PORTOLA HILLS LIVING by Kelly Turbeville

As fall hits the calendar, we typically see a seasonal change in the real estate market.  Generally speaking it can be the best time to buy a home has homes that did not sell over summer, will start to see price drops and the hot selling season is over. That really hasn't been the case since before the pandemic however. Even this year, though sales volume is down, home sellers are still receiving top dollar for their home and in fact often times over list price.  That is certainly the case here in Portola Hills. Below is a look at how the Portola Hills real estate market performed in September, as you can see very strong.  We had a total of 8 homes sell and 7 went under contract.  The average days on the market is just 15 days.    Are you thinking about making a move but not sure if it is the right time for you?   Are you wishing you were living closer to family.   Did you know the number 1 reason people are making a move right now is just that, to be near family.   Search Availabl

 Wondering how the real estate market did the second month of 2023?  Check out our monthly real estate snapshot on what properties sold in Portola Hills along with current homes available and coming soon!  Did you check out those values!  I admit, even though I am in the real estate business these prices do surprise me sometimes.  The average price of a home in Portola Hills was $1,536,000 in February, that is up from $923,597 in 2022.  Of course, mix of homes plays a roll in this.   Overall in Orange County, home prices are being pushed up by low inventory.  Low inventory is good news for sellers, but with higher prices and higher interest rates, buyers are a bit nervous.  Sellers need to be careful in navigating today’s housing market. Homes priced according to their Fair Market Value and decent condition will procure plenty of activity and, in many cases, obtain multiple offers. But homes in poor shape with plenty of deferred maintenance, houses with an inferior location, and overp

What a crazy year... the 2022 real estate market in Portola Hills started out insanely!  About mid-year, we started to see a shift in the market. Right before rates increased to 7%.  The market slowed, homes began to stay on the market longer but the average days on the market for the year was 23 days.  Homes that came on the market after July, sold but traffic and offers was certainly less, requiring sellers to be a bit more flexible with buyers. Comparing 2021 to 2022, there was 13% increase in value.   Sales Volume was down from 2021 with only 145 homes selling vs. 2021 where we had 184 closed sales, that equals a 22% decline in Sales. Portola Hills Homeowners equity position remains very strong in the New Year.  What is the Value of My Portola Hills Home Below is an overall summary for the community.   2023 is also starting off very strong.  Buyer's who missed out are still looking.  I had 11 people through my open house last weekend and we have several qualified buyers, search

 Wow... did that change quickly!  How did the real estate market in Portola Hills inventory jump up so dramatically in the last month.  Thank the new home buyers who purchased in the first phase of IronRidge and The Oaks and are know selling for top dollar.   Below is a quick look at the market!  The big news here is pricing continues to be high, which makes it a great time to sell.  However, demand has slowed down considerably and there is nearly 6 months of inventory in Portola Hills.  So sellers who are considering selling their home now, must be super competitive in two area, price and condition.  For further details on the market, take a quick listen to Video Report.  Wondering if the value of your home shifted... Get your FREE Home Analysis right here! 

As we enter what is known as the "Selling Season" we are getting lot's of questions about what is happening in the overall market.  Is the market going to crash? How are Interest Rates impacting the market? Will more homes come on the market this year?  These are all good questions to ask, especially right now as we are starting to see a shift.  Yes, the sudden rise of Interest Rates has impacted buyers. But let's keep in mind, in 2018 the interest rates were about 5% and lot's of homes sold. Search Available Portola Hills Homes Let's take a look at how the Portola Hills market performed in March.  As you can see in the above report, the Portola Hills real estate market continues to remain very strong. Homeowners who sold in March, received about 10% over their list to sale price.  Homeowners in the Serenado Tract were pleasantly surprised to see this tract start selling over $1,000,000.   While pricing has certainly gone up, would it surprise you if  we tol

Are you wondering if you missed the height of the real estate market?  Are you hearing homes are not selling as fast and the number of offers has died down.  This is partially true, but it is not because the market is shifting to buyers market...  It is a seasonal shift.  Did you know July and August, typically are the slowest months of real estate in the OC.  Why, simply summer distractions!   For our monthly Portola Hills market recap, this month we looked at how the market performed the last 3 months, from July - September.  Take a peek at the numbers below:   As you can see in the above report, homeowners who decided to sell in the last 3 months received on average 103% to their list price.  Low Inventory and Interest Rates remaining below 3% is keeping the buyer demand high.  Homes priced right are still selling quickly for over asking price.  For our clients this year we are averaging about 112% of list price.   I would caution sellers to simply list their home over the last home

