Irvine Real Estate Blogger

Everyone has his/her own reason for moving from one place to another. Over the past century we have become an increasingly mobile people. We uproot ourselves and our families seeking a better life, reinventing ourselves.

We move for a job relocation. We move to improve the quality of our lives and of those of our children or grandchildren. We are looking for a vacation or second home. We are looking for a retirement community. We are looking to move near excellent schools for our children or future families. We are seeking to move close to a university environment. We are looking to move from a colder to a milder climate. We are looking to move from a large single family home into a condo, town home or high-rise. We are seeking to move from a condo or town home into a larger single family home. We are looking to move to a golf course community. We are seeking to move to a coastal or a beach community. We are looking to move to a safer environment. We are looking for cultural enrichment.

In short, welcome to Irvine, CA whose everyday motto is “another day in paradise.” Irvine, CA has a dynamic and healthy business environment. Irvine, CA has real estate catering to the taste of one and all: homes, properties, condos, high rise and low rise town homes, second homes, vacation properties, golf course communities, beach communities, and retirement communities.

Welcome, home to Irvine, CA where lifestyle and real estate meet and fulfill the wants and needs of people of all ages in which one and all find their very own piece of paradise.

For those of you who weren’t aware, the hour between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., on Saturday, March 29th was designated as Earth Hour–the hour where people were called upon around the world to turn off their lights and non-essential electrical appliances in an effort to reduce carbon emissions, and heighten our awareness by bringing “light” to the subject of energy conservation on a global scale ultimately benefiting our planet as a whole.

Google, a sponsor of Earth Hour, actually reminded me by turning their screen to a black background from 12:01 a.m. on March 29th through the end of the day. So when I tried to “google” something I was brought to a black screen with the words ” We’ve turned the lights out. Now it’s your turn - Earth Hour.” Thanks to Google for reminding those of us who “google” all the time to do our small part to help spread the global word and help tilt the world toward the greening of our planet.

And that’s my word on the subject.

Coffee and tea lovers will have another option for their early morning-midday-evening pick-me-up. An endearing and enduring fixture known widely in the Bay area as Peet’s Coffee and Tea has arrived near the campus of U.C. Irvine in the University Center adjacent to Trader Joe’s. Peet’s replaces Dietrich’s in the same locale.

Peet’s was founded by Alfred Peet, on April 1, 1966 in Berkeley, CA., determined to provide an alternative to the poor quality of coffee being consumed by Americans at the time. His style of coffee was a radical departure from what was then available, “emphasizing smaller batches, freshness, superior quality beans, and a darker roasting style that produced coffee with richness and complexity. ”

The new store will have its opening this coming Saturday, March 29th at 6:00 a.m. As part of their grand opening, customers will receive a half-pound of coffee beans withthe purchase of any espresso drink, and complimentary coffee and tea will be served throughout the day.

The Annual Persian New Year celebration will take place in Irvine’s Mason Regional Park this coming Sunday, March 30th. This day long celebration is the culmination of the Persian New Year, “Norooz,” which began on the first day of Spring. On the 13th day of the New Year or “Sizdeh Bedar,” families and friends gather in the park to picnic as an annual rite of renewal to start the New Year fresh. Thousands of people are expected to partake in the New Year’s celebration. We wish all our friends a very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.

We were visiting our son over Easter weekend up in the Bay area and happened on a delightful fair in Yountville, a small but notable community in Napa valley. We had decided on visiting Napa for a little bit of wine-tasting, and wound up discovering an annual festival replete with wine-tasting, live music, and delectable hors d’oeuvres offered up by the local wineries and notable area restaurants.

It was perfect in that one could park one’s car and saunter from booth to booth sampling each distinctive treat. Oh, did we mention reasonably priced as well. We purchased a number of tickets which we used as script toward food and drink. A generous sampling of wine was equivalent to two dollars (two tickets), as were many samplings of tasty tidbits. The firemen served up a great sampling of BBQ ribs, and bistro Bouchon offered up their signature chocolate delight.

For those of you who haven’t yet experienced Yountville, it is home to one of the best restaurants, and several great bistros in the region and, perhaps, the country. For a very special occasion, such as a round-numbered birthday or important anniversary, you might want to make plans to visit the French Laundry, housed in an unassuming building in the heart of town. It is one of the most divine and memorable dining experiences you will ever have. However, it requires planning. One cannot decide to go on the spur of the moment. Rather you must make reservations 60 days in advance of the date you plan to dine.

