University Park House of Light and Glass

4256 Sandburg Way $769,000

This large single family home on Sandburg Way is tucked into a quiet spot in the University Park community. From the large parking area in front, all the way to the back where there is a good sized patio and yard, there are some welcome surprises in this end unit.

Significant Numbers: New to the market, this two level, four bedroom, 2.5 bath single family home is 2,700 sq. ft. on a 3,680 sq. ft. lot. at $/287 sq.ft. HOA dues are $185 a month. The home was built in 1968 and there is no Mello Roos tax.

Close-Up: The home seems to have two personalities, one for entertaining and one for the family. A third appeal might be for someone who loves to grow things. This two story glassed home is filled with light, atriums and plants.

Nicely divided with a glassed atrium to the right and a large space for kitchen, breakfast nook and family room to the left, the high ceilings, abundant light and laminate wood floors give the home a smooth relaxed presence.

A bank of bookcases and cabinets house games and collector pieces in the family room, with the eating area and gallery kitchen rounding out a comfortable family retreat. The kitchen has recessed lighting, built-ins, and a convection oven.

The living room with wood burning fireplace sits between the atrium and the patio, with a formal dining room on the left. Perfect for evening parties, with candles in the atrium, a barbecue on the patio and a buffet in the dining room. The home has new double paned windows and sliding doors and custom window coverings. In a few areas cabinet repainting could be done.

The four bedrooms are upstairs with storage cabinets running the length of the upstairs balcony. The master suite with fireplace and bath is good sized. There are three more bedrooms and an indoor laundry room.

Specifics for this two level home:

Bedrooms, 4

Baths, 2.5

Double Garage

Association park, community pool

Attached 2+ common walls

4 parking spaces

2 carport spaces

Irvine Unified School District

What is important here? The established University Park community offers top flight schools, a close in well connected location, and a regional park close by. Evaluating the price versus the assets of ample square footage, a workable floor plan, appealing design, and 4 bedrooms, and 2.5 baths, makes this an interesting option in the market.

Who will move in? A family with teens who need a comfortable family living area, top schools, enough bedrooms, backyard space, and ample parking out front will see the possibilities here. Someone else choosing the University Park location might welcome the space and design options as they develop the greenhouse appeal of the home and make good use of its entertaining potential.

Nearby recent listings: 4432 Sandburg Way, $820,000; 16 Yellowwood Way, $768,000.

Recent sales: 17 Foxglove, $715,000; 42 Gillman, $665,000.

Discuss on Talk Irvine: http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php/topic,3682.0.html

In the tiny pocket of land tucked between the Mericort homes and Freeway 5 are the Tamarisk condominiums. All of them share walls with their neighbors and patio at the entrance (no backyards). Affiliated schools have great ratings even though they are technically in Tustin Unified School District. Of late, these homes are catching up with the market and moving up, up and away.

The current property to hit the market is priced above $500,000.

46 Trailing Vine, Irvine CA 92602

Listing Price: $525,000

Beds/ Bath: 3 Beds/ 2.5 Bath

Area: 1395 SF

Price/ SF: $376

HOA Dues: $290

Builders Tract Name: Tamarisk

Builders Tract Code: TAMR

In 2006, this house sold for $595,000. We haven't hit the 2006 prices yet, but here is a neat little tool that calculates inflation adjustment. (http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/) According to this website, if this property was sold at $595,000, the same item would cost $685,212.15 based on cumulative rate of inflation at 15.2%. So, technically we are not at the 2006 bubble level. But salaries haven't increased, unemployment hasn't decreased.

