First sale at Stonegate?

[OpenSky]

 

[jmoney74]

Just moved from west irvine. There is a large apartment complex on jamboree and irvine blvd that trails down the street through Bryan. West Irving's main draw in convenience. Close to fwy but not in your face close. Costco target 24 hour fitness plus restaurants... Hence the heavy traffic on jamboree. The floor plans on the Sfrs do kind of suck with no main floor bedrooms. You can go a little north but they have no Hoa. I think there is a lot of value there and it's more diverse. However... It's not like Woodbury or north park... Or any of the newer planned communities.

 

[usctrojancpa]

Is Tustin Ranch really a *true* non-Irvine city? It's TIC... might as well have been called Irvine West.

The difference between Northpark and West Irvine is more age related.

WI and NP are the same age, more or less.

Hmm... it is a couple of years but they are close. I guess it is the TIC Master Builder difference... and the guard gated aspect?

I think NWP is higher than NP in $/sf... is that the IUSD/TUSD premium? Is that the same difference we'll see between OH TUSD and OH IUSD?

So interesting these 'hood battles.

Folks largely seem willing to look past NP's TUSD-ness as a trade for being in the community.

WI is simply not aging well. The homes on the north end are 11/10ths scale for the streets, it lacks lush landscape within some tracts (presumably because of the haphazard HOA-ness?), the primary park (Valencia) is jammed up against Jamboree -- forgoing a core, there's no real connecting 'theme' here, just an Irvine stamp with Aliso Viejo-style homes. In short, it's just not endearing. About the only common area aspect I like about WI is the integration of the trail on the southeast end, which horseshoes around into the park - across Jamboree via the tunnel. But even that is a missed opportunity, as the trail egresses to the sidewalk adjacent 261 instead of being fed by the main Hicks Canyon wash/Mountains to the Sea Trail. So riders and walkers go from blissful Class I to the hot mess that is Irvine Blvd.

That miss - that last quarter mile linkage in the path to the MTTST - sums up WI. As a gateway to Irvine from Tustin, it coulda been something great but ultimately misses the mark.

I want to like WI (honest) but can't bring myself to pull the trigger on a place there.

I love the fact that there's no HOA and no apartments in WI.  You can always buy my house which has a larger lot (over 5,000sf), has a pool/spa, built-in BBQ, and is fully remodeled.  Oh my Mello Roos is only $1,200/year and it goes down in 1/2 in the next few years. 

Sounds a lot like folks I know that lobby for Temecula.

Maybe so but I paid about the same what people pay for attached 2 bedroom condos in Woodbury and Stonegate for my detached SFR Irvine home. 

 

[OpenSky]

Maybe so but I paid about the same what people pay for attached 2 bedroom condos in Woodbury and Stonegate for my detached SFR Irvine home. 

You timed the market well. We sold out of our home in Ventura County in February 2013 with a WTF price that, even with the run up, tracked with what followed thereafter.

What you paid for your home (including upgrades, because we keep it honest here on TI) would buy you an ocean view spread walkable to downtown shops and the boardwalk in Ventura.

So it's painful to consider plunking down what we're about to do for a place that's not nearly as close to the water, without the character and lifestyle that Ventura affords. But there are jobs here.

So it's all relative. What matters is what makes you happy. For us, we want to be outside, relaxing, walking or biking. The structure and the rest of it really aren't as important.

 

[usctrojancpa]

Maybe so but I paid about the same what people pay for attached 2 bedroom condos in Woodbury and Stonegate for my detached SFR Irvine home. 

You timed the market well. We sold out of our home in Ventura County in February 2013 with a WTF price that, even with the run up, tracked with what followed thereafter.

What you paid for your home (including upgrades, because we keep it honest here on TI) would buy you an ocean view spread walkable to downtown shops and the boardwalk in Ventura.

So it's painful to consider plunking down what we're about to do for a place that's not nearly as close to the water, without the character and lifestyle that Ventura affords. But there are jobs here.

So it's all relative. What matters is what makes you happy. For us, we want to be outside, relaxing, walking or biking. The structure and the rest of it really aren't as important.

Sounds like you guys did well too selling near the highs in 2013.  For what I paid for my house, I could have bought a single-story 2,500sf home on 1/4 acre with a pool/spa and a 3-car wide garage on the goal course in the nicest part in Vegas.  But hey, since 2/3 of my clients are in or looking to buy in Irvine/Tustin Ranch it's where I have to be. 

 

[iacrenter]

I believe West Irvine homes still traded higher than true non-"Irvine" cities... which was my point.

While there are larger disparities between hoods like the Turtles and College Park, I don't know if you will see that same type of variance between two locations separated by a road with homes built around the same time period.

