With inventory in Irvine low and only a few open houses for the holiday weekend, I found myself visiting 24 Spyrock in Northpark Square. It has great proximity to the community park and swimming pool (just one house away) but its location isn’t ideal because it backs to one of the neighborhood’s busier, non-residential streets.

The basics:

Asking Price: $820,000

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 2.5

Square Footage: 2000

Lot Size: 3,920

$/Sq Ft: $410

Days on Market: 40

Property Type: Single Family Home

Year Built: 2006

Community: Northpark Square

HOA dues are $74 per month and there are Mello Roos taxes.

The entryway to this home has vaulted ceilings and a design in the travertine floors. The staircase is immediately to the right and a nice cutout in the left wall offers space for a bench or table to serve as a landing zone. The travertine floors extend through the entire downstairs, the upstairs hallway, bathrooms, and the laundry room.

At the end of the hall is the great room. It has a large window on one wall and a white, wooden fireplace with a mantle in the middle of another. A ceiling fan will help keep it cool in the summer. The room flows into the kitchen through a large, arched doorway. There is space between the great room and kitchen to put a large dining table.

In the kitchen, an island offers space for bar stools as an alternate, casual dining area. All of the Kitchenaid appliances are included in the sale, including a side-by-side refrigerator/freezer, an oven, a convection oven/microwave combo, five-burner cooktop and dishwasher. I really liked the shade of the reddish-brown cabinets and thought they were well coordinated with the granite and floors. There is more than enough storage space, though the pantry is somewhat lacking, with only one set of floor-to-ceiling cabinets. At one end of the kitchen is a small writing desk perfect for mail, bills, or a homework or computer center.

In the main hallway, there is a small coat closet and a half bath with a pedestal sink. The bathroom also has a large storage closet, filling the space under the stairs, and providing a good space for little-used and/or large items.

The backyard is completely hardscaped with small palm trees all around. There is a trellis at one end. It feels bigger than I expected based on the size of the lot.

Upstairs, all of the rooms come off of one long hallway and each bedroom has a ceiling fan. A built-in desk at the top of the stairs has two work stations and a granite-topped desk. There is a linen cupboard next to it.

The first room at the top of the stairs is the master bedroom. It is an average-sized room, with windows on two walls and crown molding around the top. Through the doorway to the bathroom are two, average-sized walk-in closets, one on each side. The bathroom itself features two sinks with a decorative tile backsplash, a bathtub, and a separate stall shower that is on the smaller side.

Further down the hall are the two secondary bedrooms. Each one has a two-door, mirrored closet and both are a good size with plenty of wall space to arrange the furniture. These rooms share a bathroom that has two sinks and a shower/tub combo. The laundry room is also upstairs and has large, Samsung appliances that are negotiable with the sale.

Overall, there is nothing remarkable about this home but everything is very well kept and in good condition. The only thing buyers will probably want to replace is the carpet in the bedrooms, which looked pretty dingy. Though the house is 2000 square feet, it is only five rooms (great room, kitchen, and three bedrooms), so each room is a good size and there is little wasted space. The owners have already moved out and are looking to close the sale quickly. While there aren’t a lot of homes for sale right now, there are a few in Northwood that are in the same price range (some even cheaper), and that have four bedrooms and as much as 800 more square feet. 24 Spyrock is newer than all the others, but it wouldn’t be my choice if I was in the market for a home.

Discuss on Talk Irvine: http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php/topic,3434.0.html

Woodbridge Condo CloseUp

131 Goldenrod #70 $530,000

On Saturday I visited the open house for 131 Goldenrod #70 in Woodbridge. This home has also been recently profiled by Cubic Zirconia and is now pending.

This 1,411 sq. ft. condo brings to mind several other condos in Woodbridge that I have seen recently. Most of them were slightly larger at 1,500 sq. ft., and listed in the $600,000 range, but they all shared a similar history of being updated, and refinished and most of them were near Woodbridge’s North or South Lakes.

Significant Numbers: This new to the market 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home is a two level floor plan at $/376 with HOA dues at $297. Built in 1985, It is the end unit on a quiet cul de sac in the South Lake area of Woodbridge. There is no Mello Roos tax.

