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Irvine and Tustin Homes ~ The ins and outs of the still-desirable Irvine and Tustin real estate market - trends, deals, foreclosures, quirks and all.

Readers’ home prediction was (almost) right

November 20th, 2009, 12:24 pm by Erika Chavez, Staff Writer

7tradition1Remember that 3-bedroom West Irvine home that most readers predicted would sell quickly?

Y’all were right.

The West Irvine abode closed escrow 50 days after being listed. It sold for $625,000, which is $26,000 above the original asking price.

Readers said the home would sell within 30-45 days. At 50 days, I say you were close enough…

This transaction gives us an idea of how hot the $600,000 and under market is in Irvine for single family homes. Before we bought our home in Orange, this is a home we would have considered bidding on… but it’s pretty clear we would have been outbid.

That’s the way it goes in 92602… which is no surprise, really. After living there for two years, I know it’s a pretty great community.

What do you think? Are you at all surprised by the final sales price or how quickly this was sold? What does this say about the Irvine housing market in general?

*********************

On another note, the weekend is here! Anyone planning to check out some Open Houses? Redfin is listing 16 of them. Check them out by clicking HERE!

Recently reported:

Posted in: Home prices • Least expensive listings • West Irvine | 3 Comments »

Here’s what $1 million will buy you in Irvine

November 20th, 2009, 5:00 am by Erika Chavez, Staff Writer
"One meeeelllion dollars!"

"One MEEEELLLION dollars!"

When I was a kid, $1 million seemed like a mythically large number. Enough to make you a very rich person… enough to buy whatever you wanted. Enough to afford the fancy mansion of my dreams when I played MASH with my friends.

Next thing I know I’m a grown-up, and $1 million is suddenly an Austin Powers punchline. I mean, me and my husband just purchased a home that cost more than 1/2 a million dollars, and I know we’re not even halfway to rich.

So that got me to thinking… what exactly will $1 million buy you in Irvine these days? I looked up home sales that have closed at or near $1 million since the beginning of October. Here’s a sampling…

CLICK ON THE PHOTOS FOR A CLOSER LOOK!

5 Delano, Northpark– Sold for $1,005,000, $283/square foot

5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 3,550 square feet

Last sold: Aug. 2007, $1,070,000

5delano

*****

6 La Canada, Northpark– Sold for $1,045,000, $327/square foot

5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 3,200 square feet

Last sold: Aug. 2000, $587,000

6lacanada

*****

19411 Sierra Noche Road, Turtle Rock– Sold for $1,100,000, $342/square foot

5 bedrooms, 3 baths, 3,216 square feet

Last sold: July 2004, $1,100,000

19411sierranoche

*****

8 Dos Rios, Northpark Square– Sold for $1,100,000, $326/square foot

5 bedrooms, 2.75 baths, 3,374 square feet

Last sold: Oct. 2002, $682,000

8dosrios

*****

22 Rockwren, Woodbridge– Sold for $1,130,000, $323/square foot

5 bedrooms, 3.75 baths, 3,495 square feet

Last sold: June 1998, $775,000
22rockwren

*****

There you have it… a glimpse at what a cool million will get you in Irvine right now.

What do you think? Are these homes worth $1 million, in your opinion? What specs and amenities do you expect in a million dollar home? And how do you define “rich”?

Chat away!

Recently reported:

Posted in: Home prices • Most expensive listings • • | 11 Comments »

These Irvine homes are heading to auction

November 19th, 2009, 12:00 pm by Erika Chavez, Staff Writer
8090 Scholarship, Airport Area

8090 Scholarship, Airport Area

A dozen more Irvine homes are now in default on loans and scheduled to go to auction, according to legal notices printed Nov. 19th.

Here is a sampling of the properties in default:

17 Costa Brava, Woodbury

  • Amount owed: $342,833.73
  • Last sale: March 2006, $410,000
  • Auction date & time: Dec. 9 at 3 p.m.
  • Location: Front entrance to the County Courthouse, 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana
  • Trustee sale #: 1596731970
  • Information: 866-387-NWTS

8090 Scholarship, Airport Area

  • Amount owed: $1,344,318.38
  • Last sale: Feb. 2007, $1,976,000
  • Auction date & time: Dec. 9 at 10 a.m.
  • Location: In front of the flagpoles at Placentia Civic Center, 401-411 E. Chapman Ave.
  • Trustee sale #: 1232484-14
  • Information: 619-590-1221

