Monthly Archives: September 2012

Closed Sales from 8/30/2012 to 9/5/2012

Date Sold Address Zip Tract Sold Price Beds Sq Ft
Airport Area
8/30/12 2446 Scholarship 92612 Avenue One $310,000 2 850
8/31/12 1152 Scholarship 92612 Avenue One $340,000 2 1037
8/31/12 3131 Michelson Dr 1405 92612 Marquee at Park Place $725,000 2 1347
El Camino Real
8/30/12 5132 Greencap Ave 92604 El Camino Glen $532,000 3 1482
8/30/12 15425 Eiffel Cir 92604 Ranch $690,000 4 2011
8/31/12 7 Elfin 92604 Irvine Groves $475,000 4 1897
9/4/12 24 Snapdragon 14 92604 Deerfield Townhomes $375,000 3 1561
9/5/12 110 Kazan St 1 92604 Walnut Square $285,000 2 1046
Northpark
8/31/12 33 Monrovia 92602 Miramar $1,130,000 5 3100
Northwood
8/30/12 33 Lee 92620 Greenfield $686,400 3 2211
8/30/12 60 Essex Ln 92620 Carlyle at Lanes End $630,000 3 1900
8/30/12 9 CANYON SAGE 92620 Tremaine $801,000 4 2158
8/31/12 30 BAMBOO 92620 Camellia $820,000 4 2315
8/31/12 6 Monticello 92620 Camden Corners $645,000 4 2520
8/31/12 14 Pleasonton 92620 Fieldstone Classics $495,000 3 1350
8/31/12 935 Somerville 92620 Greystone Villas $427,000 2 1300
9/3/12 24 Ericson Aisle 92620 Northwood Villas $365,000 2 1279
Oak Creek
8/30/12 42 Daisy 92618 Montilla $466,000 3 1525
8/30/12 63 Wellington 92618 Kelsey Lane $727,500 4 2100
Orangetree
8/31/12 186 Tangelo 414 92618 Lake Condos $160,000 1 662
Portola Springs
9/5/12 54 Gray Dove 92618 Las Colinas $986,000 4 2741
Stonegate East
8/31/12 1001 Elmhurst 92618 Capistrano $400,000 3 1360
Turtle Ridge
8/30/12 47 Shady Ln 92603 Bontanica $2,200,000 6 4071
8/31/12 23 Gardenpath 92603 Arborel $860,000 3 1665
9/2/12 37 Woods Trl 92603 Arezzo $2,250,000 4 3480
9/4/12 29 VILLAGE WAY 92603 Amberhill $2,351,000 5 4333
Turtle Rock
8/30/12 20 Vernal Spg 92603 Sycamore $2,400,000 3 4097
8/31/12 4 Flintridge 92603 Highlands Lusk $1,430,000 5 3142
9/5/12 12 La Quinta 92612 Pointe – Turtle Rock $740,000 3 2104
University Park
8/30/12 71 Oak Tree Ln 92612 Park II (In Village Park) $540,000 2 1500
9/4/12 5 Holly St 92612 Parkside – Deane $687,000 3 2456
University Town Center
8/30/12 35 Lehigh Aisle 92612 Oxford Court $488,000 2 1682
9/4/12 96 Stanford Ct 48 92612 Princeton Townhomes $425,000 2 1200
9/4/12 75 Exeter 33 92612 Columbia Square $428,000 2 1344
Walnut
8/31/12 14221 Wyeth Ave 92606 Colony 1 $610,000 4 2268
West Irvine
8/31/12 19 Moonstone 92606 Mandeville $379,000 3 1500
Woodbridge
8/31/12 125 Greenmoor 54 92614 Laurels $325,000 2 1080
8/31/12 3 Seadrift 78 92604 Cove $660,000 3 2287
9/1/12 49 E Yale Loop 26 92604 Jefferson $550,000 2 1500
9/4/12 61 Greenfield 68 92614 Alders $302,000 2 1060
9/4/12 7 Bluebird 92604 Creekside $645,000 4 1888
9/5/12 49 Sparrowhawk 92604 Patio Homes (WB) $540,000 4 1662
9/5/12 14 Partridge 92604 Patio Homes (WB) $800,000 4 2200
Woodbury
8/31/12 175 Intrigue 92620 Stonetree $605,000 4 2104

Discuss on Talk Irvine.

