 (Higest)
02/2006 113 Sapphire $599,000
04/2006 48 Sapphire $610,000
07/2006 43 Sapphire $630,000
07/2006 91 Sapphire $575,000

2007:
03/2007 50 Sapphire $600,000
04/2007 103 Sapphire $564,000
04/2007 111 Sapphire $589,000
06/2007 61 Sapphire $589,000
07/2007 53 Sapphire $632,000

2008:
05/2008 73 Sapphire $480,000
07/2008 59 Sapphire $510,000
08/2008 91 Sapphire $450,000

2009:
02/2009 131 Sapphire $485,000
04/2009 53 Sapphire $445,000
11/2009 54 Sapphire $514,000

2010:
01/2010 67 Sapphire $608,000
12/2010 36 Sapphire $490,000

2011:
09/2011 51 Sapphire $440,000

2012:
02/17/2012 97 Sapphire $366,000 (Lowest)
03/31/2012 109 Sapphire $435,000
04/13/2012 65 Sapphire $388,000

It does seem like the market is on a rebound in West Irvine going by the recent sales trends, and also the listing prices. A similar townhouse on 9 Moonstone is listed at $476,000.

Would you buy in this area with confidence now?
Do you think this rebound is temporary, and we will see more properties below the $400,000 range?

What are your thoughts about the floor plan? When I went to see one of these properties, I felt like I was playing hop-scotch, with each hop I was landing into a different living space of the great room. The bedrooms are tiny too, but still livable if you have very young children.

What are your thoughts about the price fluctuations in this area? West Irvine has bled a lot in the past year, but with so many new properties being built in Irvine, many more permitted to build, will these slightly older properties see a permanent uptick, or is it just temporary?

Discuss below or on Talk Irvine.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Irvine Housing Blog

Closed Sales from 7/26/2012 to 8/1/2012

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 12:12 PM PDT

Date Sold	Address	Zip	Tract	Sold Price	Beds	Sq Ft
Airport Area
7/26/12	21 Gramercy	92612	Belvedere	$594,000	2	1775
8/1/12	2253 Martin 113	92612	Metropolitan	$360,000	2	1297
8/1/12	2305 Scholarship	92612	Avenue One	$326,700	2	1037

El Camino Real
7/26/12	4 Butterfield 2	92604	Deerfield Townhomes	$390,000	3	1250
7/30/12	4796 Winvale Ave	92604	El Camino Glen	$635,000	4	2272
7/31/12	15332 Montpellier Ave	92604	Custom	$1,100,000	5	3700
8/1/12	27 Snowberry	92604	Deerfield Townhomes	$335,900	2	1150

Northpark
7/27/12	1 Olinda	92602	Sonoma	$848,000	4	2268
7/31/12	15 Montelena	92602	Tiburon	$545,000	3	1601
7/31/12	16 Ellistone 43	92602	Vintners Reserve	$600,000	3	1950
8/1/12	170 Hayward	92602	unknown	$420,000	3	1588

Northwood
7/26/12	803 yorkshire	92620	Greystone Villas	$425,000	2	1260
7/26/12	6 Mccormick	92620	other	$645,000	4	2077
7/27/12	46 Secret Gdn	92620	Camellia	$837,000	4	2315
7/30/12	15 Urbino	92620	Windstream	$830,000	4	3268
7/30/12	4132 Williwaw Dr	92620	Racquet Club	$600,000	4	2472

Oak Creek
7/30/12	7 Henna	92618	Kenwood	$952,000	5	3200
7/27/12	84 Orange Blossom	92618	Lake Condos	$234,900	2	928

Orangetree
7/27/12	221 Tarocco	92618	Orchard Glen OT	$275,000	2	1000

Portola Springs
7/26/12	48 Cactus Bloom	92618	Primrose	$586,990	3	1873

Quail Hill
7/27/12	43 Windchime	92603	Sage	$585,000	4	1500
7/30/12	36 Windchime	92603	Sage	$390,000	2	1031
8/1/12	111 Lattice	92603	Olivos	$1,039,000	4	2310

Turtle Ridge
7/26/12	127 DANBROOK	92603	Ashton Green	$425,000	2	1400

Turtle Rock
7/26/12	8 El Paseo	92612	Pointe - Turtle Rock	$785,000	3	2104
7/30/12	19 Centaurus	92603	Crest - Akins	$980,000	3	2630
7/30/12	29 Charity	92612	Concordia	$1,300,000	4	2910
7/30/12	18711 Paseo Cortez	92603	Campus View	$656,000	3	1419
7/31/12	38 Vernal Spg	92603	Sycamore	$2,675,000	4	4820

Walnut
7/28/12	3762 Blackthorn St	92606	College Park	$528,500	4	1640

West Irvine
7/27/12	31 Halifax Pl	92602	Liberty	$565,000	4	1755
7/30/12	57 Ardmore	92602	Sheridan Place	$550,000	3	1900
7/30/12	31 Ardmore	92602	Sheridan Place	$517,500	3	1650
8/1/12	17 National Pl	92602	Traditions	$819,000	5	2830

Westpark
7/26/12	1305 Solvay Aisle	92606	Brio	$265,000	1	785

Woodbridge
7/27/12	36 Claret 35	92614	Chateaux	$310,000	2	1146
7/27/12	15 Waterside	92614	Landing I	$945,000	4	2366
7/27/12	69 Lakeview 6	92604	Arborlake	$600,000	3	2042
7/27/12	135 Rockwood 5	92614	Somerset	$340,000	2	1098
7/27/12	7 Ironwood	92604	Creekside	$745,000	4	2044
7/27/12	366 E Yale Loop 12	92614	Garden Estates	$510,000	3	2100
7/27/12	34 Silkberry	92614	Briarglen	$712,500	4	1900
7/30/12	52 Summerfield	92614	Seasons	$499,000	3	1471
7/31/12	30 E Yale Loop 21	92604	Estates	$500,000	3	1886
7/31/12	5 Woodgrove 10	92604	Grove	$625,000	3	1840
7/31/12	41 Spinnaker	92614	Seaport	$479,988	2	1087
8/1/12	643 Springbrook 20	92614	Laurels	$388,000	2	1171
8/1/12	6 Cedarspring	92604	Gables	$774,000	4	2314