Here is a brief history of Tamarisk homes in the past three years:

2013:

33 Trailing Vine $329/SF

38 League $354/SF

81 Trailing Vine $330/SF

2012:

16 New Season $274/SF

80 New Season $257/SF

94 New Season $295/SF

74 Trailing Vine $267/SF

2011:

62 New Season $297/SF

37 Trailing Vine $306/SF

Going by the sales history from the time these homes were built in 2005, they have bottomed in 2012, and 2013 brought in a miraculous recovery of $100~ /SF. While we salaried people with the down payment + mortgage combination will gasp in shock and awe at the trend of the market in 2013, a foreign cash buyer will probably pick up the property as an investment and rent it out within a month. In Irvine, in current market conditions where inventory is struggling to reach the two hundred mark, anything and everything will sell. This too shall!

Here is what $525,000 can also buy in Irvine:

146 Hedge Bloom in Woodbury

Listed at $519,000 ($440/SF)

6 Stanford Ct #3 in University Park

Listed at $519,000 ($433/SF)

80 Deermont in West Irvine

Listed at $529,800 ($434/SF)

At $376/SF, 46 Trailing Vine is the cheapest option currently in Irvine, at this price range. Still not very affordable, or not a fair deal for those who have kept a tab on prices since 2007 waiting for the right market to make their move.

What would you do?

Would you buy an attached condominium for $500,000+?

Would you put in as much as cash you can in down payment?

Share your thoughts at Talk Irvine.

After scanning Redfin for some open houses, I decided to visit 14521 Ryewood Street in El Camino Glen, a neighborhood I haven’t toured before. I thought the house was priced really high, so I wanted to see it for myself, especially since there aren’t any interior pictures online.

The basics:

Asking Price: $545,000

Bedrooms: 2

Bathrooms: 1

Square Footage: 1,000

Lot Size: 5,100

$/Sq Ft: $545

Days on Market: 7

Property Type: Single Family Residence

Year Built: 1970

Community: El Camino Glen

There are no HOA dues or Mello Roos taxes.

The front door opens directly into the living room, which has dark wood floors and a white brick fireplace at one end. It has a hanging lamp that looks more suited for a hallway, or even outside. There are high ceilings in the living room and new windows throughout the house. None of the ceilings have been scraped.

The kitchen is behind the living room, with a dining area that could probably fit an eight person table (though 4 – 6 would be more comfortable). The kitchen and dining area have dark green, acrylic tile. Otherwise, everything is white – the appliances, cabinets and tile counters. The kitchen definitely shows its age, but does manage to fit a lot of cabinets into a small space.

Sliding doors at the back of the dining area lead to the large backyard. The yard is a combination of cracked concrete and dying, patchy grass. There aren’t any plants or trees. Though the realtor mentioned the concrete walls as a huge asset for privacy, they are low enough that I could look over parts of them into the adjacent yards (and I’m not that tall). The size of the yard is great, but it needs a lot of work to be nice. The listing’s referral to “new green grass lawn” seems to only apply to the front yard.

A hallway off the living room leads to the bathroom and bedrooms. The home’s sole bathroom has a newer vanity with a single sink. A shower/tub combo with older white tiles and a curtain rod is at the back of the room.

One bedroom is slightly larger than the other and also has a bigger closet. Both have standard, two-door closets with gold trim. Both rooms also have new sliding doors out to the side yard, which are fitted with alarms. The carpet in the bedrooms is in good shape.

While I was there, the owner of a nearby home was touring as well. He mentioned that the foundation of this home is the same size and strength of that of a two-story house, so adding a second story could be a possibility. There is also space to add more rooms at the back of the house.

Another potential buyer touring when I did seemed interested and was considering making a cash offer. The realtor also told me there were others planning to submit offers in the evening (though I don’t know if any actually will). I asked the realtor how she determined the list price, because $545 per square foot is higher than pretty much everything I’ve seen lately. Her response was “It’s El Camino Glen,” as if to say that made it a highly desirable area. However, recent sales in the area have been much lower and the other homes currently on the market are all under $435 per square foot.

What’s your take on the Ryewood home? If it does go for $545,000, how do you think it will affect other prices in the area?

Discuss on Talk Irvine: http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php/topic,3663.0.html