New communities in Portola Springs

[CalBears96]

Azul released phase 5A, with 3 homes. Cal Pac mades changes to Plan 2 (now 2X) and Plan 3 (now 3X).

Plan 2X removes the Den between Bedrooms 2 and 3 and convert it to dedicated Baths for BD 2 and BD 3. Previous Bath that was shared between BD 2 and BD 3 now becomes part of Primary walk-in closet and Linen. If going with Optional Bonus Room instead of high ceiling, then previous bath becomes Powder Room and Linen. When I talked to Sales, I was under the impression that Bonus Room would become standard (since they removed Den), which would give them 3200+ sq ft instead of 2900+ sq ft. Optionally, Bonus Room could also be Bedroom 5.

Plan 3X goes with Bonus Room instead of high ceiling as standard. The old Bonus Room now becomes Laundry. Old Laundry becomes walk-in closet for Bedroom 2 and Powder Room. Old Bedroom 2 closet becomes part of Primary walk-in closet. Old Primary walk-in closet was like a sideway L shape, but now becomes rectangular. As a result of the Bonus Room, Plan 3x went from 3125 sq ft to 3552 sq ft. Azul Plan 3X now becomes the biggest home in PS, since Cielo Plan 3 is only 3473 sq ft..

 

[irviniteeee]

Azul released phase 5A, with 3 homes. Cal Pac mades changes to Plan 2 (now 2X) and Plan 3 (now 3X).

Plan 2X removes the Den between Bedrooms 2 and 3 and convert it to dedicated Baths for BD 2 and BD 3. Previous Bath that was shared between BD 2 and BD 3 now becomes part of Primary walk-in closet and Linen. If going with Optional Bonus Room instead of high ceiling, then previous bath becomes Powder Room and Linen. When I talked to Sales, I was under the impression that Bonus Room would become standard (since they removed Den), which would give them 3200+ sq ft instead of 2900+ sq ft. Optionally, Bonus Room could also be Bedroom 5.

Plan 3X goes with Bonus Room instead of high ceiling as standard. The old Bonus Room now becomes Laundry. Old Laundry becomes walk-in closet for Bedroom 2 and Powder Room. Old Bedroom 2 closet becomes part of Primary walk-in closet. Old Primary walk-in closet was like a sideway L shape, but now becomes rectangular. As a result of the Bonus Room, Plan 3x went from 3125 sq ft to 3552 sq ft. Azul Plan 3X now becomes the biggest home in PS, since Cielo Plan 3 is only 3473 sq ft..

Interesting changes...the complete removal of the high ceilings from Plan 3 wouldn't be my favorite. I liked that the new era of IP was finally implementing that style...that's a nice sized bonus room in lieu of it though.

Side note: it's absolutely bonkers to me that even at this price point, you can't get a 3-car garage.

 

[Yoda]

Azul released phase 5A, with 3 homes. Cal Pac mades changes to Plan 2 (now 2X) and Plan 3 (now 3X).

Plan 2X removes the Den between Bedrooms 2 and 3 and convert it to dedicated Baths for BD 2 and BD 3. Previous Bath that was shared between BD 2 and BD 3 now becomes part of Primary walk-in closet and Linen. If going with Optional Bonus Room instead of high ceiling, then previous bath becomes Powder Room and Linen. When I talked to Sales, I was under the impression that Bonus Room would become standard (since they removed Den), which would give them 3200+ sq ft instead of 2900+ sq ft. Optionally, Bonus Room could also be Bedroom 5.

Plan 3X goes with Bonus Room instead of high ceiling as standard. The old Bonus Room now becomes Laundry. Old Laundry becomes walk-in closet for Bedroom 2 and Powder Room. Old Bedroom 2 closet becomes part of Primary walk-in closet. Old Primary walk-in closet was like a sideway L shape, but now becomes rectangular. As a result of the Bonus Room, Plan 3x went from 3125 sq ft to 3552 sq ft. Azul Plan 3X now becomes the biggest home in PS, since Cielo Plan 3 is only 3473 sq ft..

How will they be able to fit a 3,552 sqft home on a 4,085 sqft lot? I assume the backyard will be really small on that one in that case and almost non-existent which is a complete joke for a $3M+ home!

 

[chasingpowder]

Azul released phase 5A, with 3 homes. Cal Pac mades changes to Plan 2 (now 2X) and Plan 3 (now 3X).

