Irvine Housing Blog

Only 25% of Woodbridge is SFD.  I was surprised when I learned that - doesn’t feel like it at all.  Then again, the SFD streets I’ve seen here feel crammed like every other middle class CA neighborhood.
——-

Testament to how good the land plan really is, particularly the impact of the veneer of homes on Yale Loop.

IR, When were the photos taken?  It looks like a beautiful spring day (last weekend?)  yet except for the main pool, all the parks and play areas are mostly stark raving empty or at best, a few people.  The exception appeared to be the one family picnic occuring.

Must admit, I’d prefer having the park to myself, but given the large lack of outside space other than these public spaces for families and people, makes one wonder where exactly they are?  Shopping?

Nice job!  I love those homes.  Well, just dreaming, I’m sure they are totally unaffordable.

NSR is right:  where are all the people?

I grew up and currently live in Woodbridge.  I even worked for the woodbridge village association for a few years.  It really is a wonderful area.  Thanks for the post.

Irvine Co. is closing and selling the south woodbridge elementary school to developers.  They are going to put in 11 homes per acre.  These will be the only new homes in Irvine with no Mello Roos.  Should be interesting.  Incidentally, the woodbridge village assoc is fighting to make the new development SFH’s instead of condos.  Gotta keep those comps high I guess.

BTW, it is not surprising that they are closing the school.  Woodbridge is basically a senior citizen (55+) area.  All of our neighbors are old and our son is usually alone at the playgrounds and parks.  The few kids we have run into at the parks are usually grandkids of the locals.

There is a concern about the quality of the water under woodbridge.  A toxic plume from the El Toro marine base has seeped into the groundwater.  Do a google search for “woodbridge plume” for more info.  It is probably harmless, but it is interesting to note.

We will probably buy here (we currently rent) but right now the prices are ridiculous.

I actually grew up in Woodbridge in the 80s (outside of the loop - in the not-as-nice section:) and remember that there were lots of kids my age there.  Maybe that’s because we were in the townhomes, so they were less expensive.  This was a great place to grow up with the pools and the lagoon and plenty of grassy areas between the houses.  It’s too bad that the community is aging and there are less kids.  I have gotten the sense that many of these communities have a similar problem (see the previous post about University Park, for example) and was wondering if there were any communities in Irvine that are the new “young family” spots.

Melissa,

People go after new schools; therefore, new neighborhoods such as Northpark and Woodbury are “young family” hot spots.  Just check out the school attendance record.

IR,

Great pictures, I hope you do not mind I “grab” some for my listings.  Are you some kind of journalist?

Speaking of listings, is Redfin horribly out of date, or is there something else up with Woodbridge’s requirements for signs. 

They have the approved Woodbridge “for Sale” Remax (Coldwell) groups, but only about half of the homes I identified on Redfin for for sale had a sign up near the home.

nirvinerealtor,

You can use the pictures if you wish. Make sure to download them rather than link to them. I am glad you like them.

I have noticed that the newer areas have more kids.

Although, I thought there were lots of kids out when I was taking the pictures. A few of the parks were empty, but the small, local parks are often empty even in the neighborhoods with lots of kids. I don’t know what people expect. It was by no means a ghost town.

Where were the cars parked on the lawns?  Maybe they are gone now, but last summer when I was touring open houses, there were a few streets where it seemed acceptable to drive on up and park there.  Needless to say, it didn’t leave the picture perfect image of Woodbridge that your photo’s show.  Nice pictures!

Woodbridge is a great area but the “feel” of the area definitely seems geared toward the older crowd.  Besides Northpark and Woodbury, I’ve also noticed a lot of young families in the Westpark area.

The Woodbridge HOA fees are outrageous, but many people say the Woodbridge assoc. is one of the best in the nation.

I think the resale prices of homes this older and well established neighborhood are so high and families with younger kids can not afford them.

Irvine Renter is right the newer neighborhoods have higher density housing where price is not as high due to smaller footages and less yards therefore one would see many kids in the newer neighborhoods.

Woodbridge’s “young generation from the mid 70’s and mid 80’s” are now working adults now they are bringing their young children to grandmas’ house.

The home owners who live in Woodbridge love their woodsy, grassy and spacious picturesque neighborhoods they would not buy a more expensive place in the new communities with grid patterns and straight run streets.

The older floorplans in Woodbridge may not appeal to the families with small children while the newer model homes are much more appealing with much more updated finishes, appliances and more stylish

IR,

These neighborhood overviews are great!  Thanks a lot for all the work on it.  I’ve read all of your neighborhood overviews and it really shows your admiration of Irvine.  Hopefully, your day of homeownership in this great city that you love will come soon.

I was wondering if you or Zovall could create a link to group all the neighborhood overviews in one area so people can easily access them with one click.  I know I will want to go back and read them several times when we are ready to buy and I don’t want to have to do a search for each neighborhood, which could produce a lot of irrelevant results.

Thanks again.
IWB

Irvine Wanna Be,

If you click on the tag called “community profile” on the left side of the screen, it will only show the community profiles.

There is a lot to like about Irvine. As someone who has worked as a community planner, I appreciate how they designed the communities. As a resident, I enjoy the results of their work.

These community profiles are fun for me. I usually go out with the family, stop at all the parks, and have lunch at the local commercial plaza. It makes for a nice day in Irvine.

Thanks! Found it.

Moved to Woodbridge in ‘85 near South Lake.  It sometimes had a stuffy, elitist feel with people who look down their noses at you.  Used to walk down the street and nobody would say hello to each other (although Donnie Osmond did say hello once when I passed him near south lake one time…oh and so did Peter Vidmar).

Now I live in Tustin where I feel more of a sense of community and identity. Houses there actually have yards (i’m on a 10,000 sq ft lot).  Tons of good Japanese restaurants.