Estate: November 2012

Irvine Housing Blog

Closed Sales from 11/22/2012 to 11/28/2012

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 04:00 AM PST

Date Sold	Address	Zip	Tract	Sold Price	Beds	Sq Ft
Airport Area
11/22/12	2324 Scholarship	92612	Avenue One	$390,000	2	1034
11/26/12	1236 Scholarship	92612	Avenue One	$274,900	2	1037
11/28/12	2233 Martin 106	92612	Metropolitan	$240,000	1	934

Columbus Grove
11/27/12	1229 Abelia	92606	Savannah	$290,000	1	1310

El Camino Real
11/26/12	77 Heritage 50	92604	Heritage Park	$485,000	3	1608
11/28/12	14902 Laurelgrove Cir	92604	Willows	$545,000	4	1156

Northwood
11/28/12	432 Monroe 103	92620	Timberline	$465,000	3	1491

Oak Creek
11/26/12	511 Birch Grv	92618	Oak Park	$295,000	1	900

Portola Springs
11/26/12	40 Cienega	92618	Other	$322,000	1	1200
11/26/12	168 Pathway	92618	Primrose	$564,812	3	1739

Stonegate
11/27/12	207 Mayfair	92620	Santa Maria	$525,000	2	1483

Turtle Ridge
11/28/12	31 Crimson Rose	92603	Ledges	$1,775,000	5	3091

Turtle Rock
11/26/12	28 Valley Vw 22	92612	Vista (Turtle Rock)	$580,000	4	3000
11/26/12	2 Charity	92612	Concordia	$1,180,000	4	2500

University Town Center
11/22/12	26 Oxford 24	92612	Cambridge Court	$400,000	2	1020

Walnut
11/27/12	14 Nevada	92606	Cambridge	$869,900	5	2900

West Irvine
11/26/12	18 Red Coat Pl	92602	Heritage	$755,000	5	2300

Westpark
11/27/12	1 La Ronda	92606	Brindisi	$550,000	3	1085

Woodbridge
11/26/12	41 Woodleaf	92614	Alders	$330,000	2	1140
11/27/12	4 Greenfield 19	92614	Alders	$329,000	2	1269
11/27/12	121 Eastshore 16	92604	Estates	$664,000	4	2156
11/28/12	12 Briarwood 67	92604	Glen (WB)	$350,000	3	1200
11/28/12	31 Firwood	92604	Villager	$260,000	2	1000
11/28/12	14 Springwater 68	92604	Townhomes	$501,000	3	1500

Best Restaurants in Atlanta (Part 2) + 30 day french fry and wine challenge.

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 01:53 PM PST

It’s time for the next 5 restaurants. Yea! 1. Ok Cafe. Duh. Ok Cafe is so great. You can go in there and get a warm, Southern, home-cooked meal at any time. There’s also a sweet money...

This Photographers Life (Architecture + Interior Design)

architecture 4 us

Green Architecture Design Of House In Yamasaki By Tato Architects

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 10:45 PM PST

Tato Architects, an architectural firm from Japan designed a wonderful green architecture house in Yamasaki. It is a simple, modern house, designed by considering the natural daylighting and energy efficiency.

The sustainable home is located in Hyogo Prefecture, a new residential area. The building is slightly sunken into the earth to provide a solid foundation and providing natural insulation to create a good energy efficiency. It was built for a young couple with two children.

The natural daylighting becomes an important point to be provided, as the area is known to have often cloudy days. The eco construction has additional play space at the roof top, and the living area is located in the bottom level.

A greenhouse construction is located between the bottom level and the rooftop, providing access for the natural lighting, and natural ventilation. A covering can be pulled and acted as sun shade when needed. By this, the sustainable building may achieve good energy efficiency.

Sustainable energy resource, the geothermal, provides heating energy for this green architecture home, supported by floor-heating system and the earth-sunken construction. Sandwiched materials also provide good insulation, especially the use of corrugated polycarbonate panels, moisture and water absorbing and heat-retaining sheet, used for the greenhouse. Recycled materials, especially thermal insulation material from recycled PET bottles are used also.

Green Architecture Design of House in Yamasaki 3 150x150 Green Architecture Design of House in Yamasaki by Tato Architects

Green Architecture Design of House in Yamasaki 4 150x150 Green Architecture Design of House in Yamasaki by Tato Architects

Green Architecture Design of House in Yamasaki 6 150x150 Green Architecture Design of House in Yamasaki by Tato Architects

Green Architecture Design of House in Yamasaki 7 150x150 Green Architecture Design of House in Yamasaki by Tato Architects

Green Architecture Design of House in Yamasaki 8 150x150 Green Architecture Design of House in Yamasaki by Tato Architects

Green Architecture Design of House in Yamasaki 9 150x150 Green Architecture Design of House in Yamasaki by Tato Architects

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Irvine Housing Blog

Open House Review: 51 Carver

Posted: 29 Nov 2012 04:00 AM PST

When I hear “original owner,” I usually expect a home that looks and feels its age. In 51 Carver, I was pleasantly surprised to find a house in very good condition.

