Irvine Real Estate Blog

One of the common features that agents have been using in Northern California is sharing info on what properties that have that will be coming on the market.  This was a section on the Multiple Listing Service that was private and not made aware to the general public.  What they found out was that many homes were being sold before they even came on the market.  Agents would be working with clients that were looking for a specific type of property and were able to find these kinds of homes using this private search.  The type of search has trickled down to our local multiple listing service here in Southern California which is starting to impact the makeup of homes that are available in any given city.  For Irvine, the low inventory of homes has got a

Irvine for the most part doesn't have income properties that many beach communicates will have like duplex, triplex and four-plex units.  There are sill a lot of investment opportunities in Irvine if you know where to look.  With the rise of vacation rental websites like Airbnb and VRBO many Irvine home owners have decided to make their homes available for short term rentals.  This is especially magnified with COVID19 as many California residents are not to travel long distances and instead are electing to do shorter vacations and stay at designated vacation rental homes.  We have seen a huge spike in clients wanting to stay in rental homes for short periods of times all throughout Southern California including Irvine.  It's worth mentioning that many

One of the top neighborhoods in the Cypress Village area is the Marigold neighborhood.  These were actually some of the first homes built in the Cypress Village that all comprise of a total of 3 bedrooms with 2.5 baths.  Real Estate prices have been slowly increasing in the last several years and now average over $1 million dollars.  So what to expect when buying in this community tract?  A lot of common features found in these condos can be things like hardwood flooring, large center island in the kitchen with room for seating when creates a nice open floor plan and recessed lighting.  In the bathrooms it's not uncommon to find both a jacuzzi soaking tube and a separate standing shower, large size bedrooms and individual laundry room.  The backyards are

A request that we often get from buyers who are looking in the Irvine is wanting to find a home with a main floor Master Bedroom.  This is common request for those who are getting older in age and prefer not to use any stairs.  Many of the homes in Irvine are two stories so what we typically see happening is our clients using the first level for their own Master Bedroom and use the upstairs for family members and grandchildren. There are many homes in the Irvine area that offer main floor bedrooms but are not necessarily designated as the Master Bedroom of the home.  We found the following homes that do offer dedicated Master Bedrooms on the ground level.

One of the most affordable options currently on the market can be found in the Sage at Portola

One of the newest things to pop up in recent weeks is a public virtual open houses.  This is different concept than a traditional open house where anyone can just drop by and go into the house.  One of things that is the same is that the home is open during a certain time, typically from 12 noon to 4pm or so.  Typically you will have a real estate agent that is at the home and will have present to do a virtual walk through of the home with online software like Zoom that allows multiple people to engage with the real estate agent. This is typically how it works.

A link is sent to the prospective buyer via the real estate agent.  The buyer clicks on the link and engages with the real estate agent during the times of the open house.  This would be similar

One of the more difficult places to find a home in Irvine is the Harvard gated community.  The neighborhood has a really great location where the 5 and 261 freeways meet and just off the Culver Drive exit.  It's definitely not the cheapest place to live in Irvine as many of the homes are listed well above the one million dollar price point.  What makes this area unique is that many of the over 800 homes located here were built about 20 years ago or so and still have the look and feel of a newer community.  These are two story single family homes with attached garages and large front and backyards.  Many love living here since it's located in the highly sought after Irvine School District.

Harvard Square has plenty of amenities to choose from that

Smart home automation is slowly becoming the norm in today's homes in the Irvine area.  It was only a few years ago that we first started to see homes start to incorporate technology into ever room in the house.  Now, many of the builders in the new home communities in Irvine are starting to implement them into these homes since it's become mainstream.  What exactly is a smart home?  Think about anything that can be automated like window blinds that open and close at certain times, smart light switches and thermostats, camera operated doorbells and locks that can be accessed through your smart phone.  Several years ago a smart home was often controlled by an iPad looking control panel but now everything is being sent through an app on your phone.

Some

In the city of Irvine, California there always seems to be new construction homes and condos being built at any given time.  The demand for these newer homes is very strong which comes with many modern design features and upgrades.  One of the most requested items from home buyers is having vaulted or high ceilings.  This is especially true in residential condos as the normal height seems to be around 8 feet high.  Having a couple extra inches makes all the difference in the world and knowing where to find these types of properties can be crucial when looking for a home.  We have researched and identified the best communities when looking for homes with 10 foot ceilings.

One of the best neighborhoods we found was the Great Park community in Irvine.

One of the newest communities in 2020 in Irvine, California is the CitySquare neighborhoods.  Built by Heritage homes, these homes are marketed by Heritage as being energy efficient which in the long run they tell us will save us a lot of money in utility bills.  The location is so brand new that's its hard to located on a map right now but the location is near the major intersection off Main Street and MacArthur Blvd.  The location is so ideal that is just a few minutes drive to John Wayne Airport and the 405 freeway making commuting to work ideal.  This area of Irvine is known for many corporate buildings so it's nice to see a residential neighborhood pop up in this prime real estate area.

Real Estate prices in our multiple listing service currently

Irvine is one of the best places to find larger homes that come with a guest casita.  This of course will all depend on your price range as many luxury homes can average well over $4 million dollars.  However, it's not impossible to find homes with a guest casita in the $1.5 million dollar range if you know where to look.  Casitas are really ideal for those who have extended family members or just need some extra space away from the main part of the house.  Here is a quick guide on where to look.

The number one place to start your search would be the Shady Canyon community.  This is an exclusive guard gated community that has crazy security.  Once you pass through the 24 hour guard gate you then have to pass through another set of gates for each of the