PORTOLA HILLS LIVING by Kelly Turbeville

South Orange County and communities like Portola Hills are rated in the top 10 cities throughout California. I am sure agree we want to keep it that way.  Unfortunately every day it seems we see more fraud, regulations and such that are putting our communities in jeopardy.  I have had enough.. so if you follow along you know I have been speaking up to our representatives and candidates about how they are going to hold Sacramento accountable to the people. It really has been eye opening.  A perfect example of this is what happened with Prop 36.  70% of Californian's voted together, Democrats, Republicans, Independents that we wanted stronger law and order and to reverse the horrible Prop 47/57 that made crime a misdemeanor.  70% of people said yes to Prop 36 and it passed.  But today the law is not being funded. Who's job is it to make sure it is, our state Attorney General. This is just one example but a perfect one.  Another one is the recent rewrite ...

August was a quiet month for closed sales in Portola Hills, but there is a little more happening beneath the surface than the sales numbers suggest. Only three homes closed escrow during August , and those three sold quickly, averaging just six days on the market . At first glance, that might make you think homes are flying off the market. They’re not. The homes currently available for sale have been sitting for an average of 57 days , while the homes currently in escrow averaged 77 days on the market before finding a buyer. That tells us something much more interesting about the Portola Hills market.  Buyers Are Making Decisions In my last market report, we were watching 37 homes available for sale in Portola Hills. Since then, 17 of those homes have gone into escrow. That is nearly half of the inventory we were watching. So while closed sales were quiet in August, buyers were out shopping. But they weren’t rushing. And that distinction matters, because for the past several yea...

Another Happy Seller! 🏡 This Portola Hills condo had been sitting on the market for 45 days with fewer than five showings and no offers before the sellers reached out to me. Instead of hoping for a different outcome, we changed the strategy. ✔️ New photography ✔️ Fresh marketing ✔️ Repositioned the listing ✔️ Consistent follow-up The result? Under contract in less than 30 days. Every home has a story, and sometimes it's not the home that needs to change. It's the marketing behind it. Thank you to my wonderful clients for trusting me with the sale of your investment property and for this incredible review. It means more than you know. If your home isn't getting the attention it deserves, let's have a conversation before you make your next move. 📍Portola Hills | Lake Forest | Orange County SEARCH AVAILABLE PORTOLA HILLS HOMES About Kelly Turbeville Hi, I'm Kelly, a local Realtor, writer, and the voice behind Portola Hills Living . I've been helping buyers an...

  Opportunity Does Present Itself. You Just Have to Be Tapped In. Every market has one. The house everyone wishes they had written an offer on. The one buyers look back at a few months later and say... "We should have bought that one." That is exactly what happened with 28873 Canyon Point in the Portola Hills community of Lake Forest. When we listed this home, I wrote about why I believed it was one of the best opportunities in South Orange County. At the time, it was listed for $525,000 , well below recent neighborhood sales and at a price point that has become increasingly difficult to find in Orange County. Some buyers saw the opportunity. Others kept waiting for "something better." The Numbers Tell the Story 28873 Canyon Point has now officially closed escrow at $520,000. For many buyers, that represents one of the last opportunities to purchase in South Orange County at this price level. Why? Because real estate is rarely about finding the perfect home. It...

  Portola Hills Real Estate: Buyers Found Deals in Q1… But Sellers Need to Pay Attention Now If you’ve been watching the Portola Hills real estate market and assuming nothing is moving unless it’s perfect , that’s not exactly true. The first quarter of 2026 actually told us something important:  Buyers who were paying attention found opportunity.  And that matters. Because while the market didn’t fall apart, it also didn’t behave like the wild “throw a number at the wall and hope” years either. In fact, several homes in Portola Hills sold below what many would consider neighborhood market potential . That means one thing:  The buyers who were active in Q1 had more leverage than people expected. And for sellers? That’s your warning shot. Yes, Inventory Increased; That Changed the Conversation One of the biggest shifts we saw in the first quarter was more inventory hitting the market . When inventory rises, buyers get options. And when buyers get options, they get pick...