PORTOLA HILLS LIVING by Kelly Turbeville

Just a quick post to wish everyone a wonderful holiday.... We are a blessed to call Portola Hills home and serve such a great community.  We are also blessed to have some great clients who we are lucky to call friends.... Enjoy!!!

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

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

If you haven't heard... El Nino is on its way to SoCal.  Actually it is already here, just the rainy part is projected to start and consistently happen from January through March and as you know Portola Hills and the Canyon areas of the South Orange County can get hit hard with rain and wind.   Personally I knew in the back of my mind, I needed to do some maintenance around the house.... but with no rain in site... yes I procrastinated.   Well today as I was having new satellite service installed, I looked up to see a lovely site (ugh) one of my eaves is having an issue.. Water, Termite, Clogged Gutter, not sure what... but what I know for sure... It is time to prepare for El Nino...   Over the last few years with the drought, things we didn't really have to worry about are about to hit us all. As I was thinking about my house,  I pulled together the following list of items to consider as you prepare your home for El Nino 5 Quick Home Maintenance Tips to do before El N

Are you crazy... we have too much going on with the holidays and such to put our house on the market, plus who would be out shopping for homes anyways..? Yes.. we often hear this sentiment when we are speaking to clients who know they want to sell soon but can't imagine it would be beneficial at this time of year.    But in reality, late fall/winter is a perfect time to sell your Portola Hills home. Check out our report on 5 reasons why listing your right now may actually be the best option for you. 1.  Demand Is Serious and Strong: The buyer pool is South Orange County continues to remain high and out pace supply. These buyers are ready, willing and able to buy.. and are in the market right now! 2.  There Is Less Competition:  Housing supply is still under the historical number of 6 months supply, currently less then 3 in Orange County, which means there are not enough homes for sale to satisfy the number of buyers in the market. This is good news for home pri

Portola Hills Sunsets We have officially entered into Fall in Portola Hills... Halloween has just passed and Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. But I have to say Fall is my favorite season in PH...  Why the weather begins to crisp up, the house is decorated cozy and I can put on a nice pot of soup or something else yummy.  It just feels "homey" time to me!!  For the real estate market, this is the time of year it starts to quiet down... Why? Well pretty much for the same reason I noted above, people tend to be connected to the home this time of year.   So how did the real estate market perform in the first month of fall 2015.   Seven homes closed escrow in the area. Take a look at the homes that sold below. Portola Hills Sold Homes October 2015 I am always asked how does this compare to 2014.   As noted, in 2014, the number of sales was one higher but the mix was much different.  Which is going to affect the average or median pricin

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.