Plan 2X removes the Den between Bedrooms 2 and 3 and convert it to dedicated Baths for BD 2 and BD 3. Previous Bath that was shared between BD 2 and BD 3 now becomes part of Primary walk-in closet and Linen. If going with Optional Bonus Room instead of high ceiling, then previous bath becomes Powder Room and Linen. When I talked to Sales, I was under the impression that Bonus Room would become standard (since they removed Den), which would give them 3200+ sq ft instead of 2900+ sq ft. Optionally, Bonus Room could also be Bedroom 5.

Plan 3X goes with Bonus Room instead of high ceiling as standard. The old Bonus Room now becomes Laundry. Old Laundry becomes walk-in closet for Bedroom 2 and Powder Room. Old Bedroom 2 closet becomes part of Primary walk-in closet. Old Primary walk-in closet was like a sideway L shape, but now becomes rectangular. As a result of the Bonus Room, Plan 3x went from 3125 sq ft to 3552 sq ft. Azul Plan 3X now becomes the biggest home in PS, since Cielo Plan 3 is only 3473 sq ft..

I kinda like the changes in Plan 3X, especially for the view lot, now you can enjoy the view from your Bonus Room, also from a nice covered deck outside of bonus room.

CalPac is really bad with there website design. I saw the deck from their 'virtual tour', with is a video with bunch of pictures..

 

[CalBears96]

How will they be able to fit a 3,552 sqft home on a 4,085 sqft lot? I assume the backyard will be really small on that one in that case and almost non-existent which is a complete joke for a $3M+ home!

The footprint doesn't change. Like I mentioned, they added Bonus Room in lieu of high ceiling. The Bonus Room is a bit more than 400 sq ft, which brings it up from 3125 sq ft to 3552 sq ft. As for the backyard, it's still bigger than most Olivewood homes since a lot of them are 3600 to 3800 sq ft. The 4000 sq ft lots at Olivewood are considered big.

 

[CalBears96]

I kinda like the changes in Plan 3X, especially for the view lot, now you can enjoy the view from your Bonus Room, also from a nice covered deck outside of bonus room.

CalPac is really bad with there website design. I saw the deck from their 'virtual tour', with is a video with bunch of pictures..

I agree that Plan 3X on the view lot is nice. However, there won't be a covered deck outside of Bonus Room. However, this Plan 3X is not on the view side. The one released on phase 5B will be a view lot, and quite a bit larger lot as well. That one will probably go for $3.6M, since these semi-view lots are worth about $300k and the bigger lot size (4565 sq ft) is probably worth $150k-$200k.

 

[Yoda]

The footprint doesn't change. Like I mentioned, they added Bonus Room in lieu of high ceiling. The Bonus Room is a bit more than 400 sq ft, which brings it up from 3125 sq ft to 3552 sq ft. As for the backyard, it's still bigger than most Olivewood homes since a lot of them are 3600 to 3800 sq ft. The 4000 sq ft lots at Olivewood are considered big.

Seems like a marketing play for them to compete against Cielo so that they can claim they have the "largest" home in PS since the Cielo homes have been selling so well. I personally wouldn't give up the high ceiling great room and the Cielo homes are still much superior than these Azul homes IMO.

 

[chasingpowder]

I agree that Plan 3X on the view lot is nice. However, there won't be a covered deck outside of Bonus Room. However, this Plan 3X is not on the view side. The one released on phase 5B will be a view lot, and quite a bit larger lot as well. That one will probably go for $3.6M, since these semi-view lots are worth about $300k and the bigger lot size (4565 sq ft) is probably worth $150k-$200k.

I saw the covered deck from their 'virtual tour'...not on the floorplan.
If so, Phase 5B semi-view, will become full-view on the bonus room & deck, smart thinking eh?

 

[chasingpowder]

Seems like a marketing play for them to compete against Cielo so that they can claim they have the "largest" home in PS since the Cielo homes have been selling so well. I personally wouldn't give up the high ceiling great room and the Cielo homes are still much superior than these Azul homes IMO.

Maybe soon enough, Cielo will convert their high ceiling to bonus room and return to champion.

 

[irviniteeee]

I saw the covered deck from their 'virtual tour'...not on the floorplan.
If so, Phase 5B semi-view, will become full-view on the bonus room & deck, smart thinking eh?

I wonder if the deck will be extremely limited to certain lots. If so, that's a slick way of adding it into the virtual tour and setting people up for disappointment.

 

[irviniteeee]

How will they be able to fit a 3,552 sqft home on a 4,085 sqft lot? I assume the backyard will be really small on that one in that case and almost non-existent which is a complete joke for a $3M+ home!

