PORTOLA HILLS LIVING by Kelly Turbeville

In today’s real estate market, when homes are sitting on the market for nearly three months and price reductions are becoming the norm, it’s important to share the good news too. This is one of those stories. I first spoke with my clients almost a year before they made the move. With interest rates climbing and home prices staying high, “timing” just wasn’t their priority. But as life goes, when you outgrow your space; especially with two kids, it becomes clear: condo life had served its purpose, and it was time to move up. The Condo Sale Listed their home at 18986 Canyon Summit Hosted one open house → received multiple offers Sold in just 5 days Closed $25,000 over asking price with a cash offer Negotiated a free rent-back period so they could transition smoothly into their new home The New Home Purchase in Rancho Santa Margarita That’s not all; we found their dream single-level home, complete with a driveway and a spacious yard (the kind of details that make everyday life better). ...

Portola Hills Real Estate – July Market Update Summer distractions took full center stage in July, and it showed in the numbers. Homes stayed on the market nearly twice as long as we’ve seen in recent years. While interest rates certainly play a role in this slower pace, the truth is..... homes are still selling every day. In fact, right here in Portola Hills,  13  homes closed escrow in July ! That’s proof that buyers are out there, ready to act when they find the right home. If you’ve been holding off because you’re worried about timing, know this: the market will shift quickly; especially if interest rates drop as expected this fall. Lower rates could mean more buyers and faster sales, and the current inventory could get eaten up fast...  Insider Tip from a Local:   Portola Hills offers something truly unique... breathtaking views that stretch from the Saddleback Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, all while being centrally located in Orange County. That combination o...

Question....IS CAPITAL GAINS HOLDING YOU BACK FROM SELLING? For those who may not be aware... When you sell a house for more than what you paid for it, you could be subject to a capital gains tax on the profit you make from the sale. Generally, people who qualify for the home sale capital gain exclusion can exclude: $250,000 of capital gains if single. $500,000 of capital gains if married and filing jointly. This exemption is formally called the Section 121 exclusion with the IRS. So if you bought a house in Lake Forest for $500,000 and let's say it is now worth $3,000,000. You would have a gain for $2.500,000 - $500,000 for married couples.. now your gain would be $2,000,000. Which becomes taxable income. 2,000,000 x 20% (tax rate) = $400,000 in Capital Gain Tax 😲 This is happening all over Orange County and other high cost areas and one of the reasons why "Baby Boomers" are not moving and deciding to age in place. If this is you... there a couple of things you can do ...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Can you believe it, we are officially in 2024!  I personally can not believe how fast 2023 went.  The real estate market in 2023 in Portola Hills was very strong!  It actually outpaced the overall Orange County real estate market.   Below is our year end report that summarizes how the community performed, along with a spotlight on 3 popular neighborhoods.   Does it shock you the average price of Single Family home in Portola Hills is $1.6 million dollars and an Attached home, Condo/Townhome is $785,000.  Home prices from 2022 to 2023 increased 15% in Portola Hills.   We are starting 2024 off with very low inventory, there are only 3 homes available at the time we wrote this report.  My phone began ringing from potential Buyers when rates went below 7%, so I anticipate the early spring market is going to get a little crazy as rates hit closer to 5%.  What is the Value of my Portola Hills Home? If you are co...

One of the reason's we love helping our clients expand their real estate assets is the tax benefits it provides to their families.  Let's be honest, no one loves paying taxes and in a day with inflation taking a portion of every dollar, having the opportunity to reduce, avoid or defer taxes is a huge benefit.  Good news owning real estate provides you a valuable opportunity to do just that!   Buying a home doesn't just provide shelter.. It is key asset to help you build financial security and help reduce your tax liability. Here are ten common tax benefits associated with owning real estate: ✨Mortgage Interest Deduction:  ✨Property Tax Deduction:  ✨Depreciation Deduction:  ✨1031 Exchange:  ✨Capital Gains Tax Exclusion: ✨Home Office Deduction: ✨Rental Loss Deduction:  ✨Tax-Free Exchange of Partnership Interests:  ✨Energy Efficiency Tax Credits:  ✨Real Estate Professional Tax Benefits: Here is a bonus one you may not be aware of,...

Have you seen those commercials, your home doesn't need anything just my sign in front to get it sold?  What those commercials doesn't tell you, is your home will sell for less in most cases.  Yes, with the current Buyer demand your home is in demand, but that does not mean it is in front of the right buyers nor does it mean it will sell for top dollar.  Plenty of homes sell below market even in this market. 😳 If you ever bought a home, you know walking into a beautiful home makes all the difference.  That is why new homes sell so well. Home buyers often don't realize the cost of those addition and staging would add over $100,000 in upgrades to your purchase. So the question comes up, do we have to stage.  Truthfully, the answers depends on your home!    One thing is for sure, staged homes sell for more $$.   We love helping our clients prepare their home for sale.  Some chose to stage others we assist the sellers on the best preparations fo...

  We took a look at the current real estate market and we only have 1 wish for Santa this Christmas... More Listings please!!  Overall, in the OC inventory is at record lows.  We are entering unprecedented levels when it comes to the number of homes on the market and available to buyers.    So we anticipate the market to remain strong in 2022, but there are a couple of factors that you should be aware of... but first let's look at how the Portola Hills real estate market performed last month.  As you can see in the above report the Portola Hills real estate market is extremely strong.  Currently there are only 6 Active Listings and 27 properties under contract.  That means we have less than half a month of inventory for prospective buyers.  With the majority of those homes, being new homes in IronRidge and Portola Oaks. The 3 hottest neighborhoods that sold in November were: Montecido at an average price of $590,000 Serenado at an average pri...