Close-up: The entry leads to a light filled living room with hardwood floors and a marble fireplace. The space has room for a dining area and features a large bay window. The realtor said the home is occupied, but this area was shown with a minimum of furnishings.

To the right, stairs with powder room underneath, lead to the home’s three bedrooms and two more baths. Straight ahead the kitchen pairs with a family room and leads to the covered patio and double detached garage.

The kitchen has been updated with marble counters, a breakfast bar, and new microwave and oven.

Upstairs the master suite has a walk-in closet, marble bathroom counters with designer tile flooring. The stairs and bedrooms are carpeted. Throughout the home there are scraped ceilings, recessed lighting, crown molding and designer paint.

Specifics for this 2 level contemporary:

Bedrooms, 3

Baths, 2.5

1 common wall attached

Association pool and spa

Detached double garage

Parking off the street

Irvine Unified School System

What should be considered here? The age, condition, size, two level floor plan, price, and location in Woodbridge will all be evaluated. Top schools, a small town community appeal and numerous recreational facilities will all come up too.

Who will move into 131 Goldenrod #70? A young active family might fill the space and enjoy the surrounding community. The home is within walking distance of an award winning elementary school. The home might also become an investment property, or operating base for a busy couple who like being in the Irvine area and need room for a home office or visiting guests.

Recent listings: 420 East Yale Loop #31, $598,900; 228 Greenmoor #101, $494,900. Recent sales: 91 Goldenrod #57 sold in June for $425,000; 504 East Yale Loop #3 sold in June for $435,000.

Discuss on Talk Irvine: http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php/topic,3431.0.html

While the world is busy counting down to the New Year, we, the residents of Unicornville did a countdown of our own. Lo and behold, the inventory is below 200. 193 properties on the market as of December 31st,2012. Good news for the home owners, and not so bad news for the buyers because the mortgage rates are at their lowest. Fiscal Cliff decisions tomorrow could drive the market either way for 2013 – if we dip into another recession, the projected legendary housing depression of 2012 might happen in 2013, or in 2014 when people start losing jobs again, and run out of benefits thereby stopping the mortgage payments, and foreclosing their properties. But, today, the post is about 2012.

Here is a report card for one my favorite Irvine villages, West Irvine:

Inventory is down by 72.8% Vs 2011.

Median Sold Price is up 37.2% Vs 2011.

Median Sold Price/ SF is up 3.3%.

All properties currently on the market in this village are above $300/SF, and one of them is $401/SF.

There are no condominiums (detached or attached) for sale.

33 Halifax Place, Irvine CA 92602

Listing Price: $619,800

Price/SF: $401/SF

Beds/ Baths: 3 Beds/ 2.5 Bath

Area: 1,545 SF

Lot Size: 3,446 SF

Year Built: 1998

(There are only two pictures of the property on MLS- this is another trend I am observing as the market recovers. Realtors Some Realtors are putting very low quality pictures, and writing substandard descriptions of the property. Those who know the area and have kept a tab on related information will have no problem making a decision, but the Realtors are losing out on the clients who scan the pictures before visiting the property. For a $600,000 listing, the least you can do is spend 60 minutes preparing a detailed listing)

Monthly Expenses:

Mortgage @ 3.193% : $2,142

Property Tax @ 1.0593%: $548

Mello Roos: $89

Home Owner’s Association: $0.0

Total Fixed Monthly Expenses: $2,779

Here is a sales history for the “Liberty” homes in 2012:

26 Bowie Place $347/SF

34 Halifax Place $312/SF

84 Legacy Way $363/SF

87 Legacy Way $337/SF

31 Halifax Place $321/SF

11 Red Coat Place $344/SF

5 Bowie Place $333/SF

165 Church Place $353/SF

If this property sells for $401/SF, it will set a new sales trend and move the range of similar properties up. The first owner who bought in 1998 tripled his money in six years, but the next owner who held the property for eight years will take a loss of $60,000 if it sells at the list price. Timing is everything in real estate. 2006 and 2007 was the time to sell and go away, but once you are used to a life in Irvine, it’s hard to “go away”. And there aren’t many places to go away if you want wide roads, safety and good schools – all that comes with a price tag of $400/SF+.

