Beginning of the year, I wrote an article about Irvine homes that fall under Tustin School District, or sometimes under Santa Ana School District. But, there are homes in Tustin that are served by Irvine School District too. The area is Tustin Field.

Tustin Field is a community in the 92782 zip code of Tustin. 61.1% of the housing inventory is owned, 34.8% is rented. Annual residential turnover is 57% and 12% of the community is in more than five years of residency. About 80% of the community has college education. 77% is white collared, and 23% is blue collared workforce. Median income is $108,431. Overall crime rate is 0.8, below the national average of 1. The nearest shopping center for Tustin Field is The District.

Today, we will look at two properties around 3000 SF in Tustin Field.

16603 Sonora St, Tustin CA 92782:

1334 Sun Dial Drive Tustin, CA 92782

Floor Plan available here

Would you buy in Tustin Field?

The area is surrounded by major streets like Jamboree and Harvard. Marine Corps Air Station is in the vicinity and it was in use until 1999. The train passes through the area. The potential effects of air pollution and ground pollution in the area have been discussed in the media and Talk Irvine before. Would these factors affect your decision?

Share your thoughts with us. Discuss below or on Talk Irvine.

Usually it’s easy to tell the difference between a model home and a house that someone is living in. But when I visited 75 Fanlight in Woodbury, my first thought was that it might be staged (upstairs, however, it became obvious that the home is currently occupied). With upgrades throughout, this home is gorgeous and move-in ready.

The basics:

Asking Price: $1,329,800

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 4

Square Footage: Approx 3,500

Lot Size: 5,092

$/Sq Ft: $380

Property Type: SFR

Year Built: 2006

Community: Woodbury, Mille Fleurs

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

Let’s start with the things I like most about the house. Upstairs, there are three bedrooms and a large bonus room. Each bedroom has its own en-suite bathroom, so you never have to worry about kids fighting over the shower. This is a huge plus for anyone with teenagers. The secondary bedrooms are a bit small, but both had chair rails, giving them a cozy, cottage-like feel. Both rooms are right off the bonus room, creating a perfect suite for children or teens.

Just down the hall, the master bedroom is large and bright. As with most new houses, it comes complete with an enormous bathroom and walk-in closet. There are built-ins throughout and plenty of room to create a relaxing retreat for busy parents. All of the rooms upstairs have recessed lighting, another plus in my book.

Moving downstairs, the house loses some appeal for me. While I prefer a very open floor plan where rooms flow into one another, these rooms are very broken up. Everything comes off of one long hallway leading to a great room at the end. Distressed hardwood floors span much of the downstairs, with the exception of carpeting in the family room and the downstairs bedroom. A big design flaw: the dining room isn’t adjacent to the kitchen. The powder room is down another long hallway, not really convenient for guests if you’re entertaining.

One glance in the kitchen, however, and you can see that the downstairs isn’t a total wash. It is a chef’s dream, featuring an eight-burner stove, a double oven, a built-in fridge and a sink in the island (which has a cute bookshelf on one end). The adjacent family room is bright, but leaves little options for set up, as the walls are taken up by window, built-ins, and a large fireplace.

The backyard is small, but has a nice grassy area and a built-in BBQ. The home also features a small courtyard off the main hallway, between the formal living room and the dining room. I would have liked to see these two outside spaces combined into one large area though, rather than breaking it up as they did.

So what’s the verdict? Would I spend over $1.3 million on this home? No. For that kind of money, a house has to be perfect. And while this one is gorgeous and has plenty of bedrooms, an office, and a bonus room, it just feels too closed off downstairs and a touch too formal. It might be ideal for a family with older children, but not one with little kids.

Discuss below or on Talk Irvine.

In a previous post, I gave an overview of the housing statistics for each of Irvine’s neighborhoods. Today I’ll take a more in depth look at the Northpark numbers.

Northpark—March 2012:

The following graphs show the cahnge in the price per square foot of Northpark houses, the price per square foot of Northpark condos, and the number of Northpark homes on the market, respectively.

To give more meaning to these numbers and graphs, I am listing some homes that are near the top, bottom, and middle of the price range for homes in the Northpark real estate market.

14 Pismo Beach

• What: Single-family built in 2000

• Beds/Baths: 4 /4.5

• HOA Dues: $155/month

• Mello Roos Tax: Yes

• Price as most recently listed: $1,690.000

Note: This home was delisted on April 23. It was also delisted on February 22 of this year and then relisted on March 6. In addition, the property history shows that a sale was pending on February 7. This home last sold for $800,000 on February 27, 2001. My guess is that it will be relisted again soon.

404 Terra Bella

Note: This is one of the few Terra Bella homes that is not currently listed as “sale pending.”

• What: Condo built in 1999

• Beds/Baths: 2/2.5

• HOA Dues: $286/month

• Mello Roos Tax: Yes

• Price: $383,900/$286 per square foot

18 Avalon #5

• What: Condo built in 2002

• Beds/Baths: 3/2.5

• HOA Dues: $128/month

• Mello Roos Tax: Yes

• Price: $549,999/$344 per square foot

Discuss below or at Talk Irvine.