It'll be like the Eastwood homes where the sliding doors basically open directly to a wall. Might as well set up patio furniture inside facing the sliding doors since you won't be able to fit them outside

 

[CalBears96]

Seems like a marketing play for them to compete against Cielo so that they can claim they have the "largest" home in PS since the Cielo homes have been selling so well. I personally wouldn't give up the high ceiling great room and the Cielo homes are still much superior than these Azul homes IMO.

Yeah, I would have preferred the older Plan 3, which had a Bonus Room and high ceiling. To me, the lack of high ceiling makes it less luxurious. And yes, Cielo homes are superior to Azul homes. Lots are way bigger. My lot at 5107 sq ft is considered average size in Cielo.

 

[CalBears96]

I saw the covered deck from their 'virtual tour'...not on the floorplan.
If so, Phase 5B semi-view, will become full-view on the bonus room & deck, smart thinking eh?

Since the view lots are bigger than the non-view lots, it's entirely possible to add the covered deck since they have enough room to the back wall. It will definitely add some extra view lot premium too.

 

[CalBears96]

Maybe soon enough, Cielo will convert their high ceiling to bonus room and return to champion.

Personally, I think high ceiling adds the luxurious feel. Since Cielo Plan 3 already has a Bonus Room and its Primary walk-in closet is big, there's no reason to make changes to the floorplan just for that.

It made sense for Azul Plan 3 because its Primary walk-in closet wasn't a rectangular shape and now they can also claim that they have a walk-in closet for Bedroom 2.

 

[ThirtySomethingWEquity]

If we were, then you know which BU PLP is, right?

haha, no I have no idea what that means. I work at one of the bigger tech companies in Irvine.

 

[CalBears96]

Arbor and Cielo had new releases today. Shea didn't really raise base price of Arbor, so of course it's completely sold out.

 

[CalBears96]

Shea also barely raised the prices on Cielo, so they're also sold out. One thing is that Shea started adding lot size premium starting from phase 9, which made the people buying in phase 8 extremely happy. Two Plan 3 homes in phase 8 sold for $3.0M, one having 6582 lot size and the other one 8867 lot size. The one Plan 3 in phase 10 with 6739 lot size is going for $3.3M. Sales did mention that Shea is adding about $300k for lot size premium.

One funny I find is that Shea seems to look at lot size using only the first digit, like 5xxx, 6xxx, 7xxx, etc. Example is lot 53 with 5177 lot size is $2.615M and lot 51 with 5842 lot size is $2.635M. That's almost 700 sq ft difference. On the other hand, lot 142, with 6208 lot size, is $2.975M. So there's practically no premium going from 5177 to 5842 sq ft lot size, but a $300k premium going from 5842 to 6208 sq ft lot size. No premium on 700 sq ft difference, but $300k premium on 400 sq ft difference.

Anyway, I would say that serious potential buyers who are already on Cielo priority list must be extremely happy to see the prices barely moving.

 

[Yoda]

Shea also barely raised the prices on Cielo, so they're also sold out. One thing is that Shea started adding lot size premium starting from phase 9, which made the people buying in phase 8 extremely happy. Two Plan 3 homes in phase 8 sold for $3.0M, one having 6582 lot size and the other one 8867 lot size. The one Plan 3 in phase 10 with 6739 lot size is going for $3.3M. Sales did mention that Shea is adding about $300k for lot size premium.

One funny I find is that Shea seems to look at lot size using only the first digit, like 5xxx, 6xxx, 7xxx, etc. Example is lot 53 with 5177 lot size is $2.615M and lot 51 with 5842 lot size is $2.635M. That's almost 700 sq ft difference. On the other hand, lot 142, with 6208 lot size, is $2.975M. So there's practically no premium going from 5177 to 5842 sq ft lot size, but a $300k premium going from 5842 to 6208 sq ft lot size. No premium on 700 sq ft difference, but $300k premium on 400 sq ft difference.

Anyway, I would say that serious potential buyers who are already on Cielo priority list must be extremely happy to see the prices barely moving.

Look at this Ravello resale which is under contract within a day, just crazy!:

https://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/207-Coal-Mine-92602/home/189774264

 

[CalBears96]

So Azul finally released full view lots (city view) for $4M. Supposedly, previous view lots can only be seen on 2nd floor, so they went for $300k lot premium.

 

[CalBears96]

Cielo released phase 11. No price increases compared to phase 10. Shea is the only builder not taking advantage of FCBs. All these homes have huge lots compared to Azul and Olivewood, nothing below 5100 sq ft. I'm kind of pissed off because I could have waited for lot 91 with a 6060 sq ft lot. Didn't expect Shea to barely raise prices at all.