Canstruction 2012 – Supporting the Orange County Food Bank

I received an email from a long time IHB reader, Chuck Darrow, regarding an organization he is involved with, Canstruction. Sounds like many of the companies in the housing and residential development industry participate in this event where they create twenty structures using canned food.

From their PR:

The premise is this: local architects, engineers, community groups, and students formed twenty teams that include at least one architect. They then designed a structure, gathered all the food items necessary to build it (over 80,000 cans!!), then constructed their visually and structurally stunning canned art structures during an overnight build commencing the night of Friday, August 31 2012 The structures will be on display and open to the public on both sides of South Coast Plaza from September 1 – 23 in conjunction with the Festival of Children.

2009 Build Night Video:

At the end of the event, all of the canned food will be donated to the Orange County Food Bank. We did an IHB volunteer event here a few years ago and it was an incredibly rewarding experience. Very cool to see these local companies make these donations to the food bank! Fluor, Inc is this years major financial sponsor.

Have you seen these in the past? We will try to check them out this weekend. Discuss below or on Talk Irvine.

Open House Review: 34 Olivehurst

Holiday weekends generally don’t have as many open houses, so after driving around for awhile, I found myself at 34 Olivehurst in Northpark.

The basics:

Asking Price: $580,000

Bedrooms: 2 + loft

Bathrooms: 2.5

Square Footage: 1,500

Lot Size: not listed

$/Sq Ft: $387

Days on Market: 6

Property Type: Single Family Home

Year Built: 2001

Community: Northpark

HOA dues are $271.40 per month and there are Mello Roos taxes.

This house is situated on a corner lot, which the realtors refer to as a “prime location.” However, it is on the corner of Spring Valley, one of the main streets that run through the community of Northpark, so it will be busy. The lot is also tiny. I can’t actually find the lot size listed anywhere, but the fully hardscaped backyard of this house contains a small table and chairs and there really isn’t room for anything else. The garage is on the side of the house and has no driveway.

Downstairs, everything is very compartmentalized. The small living room is to the right of the entryway. The current owners have one couch and a large entertainment unit and it doesn’t really seem like there is much room to put in a second couch or loveseat. The highlight of the room, and the downstairs in general, are the nice hardwood floors.

The dining room is to the left of the entryway. It has windows on two sides and is bordered by the staircase on a third side. Like the living room, it has attractive wood floors.

The kitchen is on the other side of the stairway, so it doesn’t connect or flow into the dining room. It is a good size, but lacks an island or breakfast nook. The cabinets and appliances are all white (with the exception of a stainless steel fridge) and even the counters are a very light shade of gray, creating a very monochromatic and somewhat boring look. There isn’t really a place to put a table, so the only option is to eat in the formal dining room for every meal. The only access to the backyard is through a sliding door in the kitchen.

Moving upstairs, there is an open loft overlooking the staircase. It is a good-sized room with windows on two walls and a cutout area that could be converted into a closet. It would be fairly easy to convert it into a third bedroom, but makes a nice office space the way it is now. The secondary bedroom also has windows on two walls and a standard two-door sliding closet. While the loft has hardwood floors, the bedrooms, staircase and common areas upstairs have a bluish-gray carpet. It’s in fairly good condition, but I don’t care for the color. The upstairs bathroom has tile floors, one sink and a shower/tub combo. Like the kitchen, it is mostly white.

The master bedroom is also unremarkable. It is on the smaller side for a master, especially in a newer home and doesn’t have space for a sitting area. It has one large walk-in closet. The bathroom counters are oddly high and you have to step over a very high wall to get into the shower/tub combo. This bathroom is also all white.