We took a look at the Portola Hills real estate market and in one word, CRAZY! Sales volume is up, values are up, inventory of available homes is way down! Even at the new communities there is low inventory of available homes.  That means, Sellers can pretty much ask what they want for their home and if it is priced right, buyers are coming with aggressive offers.  As you can see from the above, values are up about 24% from the same time period last year.  That was right before Covid, landed on our doorsteps.  Who would have thought, we would see such strong growth during a pandemic.  Search Portola Hills Homes Buyer's have an insatiable demand for homes right now and want to take advantage of the low interest rates.  They are open to competing for the right home, and removing contingencies, etc. to ensure their offer is at least in consideration.  However, the offers are so strong, Seller's aren't even countering as they have a number of good offers ...

I am super excited to introduce our newest team member and neighbor to Portola Hills, Realtor Nancy Bishay.  Nancy is a former teacher who has moved to the area and will be working with our team at GPS real estate group at Keller Williams in our new Lake Forest office. If you are thinking of a move, you will now have a successful team behind your home sale.  We have been selling homes in the area since 2004 and is the only Real Estate blog dedicated to our clients.   Our strength in understanding what Portola Hills home sellers and buyers want is unsurpassed.  We are happy to further build this strength with Nancy's help!! Contact Nancy direct at NancyBishay.kw.com

Our listing at 28385 Pueblo Dr, in the Montecido complex of Portola Hills has gone into escrow.  This lovely home was priced right at $485,888 and received multiple offers and went into escrow on day 3 of the listing! Congratulations to our Sellers!   This home was a must see! Upgraded, move-in ready and a great value for first-time homebuyers, emptynester's and Millennial's alike! Its charming 2 story, 3-bed, 3-full baths (with bed/bath on ground floor and 2 master suites upstairs), 1300 sq ft. boasts high cathedral ceiling and over-sized windows making it bright and airy. It has a big, private backyard for summer BBQs, as well as an attached, direct access 2 car garage. Some of the features include upgraded kitchen, refurbished bathrooms, laminate wood floors, newer carpets, new garage door and water softener, just to name a few. Nearby shopping, restaurants, toll road, walking trails and walking distance to award winning schools. Low HOA dues and NO MELLO ROOS!...

Hard to believe we are half way through the year in 2017.   Time sure does fly by, so I hope you have been able to take some time and enjoy summer.   We have been busy with real estate as the market hasn't slowed down one bit, which is not typical for this time of year.  July and August are generally our slower months, as buyers and sellers are distracted by summer fun.    Below is a look a how the real estate market performed in July in Portola Hills. As you will note pricing is up 6% from this time last year, we also have more homes on the market with 15 vs 9 in 2016.  Homes are taking on average about 16 days to sell in Portola Hills.   However, I would anticipate that creeping up in August as summer distractions kick in high gear in August with last minute vacations and back to school. What's the Value of my Portola Hills home? Looking at the active inventory available in Portola Hills currently it is good to see more homes co...

Happy New Year Portola Hills Peeps.  Can you believe it 2017 is here!  As I always do, I like to take an in-depth look at how the Portola Hills real estate market performed for the entire year.   This review will include an overall look, as well break down the market into various property types to help you determine your Portola Hills home value. The biggest news of the year was sales volume.. do you think it was up or down in 2016?  Surprisingly it was down from 2015 levels.   81 homes sold in Portola Hills in 2016, while 107 sold in 2015 .   I will say 2015 sales volume was up significantly from recent years. Below is a look at the overall real estate market in Portola Hills in 2016. Portola Hills 2016 Real Estate Market Snapshot Keep in mind when you look at the above.. this is overall, this is looking at all homes that sold and averaging them out.    Below is a break down by property type and we will start with the Po...

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...

As I write this post the feeling of fall is in the air.  It's a cool 70 degrees out.  A welcome relief, I believe from the hot September we had.   It is also the perfect metaphor for the Portola Hills real estate market.   Don't forget to enter our Fall Door Decorating Contest!!  In September there were 12 homes sold in Portola Hills, that is up from 8 in 2014, which is a 34% increase in volume.   So you can say the market in September was pretty hot... just like the weather.   Below is a look at the homes that closed escrow in the community.  September 2015 Portola Hills Real Estate Sales As we enter October, we should certainly see the number of sales fall i.e. decrease.  This is typical for the fall.  Homes begin to stay on the market longer, though buyer demand is still strong, people tend to want to be settled in their new home before school starts and the fall/holiday festivities begin. That doesn't mean fall is...

May 2015 has come and gone.. It's the unofficial start of summer and the end of the spring selling season.   So what how did the real estate market perform for Portola Hills? During May 15 homes closed escrow in Portola Hills that is up from 9 in 2014. The average sell price for 2015 was $618,679 up from $528,833.  This makes the average sales price up 15% from 2014.   An interesting note as well is the days on the market.  The average days on the market for this last month was 46 days down from 67 days, a 30% decrease in the days on the market.  What is interesting the overall inventory 2014 was slightly less then it is today, which should have indicated less days on the market.   However what it shows is the market today is Hot, Hot, Hot!  Homebuyers are ready to buy, but inventory is extremely low, thus pushing up prices. Portola Hills May 2015 Sold Homes If you want to take advantage of the strong market as these home sellers NOW...