Yep you did read that right!  Each month we do a deep dive into the previous month of real estate sales in the community and we noticed a trend a while back as the market started to get a bit crazy that no one is talking about.  In our March review we noted sellers who sold in March received an estimated $366,000 in extra equity/profit.  In April that figure almost doubled!  Homeowners who sold in April received over $766,000 in extra equity/profit. The number is the total profit received for the area.  The average equity per seller was about $65,000. Historically April and May are the two busiest months of the year for real estate sales, so it will be interesting to see how much of gain Seller's will receive in May.  Below is a snapshot of the Portola Hills real estate market performed overall in April.  There are two details in the above report that give us the biggest clue as to why sellers received so much equity.  First there is currently less than a half of month of inventory

We are sure you have heard, the OC real estate market is hot, hot, hot!  In this months monthly market report we went a bit further to understand exactly how hot and we thought this was important for our clients to know.  In March, sellers who sold their Portola Hills homes, received an additional $365,000 in profit.   What does this mean? This is the profit sellers received above their listing price!  Example: A Live Oak Canyon Home Pool Home Listed for $1,099,000 Sold for: $1,150,000 Extra Profit: $51,000 It is accumulative, but looking at what $$ sellers received they averaged about $30,000 over list price.  It's also important to note; not all sellers received this, some homes sold at list price or sold just slightly over list price. This is one of the reasons we say be careful who you list with.  In order to achieve higher profit results, we highly recommend working with an experienced agent who has navigated this type of market before.  Below is a look at the overall Portol

The real estate market overall in January is generally very, very quiet!  Not this year!  In Orange County there has been an insatiable demand from buyers and  record-low supply of homes available to purchase, which makes the OC real estate market extremely hot!! Portola Hills was no exception in January! Actually the area remains very popular with the buyers coming up the hill to check out the new developments in IronRidge and the Oaks.  Take a quick peek at the numbers below along with what communities in the Portola Hills were the hottest, it might surprise you. If you are thinking of a move, seller's will need to be cautious on pricing their home correctly.  Though it is a very strong seller's market, homes that are priced above market will sit.  A strong pricing strategy done correctly can bring you more then you expect.  As well in this hot market, other factors such as contingencies, rent backs, etc. all part of the negotiations package that we can put in your favor.  Ma

Can you believe it, we are in October!!  I can't, once we hit October, for me, the year moves by so fast with all the holiday activity.  We are in the last quarter of 2020 and what a year it has been so far.    The good news, is even during this crazy time with a Pandemic going on the Portola Hills real estate market is very strong.  Below is a look at how the market performed last month.  There were even some records broken last month.  In the Montecido community Model C the Galante, sold for a record price of $615,000. That is amazing for this 3 Bedroom, 1200+ sqft home!  Now is an excellent time for those living in a Condo or Townhome to move up to that larger home you have been thinking about as buyer demand for your home is extremely high!  What's the Value of my Portola Hills Home? If you are thinking of a move, don't hesitate to reach out to me Kelly Turbeville for a quick review of what is happening in your neighborhood.  Don't forget to enter our Portola Hills

How does the saying go, "that's it folks"!  2019 is over, as is the last decade, or is it? We took a look at the real estate market in Portola Hills for the year and below you will find a quick recap of how the market performed.  Overall the market was very strong with record breaking pricing.  The highest priced home sold in The Oaks community at just over $1.8 million. Below is a look at the overall market. Pricing and sales volume were up overall. While this price will help drive pricing up in the community, we are now competing with communities such as Baker Ranch, Irvine and Coto. Resale homes have a bit of a harder task when competing against new builds.  As buyers like pretty new homes.  So when they are up on the hill and looking at both, your home needs to be priced right, presented well and marketing to the right buyer to capture those buyers.  Certainly IronRidge and The Oaks brings buyers up the hill, so homes on the market should be getting very

As we venture into the summer months, the real estate market in Portola Hills is a bit quiet, but that is not much different from 2016 when you compare the two years together.   Overall inventory remains below demand and we know how the saying goes, low inventory, high demand = ? Portola Hills SFR/Detached Home Sales - April 2017 Portola Hills Detached Real Estate Values: Median Price of Detached Single Family Home in April was $980,000 and that is up over 9% from 2016. Inventory of available homes is just over 1 month. Days on the market is down to 43 days year to date Portola Hills Attached Home Sales April 2017  Portola Hills Attached Real Estate Values: Median Price of Attached Home in April was $455,000 and that is  down 7%  from 2016. Pricing year to date is flat. Inventory of available homes is just over 1 month. Days on the market is down to 46 days year to date As I look at the numbers and compare to the overall Orange County real est

It is an absolute beautiful day in Portola Hills this October 3rd..  A nice fall day.. with temps cooling a bit from the September warmth.    This is a great analogy for the real estate market in Portola Hills.  We expect things to cool down but comparing the numbers it continued to be pretty hot.. just like the September weather. Below is a snapshot of how the real estate market performed last month. For the overall market Portola Hills saw a 10% increase in home values from September 2015.   For the condo market the top selling home was 3 bedroom 1300 square foot Canyon Rim condo that sold for $490,000.  On the Single Family Detached side the highest priced home that sold was a 5 bedroom, 3400 Square Foot Crown Pointe Home that sold for $1,010,000.   (On a side note the Crown Pointe home was a flip bought as a short sale earlier in the year.) Currently there are 12 active listings on the market ranging in price for a 2 bedroom/900 square foot condo priced at $359