37 Olivewood, Oak Creek

  • Amount owed: $565,726.90
  • Last sale: Dec. 2001, $398,000
  • Auction date & time: Dec. 9 at 10 a.m.
  • Location: In front of the flagpoles at Placentia Civic Center, 401-411 E. Chapman Ave.
  • Trustee sale #: 1234082-14
  • Information: 619-590-1221

28 Nevada, Walnut

  • Amount owed: $916,292.55
  • Last sale: July 2003, $692,500
  • Auction date & time: Dec. 9 at 3 p.m.
  • Location: Front steps to the Orange Civic Center, 300 E. Chapman Ave.
  • Trustee sale #: H394464 CA
  • Information: 714-480-5690

8 Descanso, Northwood

  • Amount owed: $538,620.50
  • Last sale: July 2004, $1,036,500
  • Auction date & time: Dec. 9 at 10 a.m.
  • Location: In front of the flagpoles at Placentia Civic Center, 401-411 E. Chapman Ave.
  • Trustee sale #: 437959CA
  • Information: 714-573-1965

108 W. Yale Loop #8, Woodbridge

  • Amount owed: $611,216.41
  • Last sale: Sept. 2006, $697,000
  • Auction date & time: Dec. 9 at 10 a.m.
  • Location: In front of the flagpoles at Placentia Civic Center, 401-411 E. Chapman Ave.
  • Trustee sale #: 736808CA
  • Information: 714-730-2727

3912 Balsa St., College Park

  • Amount owed: $590,459.40
  • Last sale: Sept. 2005, $750,000
  • Auction date and time: Dec. 9 at 10 a.m.
  • Location: In front of the flagpoles at Placentia Civic Center, 401-411 E. Chapman Ave.
  • Trustee sale #: 736783CA
  • Information: 714-573-1965

81 Rinaldi, Woodbury

  • Amount owed: $503,970.33
  • Last sale: Sept. 2005, $655,000
  • Auction date & time: Dec. 9 at 3 p.m.
  • Location: Front entrance to the County Courthouse, 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana
  • Trustee sale #: 20099070817723
  • Information: 714-277-4845

33 Blossom, Northwood

  • Amount owed: $903,801.04
  • Last sale: Oct. 2005, $924,000
  • Auction date & time: Dec. 9 at 10 a.m.
  • Location: In front of the flagpoles at Placentia Civic Center, 401-411 E. Chapman Ave.
  • Trustee sale #: 736803CA
  • Information: 714-730-2727

36 Gardenpath, Turtle Ridge

  • Amount owed: $806,546.77
  • Last sale: March 2004, $658,000
  • Auction date & time: Dec. 9 at 10 a.m.
  • Location: In front of the flagpoles at Placentia Civic Center, 401-411 E. Chapman Ave.
  • Trustee sale #: 736598CA
  • Information: 619-730-2727

To see all the latest homes headed to foreclosure, read Thursday’s Irvine World News.

Posted in: Foreclosures • • | Post a Comment »

Irvine Homes blogger buys home… in Orange?!

November 18th, 2009, 12:29 pm by Erika Chavez, Staff Writer

That’s right, readers… after two years of renting a townhome in Irvine and scouring dozens of open houses from Woodbridge to West Irvine, we finally purchased a home– in Orange.

So for the curious, I’ll attempt to answer some Frequently Asked Questions. Here goes:

1. WHAT?!?! You bought in Orange instead of Irvine?? What gives??

In many ways, I’m as surprised as you are. When we sold our Sacramento home in April 2007 and moved to West Irvine, we were smitten with the notion of some day owning a home in this safe, clean and lovely community. We sold at a fortuitous time and socked our equity away in a bank, waiting to see what the market might do.

Prices came down, of course… but Irvine still seemed out of reach. And our ZIP code of choice, 92602, remained stubbornly expensive (see the “Mood Ring” on the right side of the page to see what I’m talking about).

We went so far as to make a few offers on homes that were well over $700,000, knowing we would barely be making ends meet– only to be outbid any way. That’s how sold we were on living in Irvine.

We regrouped  and decided that our max price should be $600,000, but we also decided we wanted a single family home– four walls and a small yard to call our own, and no exorbitant HOA or Mello-Roos fees. We also wanted a home that was (relatively) move-in ready; no older fixer-uppers for us. We quickly realized those criteria pretty much ruled out Irvine. So we looked across Jamboree Road into Tustin Ranch and… no dice. Then we looked up Jamboree Road a couple of miles, and there it was… Orange.

