PORTOLA HILLS LIVING by Kelly Turbeville

 It's our favorite time of year! We are hosting out Annual Portola Hills Food Drive to support South County Outreach.  Each year, the community does an amazing job collecting food for those who need it most.   We are super excited this year to coordinate the Portola Hills drive with our entire real estate team at Keller Williams Spectrum Properties in honor of Keller Williams Red Day.   Since May of 2009 our entire KW Family, from the U.S. and Canada to our family abroad, sets aside the second Thursday of the month to Renew, Energize, and Donate within the communities we serve.  GPS real estate group and Keller Williams Spectrum Properties took this a step further and are hosting a Red Month. From now through May 7th we will be collecting food to support the community.  Below is a list of food, we are collecting.  Donate Here If you would like to support the food drive, it is super simple.  Text me at the above number or you can click the donate here.  I will be collecting food Ma

We are sure you have heard, the OC real estate market is hot, hot, hot!  In this months monthly market report we went a bit further to understand exactly how hot and we thought this was important for our clients to know.  In March, sellers who sold their Portola Hills homes, received an additional $365,000 in profit.   What does this mean? This is the profit sellers received above their listing price!  Example: A Live Oak Canyon Home Pool Home Listed for $1,099,000 Sold for: $1,150,000 Extra Profit: $51,000 It is accumulative, but looking at what $$ sellers received they averaged about $30,000 over list price.  It's also important to note; not all sellers received this, some homes sold at list price or sold just slightly over list price. This is one of the reasons we say be careful who you list with.  In order to achieve higher profit results, we highly recommend working with an experienced agent who has navigated this type of market before.  Below is a look at the overall Portol

Being raised by a Single Mother and being on the constant move as a child, homeownership was something I always strived for as a child. The stability I saw it bring my friends who grew up in the same home and went to the same school was something I desired as we moved a lot. With each new city, starting over.  I believe subconsciously this drove me to work extremely hard in my 20's so I could purchase my first home. I remember at the time, people telling me, "I was too young, I should wait until I got married, how can I afford it on my own, wouldn't it be better with two incomes."  I wasn't making a lot a money, at the time I believe it was under $40k and the interest rates were 8.25%... crazy!  My Realtor, Frank believed in my goal and helped secure financing and with as little as 3.5%, I bought my first home! I'll never forget that moment and yes I was very anxious but the joy and stability it brought is almost unexplainable. As this month is Women's His

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 to choose from. Ready

Community parks are so important to neighborhoods and here in Portola Hills, there are two major parks that offer residence an ideal spot to get outside and enjoy the nature around them.  The new Portola Park and Concourse Park This morning, I took a walk up at Concourse Park and was feeling very blessed to have such a nice amenity in my backyard.  The Park of nearly 8 acres, offers a variety of amenities as well, but one of the most impressive details is it is set up right against Whiting Wilderness Ranch which provides a beautiful scenic views. Amenities of Concourse Park include: 2 Covered Picnic Areas 2 Barbeques Large Grassy Area Play Area for Kids Walking Path 4 Exercise Stations 2 Water Fountains (for the pups too) Basketball court Public Bathrooms For a fee of $25, Lake Forest residents may reserve a park shelters for gatherings of fewer than 50 people without a special event application. To reserve a park shelter, click here. Location of Concourse Park in Portola Hills: Take

I was listening to a Podcast ( Think like a CEO with Gary Keller and Jay Papason ) which I am really enjoying and it really got me thinking of first time homeowners and sellers, who are thinking about moving up to their new property. We all get so excited about the new larger home with all the details your current home doesn't have, but I think sometimes fail to think of long term opportunity that is available when we look at the home as an investment.  Especially after this Pandemic, many buyers today are looking at making a move up into a larger home that offers better functionality for their new home life. Which is totally understandable.   With the equity growth the housing market has seen over the last few years, and the low interest rates there is a really great opportunity laying in front of us and you might be surprised to hear this from an Agent... DON'T SELL YOUR HOME! (though have to say the market really needs the inventory).    If your mortgage is low on your curre

The real estate market overall in January is generally very, very quiet!  Not this year!  In Orange County there has been an insatiable demand from buyers and  record-low supply of homes available to purchase, which makes the OC real estate market extremely hot!! Portola Hills was no exception in January! Actually the area remains very popular with the buyers coming up the hill to check out the new developments in IronRidge and the Oaks.  Take a quick peek at the numbers below along with what communities in the Portola Hills were the hottest, it might surprise you. If you are thinking of a move, seller's will need to be cautious on pricing their home correctly.  Though it is a very strong seller's market, homes that are priced above market will sit.  A strong pricing strategy done correctly can bring you more then you expect.  As well in this hot market, other factors such as contingencies, rent backs, etc. all part of the negotiations package that we can put in your favor.  Ma