Irvine Housing Blog

A Review of the Casero Tract at Portola Springs

I knew from the moment I walked into the sales office and saw the floorplans, I wouldn’t like the Casero properties. The floorplans are rectangular, which created awkward angles and wasted space. The houses are geared towards children—young children, but even still I wouldn’t raise my family in any of the houses. As I was touring the properties I kept thinking about the prices.  $600K+ for this? Tragic! Consider the hefty Mello Roos! You’re looking at well over $4K in taxes per year, which is tough for me to swallow. It wasn’t what I expected and I think if I had to choose between a house at Laguna Altura and Casero, I’d choose Laguna Altura. I think the builder (Standard Pacific Homes) got it wrong.

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What’s Happening with Orangetree Estate?

Previously, I took a look at the condition of the real estate market in Irvine’s most expensive housing market, Shady Canyon. That was the highs; today it’s the lows. In other words, today I will write about one of Irvine’s most inexpensive housing markets, Orangetree.

Orangetree is in the 92618 ZIP code. This contains the Oak Creek, Stonegate, and Portola Springs neighborhoods as well as the planned Great Park neighborhoods. Therefore, the price of homes in this ZIP code varies greatly. Orangetree is the most affordable neighborhood in this ZIP as well as in much of Irvine. In spite of being one of Irvine’s most affordable communities, Irvine’s most recent housing element grades the condition of housing in this area with an A. The housing element concludes that this may be due to the existence of the homeowner’s association, which has fees range from approximately $200 to $350. Orangetree is located near Irvine Valley College, Irvine Spectrum, the Irvine Metro train station, and Oak Creek Golf Course as well as the Orange County Great Park.

API & Equity

The first formal education system was developed during 300 BC by Sumerians and Egyptians to serve as centers for teaching reading and writing. Later on, Confucius added music, literature and ethics to the learning list, and turned schools into enrichment centers. By the time we went to school, they served dual purpose of educating us, and setting the stage for our career choices. However, in the past decade education has evolved into a “race to the top” purely based on numbers. API ranking, API Growth Scores, Test Scores, SAT Scores, GPA – all these numbers have become vital in deciding a student’s future, and in controlling the real estate prices.

Closed Sales from 2/23/2012 to 2/29/2012

Discuss below or on Talk Irvine.

What is the Condition of Irvine’s Housing Stock?

In a previous post, I wrote about the Irvine city council’s most recent encounter with the California Housing Element. Since the housing element will be fundamental in determining what is built or not built in Irvine, I thought I would review the document. Following is part of what I found.

Irvine’s housing element has many aspects, and one of these is a survey of the condition of Irvine’s housing stock. That is what I’ll look at today. The following information, which can be found in Irvine’s most recent housing element (2008-2014 Irvine Housing Element), is based on the 2008 Housing Conditions Survey. This survey focuses on seven areas in Irvine with high levels of older homes that were built before 1990. Therefore, not all Irvine neighborhoods are listed below. Note that much of the text found below is taken directly from the 2008-2014 Irvine Housing Element.

Here is a map of the areas that are the focus of the survey:

A Review of the Las Colinas Tract at Portola Springs

Las Colinas is one of the larger (and pricier) tracts in Portola Springs. They’re currently in their final phase and have about seven properties left. I reviewed the property on a beautiful Saturday morning. Clear blue skies put me in the buying mood for some reason, so my review may have a positive twist. I noticed that the neighborhood was quiet, which was almost an eerie feeling since I’m so used to loud neighbors. The demographics in this neighborhood were different than the other Portola Springs communities. I saw the age 40+ crowd walking their dogs or jogging. I observed this very quickly since I’m used to seeing kids everywhere in the other neighborhoods. Indeed, the Las Colinas housing feels like it’s not built for families. The aura and atmosphere felt like it catered to an older, more established homeowner. I could never imagine skateboarding ramps or Hop Scotch chalk drawings on the sidewalks. Maybe that’s why this neighborhood appealed to me.

The builder of this tract is Taylor Morrison. Their motto is “homes inspired by you.” I tend to agree with their tag line. Out of all the builders that I’ve seen, Taylor Morrison is my favorite. They have hits and misses, but overall I like them the best because they’re the most practical and share my love of big bathrooms. The neighborhood does have its down side. It’s constructed like a quarter slice of a piece of a pie—literally. Depending on where your lot is positioned, you could experience street noise from Portola Parkway. Granted, there is a berm of trees and shrubs shielding you from the ugly street view, but if you get one of those loud construction trucks barreling down the street, you’re going to hear it. The outermost houses border Ridge Valley, so no matter where you go you’ll hear some street noise. Welcome to California.

Would I live here? Yes—if the house was given to me. If I had to sink money into it, I’d choose to bypass this property. It’s too big for someone like me. Even if I was married I still couldn’t imagine living in the space, unless I did a large volume of entertaining and had house guests often. Pricing ranges in the high $900,000s but you’re probably looking at well over $1 million if not higher. I’m not sure I can justify the price. I’d want a bigger lot size for that chunk of change. I’m sure it’s comparable to other properties, but I’m a dreamer and still holding out for that “gem” of a property that gives me more bang for my buck.

Pricing

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Buy or rent at Kelsey Lane in Oak Creek

31 Kelsey is a 4 bedroom, 2.5ba detached home in the Kelsey Lane tract in Oak Creek.

Kelsey Lane is a tract in the southern most part of Oak Creek and is bounded by the 405, Sand Canyon Ave, Alton Parkway, and Valley Oak.  Click the picture below for a closer view.