We found a 3-bedroom home in a safe, quiet neighborhood, with good neighborhood schools, that’s centrally located in terms of my job and my tight-knit family. The sellers accepted our offer of well under $600,000 and… here we are. Homeowners once again.

2. OK, fair enough. But why would you buy NOW, when the housing market is still in a state of flux?? Aren’t you afraid home values might still drop? What about the shadow inventory?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here’s a quick glimpse at why we bought a home now instead of later: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Odds & ends • Other neighborhoods • Q & A • | 39 Comments »

Irvine home sales rose in October

November 18th, 2009, 5:00 am by Erika Chavez, Staff Writer

For the calendar month of October – DataQuick’s freshest homebuying stats — these sales trends appear in Irvine ZIPs …

• Citywide sales totaled 255 – that’s +38% vs. a year ago. Countywide, sales were -1% vs. a year ago.

• Of Irvine’s 8 ZIP codes, 7 had sales gains vs. a year ago while 5 had a gain in their median selling price vs. a year ago.

• 4 of these 8 ZIP codes beat the 3.9% overall performance of the countywide median for the past year.

Here’s how the latest DataQuick report breaks down Irvine ZIPs; change is vs. a year ago:

ZIP Median price Yr. chg. Sales Yr. chg.
92602 $757,500 +27.3% 32 +28.0%
92603 $642,500 -30.9% 29 +26.1%
92604 $535,000 +0.6% 40 +135.3%
92606 $537,500 -5.7% 17 -19.0%
92612 $520,000 +10.2% 37 +27.6%
92614 $480,000 +23.1% 21 +61.5%
92618 $550,000 +8.4% 23 +91.7%
92620 $615,000 -8.2% 56 +24.4%
All OC $436,500 +3.9% 2,800 -1.2%

• For more on overall Orange County homebuying trends, CLICK HERE!

• To see the latest countywide sales statistics, CLICK HERE!

Posted in: Home prices • • | 1 Comment »

Irvine home listings down, price cuts up

November 17th, 2009, 1:59 pm by Erika Chavez, Staff Writer

pricereducedThere are 479 homes for sale in Irvine, down from 495 available properties two weeks ago, according to a report from Steven Thomas of Altera Real Estate.

The city has an expected market time of 2.01 months. That’s a benchmark tracking how many months it theoretically takes to sell all the inventory in the local MLS for-sale listings at the current pace of pending deals being made. That’s down from 2.15 months two weeks ago.

While listings seem few and far between, those in the market for a new home are also finding more and more price cuts, according to my colleague Marilyn Kalfus.

She reports that Irvine’s 92618 ZIP is one of the top 5 Orange County communities when it comes to home discounts; ranking #5. Every other top 5 community is near the ocean.

The upshot: 36% of homes in that ZIP have seen an average price cut of 7%, accordint to Trulia.com. The average post-discount price: $739,484.

Recent stories:

Posted in: Home prices • • | 1 Comment »

Irvine real estate news round-up

November 17th, 2009, 8:54 am by Erika Chavez, Staff Writer

I’m still in the middle of an unpacking frenzy as we settle into our new home (details to come, I promise!), but here’s a look at Irvine real estate issues in the news and blogosphere…

The Irvine City Council approved a scaled-back, $65.5 million construction plan for the fledgling Orange County Great Park.

“Since April, the number of soccer fields promised has been cut in half, from six to three, and land to be developed in the short term has been reduced from 500 acres to 225 acres. Of that, 90 acres will be set aside as a farm with limited public access.

Plans to carve out an artificial lake and to build a 50-acre botanical garden have been scrapped, at least in the initial round of construction.”

Initial plans and timelines were more ambitious, but the housing and business component of the Great Park– once expected to finance a hefty portion of construction through taxes– is mostly dormant in the wake of the real estate market’s collapse.

What do YOU think? Would you be interested in a new home at the Great Park? Why or why not? When do you predict home construction there will actually start?

*******************

In other news… looks like homeownership in Irvine isn’t just for the wealthy any more. Larry Roberts over at the Irvine Housing Blog spotlighted two Irvine condos that he says could theoretically be afforded by someone making $12.50 per hour.

The reason? Low interest rates, courtesy of the Fed.

In case you’re curious, these are Lilliputian condos in Northwood, listed for $126,000 to $132,000 each.

Readers, what do YOU consider affordable when it comes to purchasing a home? Is there some threshold or benchmark you’re waiting for? Or has it already come to pass?