I agree that the Halo Effect may be different in OH. There will be an over 10 year age difference between OH and Northpark, and even more between Northwood and OH, so proximity aside, there is more to affect a differentiation in values.

I find it interesting that no one debates the difference between Lambert Ranch and PP. Those two are right next to each other and LR is all SFRs and no MRs... isn't that the superior location?

There is nothing for sale in Lambert Ranch so it's a moot point.

I think that might change this year. I have friends in LR and they say many of their neighbors bought trying to wait out for OH. Since OH is opening this year, we might see people  cashing in on their equity and jumping ship from LR to OH if the prices/floor plans are right.

 

[iacrenter]

^^^ that's why i am having a hard time justifying paying $2m to get a nicer house in Irvine... i would rather take the money and get a setup like you had in Ventura.  Even if i have to go to San Clemente or Dana Point to do it.

What?! You joining the White Flight out of LA already? At least wait for Hidden Canyon.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

I believe West Irvine homes still traded higher than true non-"Irvine" cities... which was my point.

While there are larger disparities between hoods like the Turtles and College Park, I don't know if you will see that same type of variance between two locations separated by a road with homes built around the same time period.

I agree that the Halo Effect may be different in OH. There will be an over 10 year age difference between OH and Northpark, and even more between Northwood and OH, so proximity aside, there is more to affect a differentiation in values.

I find it interesting that no one debates the difference between Lambert Ranch and PP. Those two are right next to each other and LR is all SFRs and no MRs... isn't that the superior location?

There is nothing for sale in Lambert Ranch so it's a moot point.

I think that might change this year. I have friends in LR and they say many of their neighbors bought trying to wait out for OH. Since OH is opening this year, we might see people  cashing in on their equity and jumping ship from LR to OH if the prices/floor plans are right.

Landfill/Jail Flight?

 

[Irvinecommuter]

Maybe so but I paid about the same what people pay for attached 2 bedroom condos in Woodbury and Stonegate for my detached SFR Irvine home. 

You timed the market well. We sold out of our home in Ventura County in February 2013 with a WTF price that, even with the run up, tracked with what followed thereafter.

What you paid for your home (including upgrades, because we keep it honest here on TI) would buy you an ocean view spread walkable to downtown shops and the boardwalk in Ventura.

So it's painful to consider plunking down what we're about to do for a place that's not nearly as close to the water, without the character and lifestyle that Ventura affords. But there are jobs here.

So it's all relative. What matters is what makes you happy. For us, we want to be outside, relaxing, walking or biking. The structure and the rest of it really aren't as important.

^^^ that's why i am having a hard time justifying paying $2m to get a nicer house in Irvine... i would rather take the money and get a setup like you had in Ventura.  Even if i have to go to San Clemente or Dana Point to do it.

If I could afford a $2 million home, I would pay one for a $1 million in Irvine and keep the rest in my pocket. 

Dana Point and San Clemente are both way too far south my taste and I would end up having to drive 20-30 minutes every weekend to go to Irvine to shop.

 

[Mandy]

Hello, I just caught up on the thread.

I posted before how I wished I'd have waited for the PP was released. And that was mainly for the bigger lot size for the buck.

Now as I'm looking at my beautiful new house in SG, I am glad we bought our SG house.
Having gone through home-shopping for the last 3 years, I came to realize the square footage is not everything. It's about the kind of community and lifestyle you decide to adopt.

I appreciate my fellow SG resident's previous comments about not really being bothered by Apt dwellers in the neighborhood. I have lived in apts between homes, have friends living in the apt while looking for a house.  APT dwellers is a very diverse group. There are many apt options in Irvine. What prompts an individual to rent in SG is actually a big plus for me. They are mostly families with younger kids so the kids can go to SG elementary! You'd be surprised to hear how many of my friends in Woodbury wish they lived in SG just for the better elementary school.  I know a good number of 2nd and 3rd degree acquaintances that moved to APTs in SG for the same reason.  I absolutely don't mind having families moving for the school as my neighbors at all.

I am glad that the shopping center is within a walking distance. When my guests i.g. parents come to visit, that would be a very nice thing to have close by. Plus, that little distance along Irvine Blvd can make a 15min difference one way near future or already some days. As a full-time working mom always in a rush to pick up the kids or stuff for them, 20-30 mins more wasted on the road is unthinkable!

SG has already formed a community of young families with more similar life-styles and values (quality over quantity in moderation?) than other neighborhoods in my opinion (which some may find annoying). Irvine Pacific did a good job making the entire community look very upscale (even for detached condos despite no drive ways and attached ones!) and well-maintained in harmony. You know you like cookie-cutter cleanliness if you bought a house in Irvine.  I'd have totally regretted if I'd let go of this beauty for a PP home sitting way too far out with unknown future just for the slightly bigger # in the lot size.