What are your Real estate plans for 2012?

Are you joining we-the-sheeple of Irvine?

Are you running away from us and settling some place where the grass is greener?

What are your resolutions?

Please comment below, or share your views at Talk Irvine.

As of December 14, 63 Stowe is back on the market following a failed attempt at a short sale earlier this year. This home is now going to be a standard sale and has already dropped $11,000 since going on the market on December 14.

The basics:

Asking Price: $1,388,000

Bedrooms: 4 + loft

Bathrooms: 3.5

Square Footage: 2600

Lot Size: 3,411

$/Sq Ft: $407

Days on Market: 13

Property Type: Single Family Home

Year Built: 2005

Community: Woodbury – Milles Fleurs

HOA dues are $105 per month and there are Mello Roos taxes.

This home is elegant, featuring designer touches throughout. The front room would work well as a formal living room, a den, or an office. With French doors leading out to the front yard, it could be converted into a more private office with its own entrance.

Down the hall is a large, formal dining room with space for a huge table. It’s a great space, with numerous arched doorways leading to the kitchen and family room. Because the kitchen has a good-sized casual dining area, this formal dining room could be used for something else if desired. There is a good-sized courtyard off the dining room as well.

The kitchen features white cabinets and drawers, granite countertops, stainless steel Kitchenaid appliances, and a large center island. It has a big pantry by the breakfast nook, bookshelves in the island, and a few glass-fronted cabinets to create an attractive display area. The white cabinets are a nice contrast to the dark, hardwood floors found throughout the house, making the room feel much brighter. There is a built-in side-by-side refrigerator, double ovens, and a six-burner stove. The adjacent breakfast nook is spacious and has French doors leading out to the backyard.

It flows directly into the family room, which has windows on three sides and a fireplace at one end. It’s a good-sized room, though it lacks a space for a larger, wall-mounted TV due to all the windows.

A half bath with a pedestal sink completes the downstairs. The garage has three spots, two of them tandem, and a storage area in front of the single spot. There are actually two separate doors leading into the house.

The backyard is bigger than I expected it to be, though still not huge. It has grass in the front and, at the back, are two raised, stone patios. One has a fire pit and the other has a built in barbecue and is covered by a trellis. Between these areas is a large fountain.

Upstairs, there are four bedrooms and a loft. The loft is at the top of the stairs and has a door leading out to a tiny balcony that no one could actually stand on. The master is alone on one side of the loft, so it is nicely separated from the other bedrooms. Like the rooms downstairs, it has many windows with plantation shutters, including some with curtains as well. It is a big room with a small built-in cabinet/shelving area in one corner. The bathroom has a huge tub and a separate shower with a big bench seat. There are two separate sinks and a huge walk-in closet.

The other three bedrooms each have features to differentiate them from the others. One is significantly bigger than the others, with several windows and a big walk-in closet. The next room is actually very small, and a door in the middle of the back wall really limits where you can put the furniture. The door leads out to a big balcony overlooking the street. These two rooms are connected by a jack and jill bathroom that has two sinks and a shower/tub combo.

The last bedroom is in between the other two in terms of size (leaning towards the small side), but has a better layout than the tiny one. Like the small room, it has a standard closet that is also somewhat small. This room also has a private, en suite bathroom. The vanity area is through an open doorway, but then a physical door separates the rest of the bathroom, which includes a shower/tub combo. The laundry room is also upstairs and includes a sink and many cabinets.

This house is already vacant and is basically move-in ready. Most of the rooms are spacious and they all are bright, as many have windows on at least two walls. There was an almost immediate price reduction and there have been numerous open houses already. Following the attempted short sale in April of this year, the buyers must be eager to unload this house quickly. Down the street, 27 Stowe closed on December 13 (the day before this one went on the market) at $1,218,000. It has a smaller lot and is a different model, but the homes are comparable in size and number of beds and baths.

Discuss on Talk Irvine: http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php/topic,3422.0.html