*******************

Finally, in commercial real estate news, B of A is foreclosing on a 16-story Irvine office building owned by Maguire Properties.

Maguire announced it would turn over 6 properties, including this one at 2600 Michelson, to the bank back in August.

The company previously sold a brand-new Irvine office building at a 35% discount.

Recently reported:

Posted in: Foreclosures • Least expensive listings • • | Post a Comment »

Irvine Homes blogger buys home… where??

November 16th, 2009, 12:00 pm by Erika Chavez, Staff Writer

Yes, readers, after two years of renting an Irvine town home, this blogger is once again the proud owner of a 30-year mortgage!

So let’s have a little fun…

house-over-question-mark1

What city is our new home in?
View Results

Stay tuned… in the next couple of days I’ll reveal where my new abode is, as well as why we decided to get off the fence and buy.

Posted in: Odds & ends • Polls • | 10 Comments »

Home sales rise in every Irvine ZIP

November 16th, 2009, 5:00 am by Erika Chavez, Staff Writer

For the 22 business days ending Oct. 22 – DataQuick’s freshest homebuying stats — these sales trends appear in Irvine ZIPs …

• Citywide sales totaled 245 – that’s +43% vs. a year ago. Countywide, sales were +9% vs. a year ago.

• Of Irvine’s 8 ZIP codes, 8 had sales gains vs. a year ago while 6 had a gain in their median selling price vs. a year ago.

• 6 of these 8 ZIP codes beat the 4.8% overall performance of the countywide median for the past year.

Here’s how the latest DataQuick report breaks down Irvine ZIPs; change is vs. a year ago:

ZIP Median price Yr. chg. Sales Yr. chg.
92602 $775,000 +17.4% 33 +57.1%
92603 $650,000 -7.1% 33 +22.2%
92604 $528,750 +11.6% 44 +238.5%
92606 $515,000 +14.7% 16 +14.3%
92612 $585,000 +20.6% 30 +3.4%
92614 $460,000 +13.6% 17 +21.4%
92618 $592,500 +41.1% 23 +130.0%
92620 $550,000 -17.9% 49 +14.0%
All OC $435,000 +4.8% 3,082 +9.2%

• For more on overall Orange County homebuying trends, CLICK HERE!

Posted in: Home prices • • | Post a Comment »

Check out these Open Houses this weekend

November 13th, 2009, 12:00 pm by Erika Chavez, Staff Writer
3 Primavera, Westpark

3 Primavera, Westpark

Here are ten open houses to check out this weekend, from least expensive to most:

107 Danbrook, Turtle Ridge

  • Price: $525,000
  • Open house: Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.
  • Details: 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,183-square foot condo built in 2004.

20 Butterfly, El Camino Real

  • Price: $559,000
  • Open house: Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m.
  • Details: 4 bedroom, 2.75-bath, 1,900-square foot home built in 1976.

4 Potomac, Northwood

  • Price: $599,000
  • Open house: Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Details: 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 1,456-square foot remodeled home.

39 Bower Tree, Turtle Ridge

  • Price: $829,000
  • Open house: Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.
  • Details: 3 bedroom, 3 bath, 1,665-square foot condo built in 2004.

3 Primavera, Westpark

  • Price: $839,900
  • Open house: Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Details: 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2,144-square foot condo built in 1987.

    • 23 Cactus, Shady Canyon

    23 Cactus, Shady Canyon

18811 Tabor Dr., Turtle Rock

  • Price: $999,999
  • Open house: Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m.
  • Details: 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 2,650-square foot home built in 1972.

18751 Via San Marco, Turtle Rock

  • Price: $1,393,437
  • Open house: Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m.
  • Details: 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2,600-square foot home built in 1969.

34 Vernal Spring, Shady Canyon

  • Price: $2,895,000
  • Open house: Saturday, 2 to 4 p.m.
  • Details: 4 bedroom, 4 bath, 4,820-square foot home built in 2003.

29 Blue Heron, Shady Canyon

  • Price: $4,995,000
  • Open house: Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m.
  • Details: 4 bedroom, 5 bath, 5,677-square foot home on a 0.47 acre lot.

23 Cactus, Shady Canyon

  • Price: $6,495,000
  • Open house: Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.
  • Details: 8 bedroom, 11 bath, 12,016-square foot home on a 0.57 acre lot.

Want more news? CLICK BELOW!
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Posted in: Home prices | Post a Comment »

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