On the other hand, you can dine more spontaneously in one of the other well-acclaimed bistros in town. Check out Bouchon Bistro, Bistro Jeanty, or Ad Hoc for a very satisfying culinary experience.

So if you happen to be in the Bay area on the Saturday following the Spring Equinox next year, plan on venturing up to Yountville in Napa for a most enjoyable day.

Venturing into real estate can be compared to jogging in that just as you would want to get a health check-up before embarking on any serious exercise program, so too would you also want to get pre-approved by a lender to see if your current financial “health” can support a housing payment.

Exercising, like real estate, can seem daunting: it takes research and commitment to do both right. But while you can exercise on your own, some choose to seek the assistance of a fitness trainer or coach to help follow an exercise program; similarly, some find that looking for real estate on their own suits their needs just fine, while others, though, recognize and seek the value that a real estate professional can provide to the process.

While jogging ultimately enhances your overall well-being, energizes both your body and your mind, and allows you to take charge of your life, real estate instills a sense of pride of ownership, enhances your self-esteem, and allows you to be the master/mistress of your own castle.

Furthermore, as jogging or any consistent aerobic exercise will stave off diseases and extend the quality of your life, owning your own home has historically been a source of tax relief, enhancing your net income, and allowing you to have more disposable income for even a little self-indulgence on occasion. (Like, for example, enjoying that aged-to-perfection glass of wine—which, coincidentally, could help break down plaque build-up in your arteries just as a morning or afternoon jog would!)

As jogging and exercising regularly could actually add quantitative and qualitative years to your life (if coupled with other healthful lifestyle changes and activities, of course), owning your own home is a major step towards enhancing your future, securing your retirement—and fulfilling the American Dream of home ownership.

The return of the swallows to San Juan Capistrano has become a symbol associated with Saint Joseph’s Day on March 19th of each year and is celebrated as the day that marks the annual arrival of springtime, a time of renewal and rebirth.

However, Eric and I have come to view the first day of spring, as the date upon which we first sight the red-winged blackbirds by the Upper Newport Ecological Preserve where we have jogged since 1999. Like clockwork, the red-winged blackbirds arrive and announce that it is indeed springtime.

Their name reflects the fact that the male birds have red shoulder patches when they are in flight. They migrate over the Pacific Flyway and inhabit the wetland areas of the fresh and saltwater marshes making the Back Bay one of the places where come to nest.

Last week we were sure that we would have our first sighting. But the weather turned cold as strong winds swept through Irvine. Today we went on our usual jog, and Eric observed, looking at the snow-capped mountains of Mt. Baldy against the clear blue sky that the blackbirds intuitively knew that winter was still with us. Indeed, we’ll just have to wait and see. But it is certain that once we sight the red-winged blackbirds at the Back Bay, we can be assured that Spring will have arrived just as sure as the sparrows return to the beloved Mission at San Juan Capistrano.

I came across an article entitled “Buyers jump into murky housing market,” by Zack Fox, a staff writer for the North County Times. The story is about how home prices in San Diego county’s Oceanside are finally becoming affordable enough for some buyers to “take the plunge,” while others still are playing “the waiting game.” This concern can, of course, be extrapolated to our local market as well, here in Irvine, CA.

The article features a couple of buyers who have been waiting to buy for years, and with median prices falling, the question for them is whether to buy now or to continue their wait. Some real estate agents suggest that prices will not go any lower and first-time buyers should act now. Some economists, on the other hand “laugh at the notion and advise patience.” One buyer’s view is voiced by an Oceanside teacher, Julie Beck, who is not as concerned with whether the real estate market has bottomed out or not, but rather she is “tired of dumping $2,000 a month in rent into a property where she cannot paint the walls.” “I’m not looking at a home for an investment. I’m looking at a home for a home,” said Beck, who said she plans to keep her 4-year-old twin daughters and 8-year-old son in Oceanside schools through graduation. “I won’t be ready to sell for the next 12 years, so it doesn’t matter if prices drop some more.”

Does her sentiment make sense? In our experience it makes perfect sense, if…and this is a big if

1. The buyer has a secure job, that is, no chance of being laid off or relocated in the next few years
2. The buyer plans to stay in the home for at least five to seven years (the normal course of a real estate cycle to come full circle)
3. The buyer has good credit (these days a FICO score above 700 is a must)
4. The buyer has the down payment, income requirements, credit history, job history, and can afford to make a housing payment (Principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and association) does not exceed approximately one-third of the gross monthly income
5. The buyer’s debt to income ratio does not exceed 38% of the gross monthly income (that is the total housing payment in #4 + revolving credit card debt (car payment, student loans, store credit card debt, etc.)
6. The buyer has access to a down payment (either from savings, gift, investments, etc.) of 20% of the purchase price (again, this is the “old school way”)

If you can say yes to the above, then, yes, it makes sense to move off of the fence/rental and into your very own home.

