PORTOLA HILLS LIVING by Kelly Turbeville

The Portola Hills community has a variety of condominium and townhome  communities, ranging in price from about $400,000 - $575,000, these include Montecido, Bell Palermo and Canyon View.  In addition, in 2019 two new communities came to the community in the Ironridge community, Copperleaf  and SilverOak  that are priced from $600,000-$750,000.  Looking at what sold in 2019, this segment of the market in Portola Hills was strong,  but looking at pricing it trailed what is happening in other cities in the valley.  Below is a comparison of what homes sold for in the Portola Hills, Foothill Ranch and Rancho Santa Margarita and overall values. Community:           Style:                  Sq.Ft.           Price :            Days on the Market Portola Hills        2Bed/2Bath          1063          $443,589              54 Foothill Ranch    2Bed/2.25Bath     1124           $471,352              51 RSM                   2Bed/2.35Bath     1192           $479,822              55

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

Who loves Fall? My favorite season here in Portola Hills, well maybe except for those lovely Santa Ana winds.  Fall to me feels like home. The day's are shorter, which actually makes me stop and relax, vs the summer and spring when it is go, go, go.  How about you! The real estate market also tends to slow down this time year, though this year buyers are out in force due to the lower interest rates and low inventory.  So how has Portola Hills fall market began this year, take a peek below. Looking at the numbers below we see a slight decrease in pricing from the same time last year, but I am not really concerned as the mix of homes sold in 2018 vs. this past month was much different.  The average size of home sold last year was 3100 square feet with 6 new homes selling vs. this year the average square footage was just over 2600 square feet and there were only 2 new homes sold.  The new homes in The Oaks and Ironridge are certainly impacting the area, but resal

Every month we take a look at the local market and compare it against what happened at the same time last year vs. this year.  We also take a look at what is happening in the surrounding area to see if the community is on trend with the rest of the area.  In September Portola Hills had 15 homes sell, 11 Single Family Homes and 4 Townhomes/Condo's, which shows the sales volume is up slightly from 2018.  The difference being this past month, we had about 50/50 mix of new homes and resales, where as in 2018, 80% of the homes that closed escrow in September were all new homes.   When comparing the two years, values is is going to be significantly different as the mix was so different between the two years.  Below is a snapshot of how the Portola Hills real estate market performed in September 2019!   As you can see the above values show there was about a 12% decline in values from September 2018.   But when looking at the overall year to date numbers

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

The Portola Hills community in Lake Forest has seen a huge change on the real estate landscape with the addition of several new home communities. The Oaks and Iron Ridge are in full sales, with The Oaks beginning to sale in late 2017 and the Iron Ridge early 2018.   These new additions are selling well.  The Oaks would be considered luxury properties with the square footage ranging from 2600 square feet to over 5200.  Comprised of seven distinct neighborhoods, all within a private gated community featuring tree-lined streets and premium views, outdoor recreational spaces within our community including a Central Neighborhood Park and Swim Club, a large 5-acre public park with recreation and sports fields and three neighborhood parks.  Iron Ridge , the newest community is comprised of six distinct neighborhoods, ranging from Townhomes to large Single Family, ranging in size from 1100 square feet to over 3800 square feet. Each residence offers superb craftsmanship and spacious e

We are going to miss you in Portola Hills but we are super excited that you found the perfect home for your family. If we were to pick a neighborhood with similar characteristics of what you loved about Portola Hills, it would be Melinda Heights in Rancho Santa Margarita. The community offers great community amenities for the family. Thank you for entrusting us with the sale and purchase of your home!  Portola Hills Home Search If you are thinking of a move, now is a perfect time to take advantage of the real estate market, after the slight shift we saw this winter.  More inventory of homes is expected to come this summer so listing your home now gives you the advantage of less competition.  Don't hesitate to contact Kelly Turbeville today to review the market in your neighborhood.