I know I always say this.. but can you believe how fast the year is going. Summer is over, we just had Labor Day and the kids are back in school.   So how did the last month of summer 2016 real estate market fair in  Portola Hills? As with most of South Orange County the real estate market, quieted down a bit. Which is typical this time of year.  Though for my business I felt as if open house traffic was up.   It is not that buyers are not there.. they just were distracted with the summer events.    Below is a look at home values for Portola Hills in August. Portola Hills August Home Values With summer distractions come longer days on the market.  The average days to sell a home in Portola Hills in August was 49 days. What's the value of my Portola Hills Home -Free Report As we enter Fall we should continue to see home values balance out.  In July we saw a 20% increase in home prices from 2015... In August the mix that was sold gave us a 3% increase from

It always amazes me how fast the years go by and 2016 is no exception.  We are mid-year, so it is always a good time to take a look at how the overall real estate market has performed in Portola Hills thus far. The info-graphic below highlights the 2016 Portola Hills real estate market is certainly on an upswing thus far in the year. Looking at the above figures the low sales volume certainly is a driving force in the increase in pricing.  Inventory remains to be a key issue throughout South Orange County.   In July we typically see a turn in the market from the spring strides.  It's summer after all people are distracted.  The demand has been very good this year thus why we see such an increase in pricing.  We are also beginning to see a slight increase in the inventory and the expected market time is on the rise. Though Portola Hills Average Days on the Market is averaging about 40 overall in the county that has increased to about 79.  Leading us to a more balanc

We have hit the 6 month mark of 2016... yes today is June 1st, the unofficial beginning of summer after the Memorial Day holiday.  So what is happening in the Portola Hills real estate market so far.    Overall the market continues to shift from 2015.  We are still seeing increased pricing but sales volume is down from last year.   In May 9 homes closed escrow, which is down about 35% from May 2015.   The overall median sales price in May was flat compared to 2015.  Out of the 9 homes that closed escrow, 5 were Single Family Residence. The median sales price for a 3 bedroom 2197 square foot home was $810k The remaining 4 homes were condo's. The median sales price was $436k for a 3 bedroom 1151 square foot home. Are wondering why these numbers would be flat when we are hearing so much about the low inventory in south orange county? It is important to remember the median price is based on mix and with the number of sales down and the mix focused more on mid r

It's May, yes May and the Portola Hills real estate market is moving along at quick pace.  April in general is a quiet month for real estate and this can be seen with only 4 homes closing escrow in April.   However, we did see an increase in the number of new listings that came on the market.  Currently there are 8 active properties on the market. Below is a our monthly snapshot info-graphic for Portola Hills.   Overall inventory levels in South Orange County are extremely low.   We did have a jump in new listings in April, but they are selling quicker than new homes coming on the market.  The average days on the market in April was 11.   Buyer demand is very high, especially for the condo market and homes priced under the median price of $700,000.  If you are thinking of a move, now is a great time to take advantage of the low inventory and get top dollar for your home.   Let's grab a cup of

The weather is turning a bit cooler and the holidays are in full swing with Thanksgiving behind us, so you might think home sales are probably not on everyone's radar.   That might be the case for Portola Hills... as we saw dip in the number of homes that sold this year vs. what sold in 2014.   In addition, the number of available homes is pretty low with only 6 active properties on the market currently.                                                 Portola Hills November  2015  Sold Homes In 2014 14 homes closed escrow in November, this year 8 closed escrow. Though the number of sales decreased, the average price of homes increased in Portola Hills by 17%.  Interestingly the highest priced home sold in 2015 was a Crown Pointe home, which sold for $950,000.   The highest priced home that sold November 2014 was a JM Peters home, which sold for $980,000. Portola Hills November 2014 Sold Homes Based on the rate of sales over the last 6 months, the P

Is it true, sellers are asking me, are home prices increasing.   The answer is yes with a question mark?  The mix of homes that sell within a given month will determine the average price.  In May there were some homes that were on the market for a very long time with 90% being distressed.  In June this changed and improved as there were a few more equity sellers, which resulted in the price per square foot for both attached homes and detached homes edging out higher. The #1 one thing driving the market right now, is the low, low inventory.  The rule of supply and demand is alive and well with Portola Hills real estate.   Low Inventory, High Buyer Demand provides Portola Hills sellers the opportunity to capture this increase in pricing.  How long will this window of opportunity be available, my crystal ball is a bit foggy with this market, however it is nice to see at the moment! Sold Properties: Attached: All signs are looking up!  Of course mix has something to do with i