1. Irvine, CA named Safest City in U.S. for Population Over 100,000 by F.B.I. for 3rd Straight Year in the fall 2007.
-Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2007-
2. Irvine Unified School District has six of the top elementary schools, five of the top ten middle schools (including the top two), and four of the top ten high schools in Orange County
-California Department of Education, 2007-
3. Irvine’s University High School ranked #76 out of the top 100 high schools in the U.S. for 2007 and Irvine’s University of California, Irvine, ranked the 13th best public university in the nation by U.S. News & World Report

4. One-Third of the city of Irvine is set aside for parks, trails and permanent open space, as Irvine voters approved an Open Space Initiative back in June of 1988 which was a collaborative effort involving the city and The Irvine Company.

5. 37,000 acres have been designated by the federal government as The Irvine Ranch National Natural Landmark (NLL), offering a protection to a wide variety of plant and animals, some of which are on the endangered species list. The areas include Bommer Canyon in Irvine, as well as Limestone and Fremont Canyons north of Irvine, Crystal Cove State Park and Laguna Coast Wilderness Park south of Irvine.

One of the first questions that buyers ask at Open Houses relates specifically to whether a home or condo falls within a particular school boundary. There is indeed a correlation between home values and great schools. It goes without saying that parents begin worrying about their children’s education as early as preschool. As more students vie to secure a spot in the top colleges and universities, the competition has become greater to give one’s child an edge and at an earlier age than in years past.

Prospective homeowners research schools when they begin to think about starting a family, and it is a driving force in the purchase of a home whose neighborhood falls within the boundaries of top-scoring schools.

One of the primary reasons we decided to move to Irvine was because of the great reputation of the Irvine public schools. When families have to decide whether to pay thousands of dollars for a private school education to ensure that their children receive the best education possible, we realize how blessed we are that we have a fabulous public school system. Indeed, great schools not only benefit our children’s education and opportunities to succeed in a competitive world, but a school’s reputation can add thousands of dollars to your property’s value.

Here in the villages of the University Town Center and Quail Hill in Irvine, we are privileged to have Turtle Rock Elementary and Alderwood Basics Plus elementary schools, respectively, both of which have been named California Distinguished Schools, as well as University High School, which is nationally-ranked among the top 100 high schools in the United States (#76 in 2008 according to the U.S. News & World Report). Moreover, in 2008 there were 31 students named National Merit Semi-Finalists, and University High continues to rank among the top high schools in Orange County for SAT scores. We are also fortunate to have one of the top rated universities in the University of California at Irvine also named as one of the top 100 in this year’s edition of U.S. News & World Report (#44 ) for America’s best colleges.

So irrespective of whether or not you have children of school age, you will be a seller at some point in the future. And the people to whom you will more than likely be selling will ultimately care about the quality of their neighborhood schools and the value they add to their children’s and grand children’s future educational success as well as the added value to the properties in which these schools are located.

For more information on the local schools go to the Irvine Unified School District. For more information University High School, see SchoolMatters.

While falling home prices continue to get the big headlines, falling crime rates will certainly be of interest to families who are considering a move to a new community. The City of Irvine was honored by being named “America’s Safest Big City” for the third year in a row according to F.B.I. statistics published this past fall of 2007. Irvine had the lowest rate of violent crimes of any big city in the United States – including homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

Safest Cities

The following list shows the top 20 large cities (with populations over 100,000) with the lowest violent crime rates.

Just one more reason to move to Irvine–another day in paradise in sunny, southern California

No, we are not talking about running for elective office during this hotly contested 2008 Presidential election year!

Nor are we talking about running from declining home values!

We are talking about running for the pure fun of it.

We do it to extend our quality of life, boost our mental attitude and lose weight to boot (without dieting). As a matter of fact, you can eat more, and still shed the pounds if you exercise regularly. Oh, we know all about the stuff of “We don’t have enough time to….” Well, our advice is to find the time! We started running (or jogging) in 1999, and have continued on track (with minimal back-sliding).

Some benefits are lower blood pressure, reduced propensity for diabetes, heart disease, breast and prostate cancer, bone loss, weight loss, resulting in an improvement in overall well-being, and upping your energy level so that you can deal with higher gas prices, the ups and downs of the economy, and declining home values!