Irvine Housing Blog

Buy or rent at Tiempo in Westpark

166 Alicante Aisle is a 2bd/2ba condo in the Tiempo tract in Westpark.  Tiempo is bounded by the San Diego River Trail, Alton Parkway, Harvard Ave and San Marco Park.  Click the picture below for a closer view.  The streets in this tract are Alicante, Costero, Abrazio, Marbella and Giovanni.

There are a number of floorplans here and it looks like this property is a plan D.  It looks like there is another Plan D listed currently at $389k: 132 Alicante.  The only recent sale I found for a Plan D looks to be 164 Alicante which closed on 12/29/2011 for $300k.  We'll use that price in the analysis.

A Review of the Las Ventanas Tract at Portola Springs

Las Ventanas (Community Overview) is the first tract I’m reviewing in the Portola Springs Villages. Portola Springs is bordered by the Great Park and the Irvine Ranch Land Preserve in a seemingly remote pocket in Irvine. The closest schools are Stonegate Elementary, Sierra Vista Middle School and Northwood High School. The villages have direct access to the 133 and 241 toll roads with the 5 freeway nearby. Residents living in the Portola Springs Villages are privy to community parks, a lighted soccer field, playgrounds, basket ball and tennis courts, as well as access to hiking trails. It’s truly a self contained private community that appears to be far removed from the busier areas in Irvine. Las Ventanas will have a total of 86 homes in the development.

I instantly saw the huge contrast between Stonegate and Portola Springs. It’s almost as if the builders (Taylor Morrison) fixed all my complaints about Stonegate and Laguna Altura. The ambiance in all three tracts was inviting and I immediately felt like I was “home,” which is important to me. Unlike Stonegate, I was highly receptive to Las Ventanas. Portola Springs is a family oriented neighborhood. In fact, most of the visitors viewing the models were young couples with small children, or very pregnant women looking to move into a larger space to accommodate a new baby. I am none of the above, so these homes were too large for me, but I’m still excited to share with you my observations about the properties.

Closed Sales from 1/19/2012 to 1/25/2012

A Review of the Capistrano Tract at Stonegate East

Location: On Sand Canyon Ave., between Jeffery and Irvine Blvd. is the Village of Stonegate East.
Builder: Irvine Pacific Homes by the The Irvine Company.

Exploring the homes of Capistrano:

The Capistrano homes are two-story duplexes between 1823 sf to 1956 sf. Three plans are offered, and the price range is mid-$500,000 to low-$600,000. Various options for the elevations, as many as seven for Residence 2 ensure a unique property. According to the sales agent on site, Residence 1 is no longer available, but they have Residence 2 and Residence 3 available.

What can $600k buy in Westpark?

zovall: The post below is written by Michelle Jones

Hi, I’m Michelle! I’m originally from Sacramento, but I’ve been living in Newport Beach since 2001. Currently, my husband and I live on the edge of Newport Beach and Irvine, with our two dogs. Despite the fact that we are currently renters, we are both very interested in the real estate market, and house hunting. Our guilty pleasure is anything on HGTV. Currently, I work full time as an account manager for an internet company, and help with IHB in my spare time.

Today I’m going to review for you two homes that sold within the past three months for similar prices in the Westpark neighborhood of Irvine.

House 1: 22 Palermo, Irvine, CA 92614

Sold for $604,000 in October 2011
Beds: 3
Baths: 2.5
Sq. Ft: 1,787
$/Sq. Ft: $338
Lot Size: 5,751 Sq. Ft.
Property Type: Residential, Single Family
Style: Two Level, Mediterranean
Year Built: 1988

A Review of the Esplanade Tract (Plan 4) at Woodbury

Hello readers, I'm Nilam and was one of the first original fans of IHB (might have something to do with the fact that I'm married to zovall/Omkar).  I've lived in Irvine since 2003 and am very happy to call the city home to our family of three, which includes our one year old daughter.  While I have no formal real estate training, I love to write and learn about our community, and do so from the perspective of a mother and wife.  I'm a stay at home mom these days but in my former life, I was a web marketing executive at an insurance company and hold an MBA from the University of Arizona and a BA from UCLA (go Bruins!).

Recently I took a tour of Plan 4 in the Esplanade tract in Woodbury.  I really wasn't interested in the smaller units so I spent my time in the Wisteria model. 

For some, it might seem strange that a home of this size would be attached.  I felt that way too, until I moved to Irvine and drank TIC's Kool-Aid became familiar with the more recent home offerings.  Land squeezing in Irvine has been discussed to death on this blog so I won’t belabor the point.  Honestly, I was just happy to see this square footage at this price (go ahead – judge away – but I haven't seen too much in Irvine with this kind of pricing on a new home of this size in a while so I was curious).  Here’s a link to the homes and here are the facts:

Village: Woodbury
Tract: Esplanade
Model: 4: Wisteria
Square Feet: 2074
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 3
Price: Release 5 span from $535,575 (may have builder incentives available)
Base Property Tax: 1.05% of sales price
Mello Roos: $4623 per year
Association fees: $105 for Woodbury community, $193 for Esplanade tract
Builder: Taylor Morrison

The Village of Woodbridge

Wendy Larson has lived in Irvine for over twelve years. She graduated from Woodbridge High School, took some courses at Irvine Valley College and eventually graduated from Penn State University as the Student Marshal with Highest Distinction. After graduation, Wendy was awarded a teaching assistantship in the South of France. After a year of working abroad Wendy moved back to Irvine. She is currently a Senior Operational Trainer at a health care company in Costa Mesa. Wendy spends her free time writing, public speaking and mentoring individuals looking to improve their speaking skills.

Located in one of the most picturesque areas of Irvine, Woodbridge Village offers distinct housing communities, charming views and an atmosphere that appeals to families, couples and singles alike. Nestled between the major streets of Jeffrey and Culver, and intersected by Barranca Parkway (North Lake) and Alton (South Lake), Woodbridge Village is situated around two gorgeous lakes and is convenient to all community amenities.

The residential communities consist of a mixture between single family residences, condos and apartments. Take a drive on East Yale Loop and West Yale Loop to get a scope of the residential neighborhoods within Woodbridge Village. This area is intrinsically unique in look and feel from the rest of Irvine. Much of the community is maintained by the Woodbridge Village Association, to which residents must pay homeowner’s association dues. The Association owns and operates 41 recreational facilities and does a great job ensuring these facilities are clean and well landscaped for all to enjoy.