 

[qwerty]

Glad your happy Mandy but talk about exaggeration. PP to stonegate on that little stretch of irvine blvd is not 15 minutes. If that's how you are rationalizing that SG is better than PP more power to you.

 

[jmoney74]

seriously 15 min one way?  You have to be kidding right.  It's like PP people coming out and saying they have quicker access to The Chevron at the town center now since it's on the Sand Canyon side.  The drive distance might actually be the same.. since you have to drive past the apartments anyways in SG. 

 

[bones]

/

 

[irvinehomeowner]

@bones:

Now that you mention it, PP is not very defensible against a Zombocalypse. Too many entries and no high ground. You are toast... brain toast.

 

[ps99472]

But Musick is nearby, you can survive like the Walking Dead

 

[bones]

[q/

 

[homer_simpson]

Went to Pavillion Park (33?41'47.91"N 117?43'42.44"W) last night and then to the Town Center and it took me 3 minutes and 42 seconds by car.  If I walked it, maybe 20 minutes tops. 

The more and more I visit PP, the more I really like it.  I'm glad a few of my friends bought and are buying there; just so I can go enjoy their amenities 

I have friends that live in Stonegate that are already itching to move out to PP or to OH because of how dense it feels already.  I do like the elementary, the basketball courts and location but something about it makes it feel like a red headed step child of Woodbury.. **Few notches above WBE/SGE though 

**Disclaimer:  I don't have anything against SG, I have something against Chinese folks... wait... that means I hate Irvine!  >

 

[bones]

.

 

[homer_simpson]

Went to Pavillion Park (33?41'47.91"N 117?43'42.44"W) last night and then to the Town Center and it took me 3 minutes and 42 seconds by car.  If I walked it, maybe 20 minutes tops. 

Thanks for waving "hi" last night!

No problem! I'll stop by and say hi next time.  Did you see me park my car on the basketball court? 

 

[Irvinecommuter]

Went to Pavillion Park (33?41'47.91"N 117?43'42.44"W) last night and then to the Town Center and it took me 3 minutes and 42 seconds by car.  If I walked it, maybe 20 minutes tops. 

The more and more I visit PP, the more I really like it.  I'm glad a few of my friends bought and are buying there; just so I can go enjoy their amenities 

I have friends that live in Stonegate that are already itching to move out to PP or to OH because of how dense it feels already.  I do like the elementary, the basketball courts and location but something about it makes it feel like a red headed step child of Woodbury.. **Few notches above WBE/SGE though 

**Disclaimer:  I don't have anything against SG, I have something against Chinese folks... wait... that means I hate Irvine!  >

1)  The travel issue with PP and Woodbury Towncenter is not just about distance.  It's about access.  Like PS, PP has two exits.  The one relevant to this discussion is Ridge Valley and Irvine Blvd.  Depending on where you are in PP, one would have make your way to Ridge Valley and exit on Irvine Blvd.  Depending how the community is at build out, this could mean a lot of stop signs. 

SG has 3 exit points close to Irvine Blvd and Woodbury Town Center....I live in Saratoga so I usually use Spring Meadow.  I can also cut across SG and go out on Groveland.

Also, being on the other side of the 133, it makes walking with young children difficult. 

My biggest issue with PP and access is that there is only one main free exit route to freeways..basically out Ridge Valley and making a left on Sand Canyon.  With SG, I can access Sand Canyon and Jeffery pretty easily.  PP lacks a freeway access point on the other side. 

2)  I like PP's layout but it still feels like a big desert to me right now.  I personally don't have problems with the  density of SG.  I believe there was a post when SG started that it is less dense than WB.  It is really hard to compare WB, SG, CV, and PP right now because they are in completely different stages of buildout.

There is also a rumored commercial center that is supposed to be open on the other side of PP and thus it may make the discussion somewhat less relevant.  Depending on the stores, the propose shopping center at PP could be more desirable than the WB one.

3)  While I have met many people who wants to move from SG to OH, I haven't met any that wants to go to PP instead.  My biggest issue with PP is the interior layouts and the emphasis on properties above $1 M.  If I had to buy a house above $1 million, I would definitely pick PP.  If I were buying between $700K and $900K, I would pick SG.  Considering how well Saratoga is still selling, I think this is true is for many people.

4)  I like WB's amenities but I like the fact that SG doesn't have a commercial center on it.  Cuts down on traffic through the community to get to the center. 

5)  Pretty sure that PP is going to have a lot of Asians...a lot.