PORTOLA HILLS LIVING by Kelly Turbeville

Spring in Portola Hills is probably one of my favorite times of year.  The weather is just perfect.  Cooler mornings and evenings, keep the green on the hills.  As well the sunsets this time of year are just beautiful. Of course one of the other aspects I like about spring is the real estate market starts to heat up after a couple of quiet months.   However, in Portola Hills march was still pretty quiet, but so was the rest of South Orange County.  Inventory overall is very low throughout the county. Below is a snapshot of the Portola Hills Market: As you will note there was a significant up tick in the median sales price.  It is always important to note the mix of homes sold during this time last year was a balanced mix of both condo's and single family residence. This March the mix was all single family residences.   The lack of condo sales is a true indication of the low inventory.  In Portola Hills the average condominium sells between $375,000 to $500,000.  

We recently had the pleasure of helping a resident find a new home....sadly it wasn't in Portola Hills.  But they found a lovely home in Laguna Hills that fit their needs perfectly and we wanted to share in case you are in the search for something similar.. The buyers criteria had two main must haves for their new home... First... it had to be a single level and second include a pool and of course priced in their price range of under $700k.  I will admit not the easiest task in South Orange County.  Single level homes with pools are hard to find and with the median price range over $727k, to find one as lovely as this was a great find.    The 3-Bedroom, 1742 square foot home was located on a private cul-de-sac street and recently upgraded throughout.   25011 Carol Ln. Laguna Hills Details included: Distressed Wood Flooring, Travertine Tile, Custom Lighting, Remodeled Gourmet Kitchen with Stainless Steel Appliances, Granite Counters, Farmhouse Sink, Fireplace in the L

The Montecido complex located in the city of Lake Forest in the community of Portola Hills is a lovely townhome community that offers 2 and 3 Bedroom spacious floorplans. In addition many of the homes have good size yards with views. This is always a popular complex for condo buyers who are looking in the south eastern area of South Orange County. In terms of sales there has been 14 homes sold so far this year.  Below is a listing of the Montecido homes that have sold so far in 2015... Montecido Portola Hills 2015 YTD sales As you will note the lowest priced home was a 2 Bedroom, 2 Bath Carriage Unit which sold for $327k earlier in the year.   The highest priced home recently closed escrow at $467,500 and it was the largest model a 3 Bedroom, 3 Bath, 2 Car Garage plan. The median price per square foot is $337k, comparing this to 2014 it is up 1%. The median price for the Montecido complex was $333 in 2014 for the same time period and 17 homes sold. 

When I am working with home buyers they are often surprised that Portola Hills currently has over 15 different neighborhoods.  The mix of the these neighborhoods include both single family homes detached and attached homes.  Below is a breakdown of the individual tracts: Tract Name # of Units Details Antigua 192 SFR neighborhood with 4 floorplans, featuring 3-4 bedrooms, sized from 1930-2494 sq.ft.  2-3 attached garages Alderwood 185 SFR neighborhood with 5 floorplans featuring 2-4 bedrooms, sized from 1138-2050 sq.ft. 2 car attached garages Canyon Rim 108 Townhome complex features 4 floorplans with 2-3 bedrooms sized from 969-1378 sq.ft. 2 Car attached garages Canyon View 225 Townhome complex featuring 2 floorplans, 2 bedrooms, sized from 873-1038sq.ft. 1 car garage attached/detached Canyon View West 84 Townhome complex featuring 2 floorplans, 2 bedrooms, size

Can you believe 2014 is over?   I am still having trouble with the idea it being over, where did the time go.... In terms of real estate we did see a 16% increase in the number of homes sold.  In terms of pricing Portola Hills saw an increase of 7% overall.  Below is breakdown of the details... Portola Hills 2014 Year End Real Estate Report As we enter 2015 the overall market in South Orange County continues to be sellers market but as spring approaches both inventory and interest rates are projected to increase... which means it will become a more balanced market for the remainder of 2015.

Can you believe it is the 1st of October already!!  The air is cooling, well maybe the night air, the kids are back in school and homes are getting set for the holidays.  Traditionally September is a quiet month for real estate as most people want to get settled before the school year begins.  This year was no exception which is a little of a surprise as the inventory in south orange country remains very low.   Below is snapshot of the last 24 hours. 1185 homes came on the market between new listings and homes that fell out of escrow.  Yet 2508 homes went off the market. Demand for homes is far out reaching supply. Below is a snapshot of the real estate transactions for Orange County It's quiet here in Portola, only 5 homes sold in September.  Below is a breakdown of what closed escrow.   The sellers market is still very strong!  Though more inventory has come on the market the buyer demand is much stronger.   If you are considering a move, let's grab a cup

Spring has sprung in the Saddleback Valley and the home buying season is jumping into full gear.  But there is a slight problem, where are all the homes?  As I type this Portola Hills only has 10 active listings and out of those listings only 1 condo..   That is less than 1 month of supply.  Generally speaking less than 3 months of inventory means it is a sellers market!! Seller's market really? March was pretty busy for sales in the area, especially on Condo's.    We all know with the low prices, low interest rates, first time buyers have a huge opportunity to buy now.   Which is about 25% of the buyers entering the market. However, those buyers are generally utilizing FHA financing, so they can put down 3.5%.  That is where the problem for some, but an opportunity for Portola Hills homeowners lies .   There is a severe shortage of FHA approved condo complexes in South Orange County, in Trabuco Canyon there are 3 and you guessed it, one is in Portola Hills and that is

Thought I would share this article on Tips for First Time Homebuyers published in the O.C. Register.  It is very comprehensvie. If you know someone considering buying their first home, give us a call.  First Time buyers are one of our favorite clients to work with.