The basics:
Asking Price: $700,000
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3
Square Footage: 2,077
Lot Size: 4,750
$/Sq Ft: $337
Days on Market: 9
Property Type: Single Family Residence
Year Built: 1979
Community: Northwood – Shadow Run

There are no HOA dues or Mello Roos taxes.

I entered in the living room, where I was greeted with new laminate floors, cathedral ceilings and a large picture window that made the room surprisingly bright and airy (sadly, my photo doesn’t do it justice – it really was bright). The living room flows into the dining room, though the stairway in the middle provides a distinctly separate space. The dining room is also bright and offers enough space for a large table.

The kitchen is the part of the house that feels the oldest. It has original tile counters and dark brown cabinets, along with a tile floor and panel lighting in the ceiling. There are newer, white appliances. Everything is clean and well-maintained. While a remodel of the kitchen would certainly give it a more modern look and potentially open it up more to the family room, it is functional the way it is now.

The kitchen has a breakfast bar that overlooks the family room. With just a sliding door to the backyard and no other windows, I thought the room was pretty dark. It has a small wetbar and the same laminate flooring in the front rooms.

The last room downstairs is a bedroom. It has a small sliding closet and a fairly large window. It is adjacent to a bathroom with a small stall shower (no tub) and a single sink.

The backyard is a pretty average size for Northwood and is completely hardscaped. It has a storage shed in one corner that looks like a small house, so could possibly be cleaned out and used for another purpose.

Upstairs, there are three bedrooms. The master is at the top of the stairs. It isn’t a very large room, so it took me a minute to realize that it was the master. It has a huge window and slightly elevated ceilings. The bathroom is original, with two sinks and a separate tub and shower. More than anywhere else in the house, I felt that the master bathroom looked old and tired. The tub, which is just a standard bathtub, looked dingy and the shower is tucked into a small corner. This would be the first thing I remodeled if I bought this home. The master has a good-sized walk-in closet but needs some organizers installed.

The other two bedrooms upstairs share a bathroom which has a single sink and a shower/tub combo. One room is bigger than the other, with a large window and a small closet. The other room has two windows and a larger closet.

Downstairs, the ceilings have been scraped in all rooms except the living room; upstairs, none have been scraped. The laminate floors downstairs and carpet upstairs are new, and there are new six-panel internal doors throughout the house. All of the windows are original. While there is a lot to be done in this house to make it as nice and as modern as a brand new home, it is in remarkably good condition for a 1979 house.

Irvine Housing Blog

Are Rents Rising in Orange County and Irvine?

Posted: 28 Nov 2012 04:00 AM PST

“The problem with sales volume is that most homeowners just don’t want to sell. And why would they? Most sellers believe prices will only get better over the next two years.”—Glenn Kelman, CEO Redfin.com

“Foreclosed houses—which once made up almost half of all Orange County homes sales—made up just a tenth of such sales last month.

“And even fewer foreclosures are likely in the coming years…

“The result is a greater portion of pricier homes selling at the height end, coupled with hefty price hikes at the low- and mid-ranges of the market.”— Jeff Collins and Jonathan Lansner

”First-time homebuyers are being squeezed out of the market by falling inventory and the rapid influx of investors looking to buy basic homes to rent out to the growing population of people who are recently been foreclosed upon.”—Stan Humphries, Zillow chief economist

All the reasons listed above are leading to a lack of home buying options in Orange County, at least for those who want to buy a home to live in instead of as an investment. And this lack of options explains, at least partially, why rents are climbing in Orange County. Laura Khouri, president of Western National Property Management, states that improved employment and a drop in construction of multifamily buildings are additional factors.

Limited homebuying options, decreased construction of multifamily buildings, and increased employment numbers are all factors that would push rents up; however, many of those who are working are not making as much money as they did in the recent past. So how are potential Orange County renters able to afford increasing rents? Khouri provides some insight. She states that many “families have also had to add other family members to their overall composition.” She also states that there is “an increased rise in one-bedroom units being rented again by young single professionals.”

What is the rent situation in Irvine? According to Khouri, this “landlord’s market” is not a universal situation in Orange County. “With the addition of 2,883 new units in Irvine spread over eight projects in 2012, there certainly could be some fluctuation in the overall rental rates and occupancy rates in the fourth quarter of 2012 in the Irvine sub-market.”

Note: In October, Real Facts reported that among the top 26 California metro areas, Orange County had the fifth-highest average rents. In addition, Orange County and Los Angeles County shared ninth place when it came to rent increases. The average rent for a one-bedroom in the Orange County was $1,403; a one-bedroom/one bath was $1,486; a two-bedroom/two bath was $1,870.

Sources:
Marilyn Kafus, “Hot Market, For Sellers,” The Orange County Register

Jonathan Lansner, “Demand for one-bedroom units on the rise,” The Orange County Register

Jeff Collins and Jonathan Lansner, “O.C. home sales, prices up 5th straight month” Orange County Register

Jeff Collins, “Apartment rents hit all-time high,” The Orange County Register