The house is in good shape with everything well maintained. However, that is not enough to sell this house. I really dislike the floor plan. The downstairs is too closed off and the living room is too small. The lack of anywhere to eat in the kitchen is a big turnoff. The corner location isn’t good and the lot is tiny. The price per square foot is much too high (higher than most other homes I’ve looked at), especially when you consider that Northpark has high association dues and Mello Roos taxes. And, because it’s in Northpark, you don’t even get the benefit of Irvine schools. I can usually see an upside to most of the houses I visit. This time, I cannot. I’ll be very interested to see what happens with 34 Olivehurst.

Discuss on Talk Irvine.

Is the Irvine Company’s Rent Equity Program a Good Home Buying Strategy?

Do you want to buy a home in Irvine but aren’t ready to make the deal? If the answer is yes and you are also willing to rent from The Irvine Company (TIC) in the meantime, TIC has a proposal for you: The Irvine Company’s “Renter Equity Program” allows qualified Irvine Company rental residents to accrue up to 10% of their monthly rent toward the purchase of select homes in the following Irvine Pacific neighborhoods:

Laguna Altura

Stonegate

San Marino in Woodbury

Here are more details on the program:

  • Eligible TIC renters are automatically enrolled in the company’s “Renter Equity Program.”

  • During the first year of renting, eligible participants accrue 5% of the monthly rent.

  • During the second year of renting, the credit accrual rates increases to 7% of the monthly rent.

  • During the third year, the credit accrual rates increase to 10% of the monthly rent.

  • The maximum amount of rent equity that can be accrued is $5,000.

So what do you think? Is this a good strategy for buying a home in Irvine? Is it enough to make you choose an Irvine Company rental while you are looking for a home to buy?

Discuss on Talk Irvine.

Bel-Aires of Northpark Square

Three Bel-Aire properties with similar floor plans are for sale in the Northpark Square area. Northpark Square is the tiny area between Irvine Boulevard and Bryan, and Culver and toll-way 261. They are a walking distance from Beckman High School and Hicks Canyon Elementary School, and around a mile from Orchard Hills Middle School. Not to be confused with Northpark which is a guard gated community, Northpark square is partially gated, and none of the Bel-Aire homes are gated.

8 Rosenblum, Irvine CA 92602

Listing Price: $988,000

Previous sale: $714,000 in 2003

Beds/ baths: 5 beds/ 3.5 baths

SF Area: 3,511

Price/ SF: $281

Fixed Monthly Expenses:

Mortgage, 30 YR Fixed at 3.625%: $3605

Home Owner’s Association Dues: $98

Annual Mello Roos + Special Assesments: $2,956

Annual Property Tax: $10,468

Monthly expenses: $4,821

49 Pacific Crest, Irvine CA 92602

Listing Price: $949,000

Previous sale: $623,000 in 2002

Beds/ baths: 6 beds/ 4.5 baths

SF Area: 3,511

Price/ SF: $271

Fixed Monthly Expenses:

Mortgage, 30 YR Fixed at 3.625%: $3466

Home Owner’s Association Dues: $98

Annual Mello Roos + Special Assesments: $2,956

Annual Property Tax: $10054

Monthly expenses: $4,648

11 Ravendale, Irvine C A 92602

Listing Price: $998,000

Previous sale: $597,500 in 2002

Beds/ baths: 5 beds/ 4 baths

SF Area: 3,537

Price/ SF: $282

Fixed Monthly Expenses:

Mortgage, 30 YR Fixed at 3.625%: $3641

Home Owner’s Association Dues: $98

Annual Mello Roos + Special Assesments: $2,956

Annual Property Tax: $10574

Monthly expenses: $4,866

Recent comparative summer sales:

21 Amargosa

Sold for $836,000 in June 2012 for $238/SF.

28 Thorn Hill

Sold for $935,000 in August 2012 for $266/SF.

12 Ravendale

Sold for $945,000 in August 2012 for $319/SF.

Which one would you buy?

None of them back high traffic streets, all of them were built around the same time, all of them were owned by the same owner for the last decade, and all are maintained and upgraded to keep with the current trends. Recent sales trend shows a wide Price/SF range, but all three properties are priced within the highs and lows of the summer.

Discuss on Talk Irvine.