Irvine Housing Blog

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.

Closed Sales from 1/12/2012 to 1/18/2012

Here are the closed sales in Irvine over the last week (1/12/2012 - 1/18/2012).  See anything interesting?  Did you visit any of these homes?

43 Copper Creek and 27 Vernal Springs are actually in Shady Canyon. For such a difference in size, it is interesting that the price is so similar. Any ideas why that may be the case?

The house on Doheny seems to be a low price for a detached SFR (that what it seems to be to me). The listing shows that it definitely needed some work. It is on a 6,000 square foot lot though.  

Buy or rent at Monticello in Northpark Square

28 Taquitz is a 3bd/3ba 1,826 sq. ft. attached condo in the Monticello tract in Northpark Square.  Monticello is located across from Beckman High and is bounded by Bryan, Rubicon, Rosenblum, and Montellena.  The streets inside Monticello are: Taquitz, Leucadia, Cosentino, Cabazon, and Idyllwild.

Monticella has 4 main floorplans:

Plan 1 - 2 Bed / 2 Bath 1211-1289 square feet
Plan 2 - 2 Bed / 2 Bath 1398 square feet
Plan 3 - 2 Bed / 2 Bath 1471-1663 square feet
Plan 4 - 3 Bed / 3 Bath 1826 square feet

28 Taquitz is a Plan 4 and is listed at $499,000

There is one other Plan 4 that is active and that is 27 Leucadia which is listed at $509,900.

And there is one Plan 4 that is Pending Sale: 9 Cabazon which is a short sale listed at $425,000.

Open House - 18711 Paseo Picasso in Turtle Rock

It’s difficult to critique a pre-owned house, because for so many years it wasn’t just a house, it was a home to a family. It’s almost like shell-shock reviewing an older house since up until now I’ve been focused on new developments. I often think well-loved properties have more charm and individuality and I’d say that I’m personally inclined to purchase an older residence, rather than a cookie cutter home. 18711 Paseo Picasso was an eye opener for me.

Here’s the 411 on 18711 Paseo Picasso:
Purchase price:   $675,000
Bedrooms:  3
Bathrooms:  1.75
Square footage:  1710 Sq. Ft.
$/Sq. Ft.:  $395
Property Type:  SFR
Year built:  1973
Community:  Turtle Rock

The HOA dues are $150 per month and there are no Mello Roos.

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