Woodbury
7/26/12	118 Chantilly	92620	Garland Park	$455,000	3	1737
7/26/12	127 Chantilly	92620	Garland Park	$410,000	2	1367
7/27/12	35 Regal	92620	Lombard Court	$274,000	1	1135

Woodbury East
7/27/12	20 Strata	92618	Ivy	$480,000	3	1500

Discuss below or on Talk Irvine.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Irvine Housing Blog

Open House Review: 71 Festivo

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 05:00 AM PDT

I ventured out to a new neighborhood again today and toured a house in Westpark. While Westpark itself is about 15-20 years old, it was the first time I had been inside a home there. I visited 71 Festivo, a corner lot directly across the street from Plaza Vista School, a K-8 facility.

The basics:
Asking Price: $975,000
Bedrooms: 4 + office (listed as 5 bedrooms)
Bathrooms: 3
Square Footage: 2,616
Lot Size: 5,116
$/Sq Ft: $373
Property Type: Single Family Home
Year Built: 1995 (per redfin) 1997 (per realtor)
Community: Westpark

HOA dues are $47 per month and Mello Roos taxes are about $3,200 per year (expected to end in 11 years).

Let me start by talking about the asking price. It has been on the market for about three months and was recently lowered from $999,800 to $975,000. While there were several offers at the original asking price, the owners didn’t feel any were high enough. The price has since been lowered, but is still much higher per square foot than many comparable homes in Irvine. The house was remodeled beautifully about a year ago, but I don’t know that it warrants the price.

When I entered the home, I was greeted by an attractive spiral staircase with iron railings and wood accents. I also saw the living room/dining room combo, which has lots of tall windows, making great use of the vaulted ceilings. The floors downstairs are all tile, which isn’t really my style, but is something I see a lot.

To the left of the entryway is an office. While the listings call it a fifth bedroom, it lacks both a closet and a door. It is a nice room though and is a perfect space for an office or playroom. Also, while there is a full bath downstairs (with very nice tile work), it isn’t adjacent to the room, as bathrooms usually are when the room is intended to be a bedroom. There is a laundry room next to the bathroom; both are off the family room.

The family room is one of the biggest I’ve seen, with enough space to actually divide it into two separate living areas if you desired. The way it’s set up now, the couches seem awfully far from the TV. Rather, they are situated across the room in front of the fireplace in a cozier setting. There is also a cutout space in the wall for a small display area.

The kitchen has been fully remodeled with granite countertops, stainless steel Kitchenaid appliances, and espresso-colored cabinets. There is a five burner stove and plenty of storage. There is an eating area between the kitchen and family room with room for a six person table.

Upstairs, there are four bedrooms. The master is at the top of the stairs and is quite large. While it doesn’t have a retreat, it does have room for a comfy chair. It also has slightly elevated ceilings, making it feel even bigger. The master bath has a separate tub and nice-sized shower, as well as separate sinks, one of which has an attached vanity area. The bathroom has two large windows and a smaller window in the shower, so it’s very bright. There is a walk-in closet as well.

On the other side of the stairs, there is a full bathroom with two sinks and a tub/shower combo, plus three bedrooms all clustered together. I generally prefer a little more space between the rooms so there aren’t noise issues and so many shared walls. All three bedrooms have standard closets with two sliding doors and high quality beige carpet (the master has the same carpet). Each room is a good size, not huge but certainly not too small, with plenty of room to arrange the furniture.

I thought the home was beautiful. It is in wonderful condition and doesn’t need much, if any, work done to it. It has a nice backyard with a patio and large grassy area, as well as a big front yard since it is on the corner. My concern is with the price, since it doesn’t sound like the owners are willing to consider offers much lower than the asking price. There are plenty of other 4-5 bedroom houses in Irvine with similar upgrades for a much lower price. While I liked the house a lot, I wouldn’t make an offer on it at this price.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Home Architectural Design

Ice House by Minarc

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 05:13 AM PDT

Iceland-based architect Minarc has completed the project of Ice House in Reykjavik, Iceland. The aim for this program was to create a serene family sanctuary that harmoniously connects inhabitants with the surrounding natural environment, while combining the best sustainable, eco-friendly materials and energy efficient technologies with minimalist architectural design.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Irvine Housing Blog

A Closer Look at Irvine’s Portola Springs Housing Market

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 05:00 AM PDT

Today we’ll take a look at Irvine’s Portola Springs neighborhood. First, the numbers:

Portola Springs—June 2012:

Area	List Price/ # Homes Listed	Sold Price/ #Homes Sold	Median List/ SF	Median Sold/ SF	% Chg Y-O-Y Sold Price/SF
Houses	$949K/15	$862K/6	$349	$323	1.6%
Condos	$464K/16	$568K/2	$291	$277	4.9%
All Portola Springs	$622K/31	$724K/8	$321	$308	-4%
All Irvine	$650K/575	$502K/266	$349	$305	-4.70%

The following graphs show the change in the number of Portola Springs homes on the market, the price per square foot of Portola Springs houses, and the price per square foot of Portola Springs condos, respectively.

To give more meaning to these numbers and graphs, I am listing some homes that are near the bottom, top, and middle of the price range for homes in the Portola Springs real estate market.

36 Cienega