irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
Did anyone register for MTwo? We meant to go there this weekend but were busy with too many things.
Montecito / Sonoma / Carmel Pricing
- Thread starter irvinehomeowner
- Start date
NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
Within the first 2 minutes on the first day. Been waiting a while. However, we didn't decide on the plan or lot until later.
Thanks. Prices are always relative. Though irvine is still high compared to my parents place in LI.
Wow, the TIC builder reps must have loved you. Coming from NYC, your sense of fair pricing and square footage are all messed up. When I first moved here, I loved paying almost $2000K for my 1bd IAC unit with granite counters, community pool/gym/CompRm/ClubHouse, enclosed garage parking, and especially a built-in washer/dryer! I think my NYC sense of RE pricing has changed.
We seriously considered a Plan 1 at Sonoma but in the end decided not to.. Biggest concern for us is the lack of den/loft/4th bedroom. For this price, we should be able to get one in Irvine, granted it is brand new and nothing beats that.. but the newness will wear off, where as the lack of room will not. Other concerns we have: Sand Canyon noise/pollution, zero lots, lack of diversity? (guessing from the foot traffic). Like I said we were one step away form owning one of these, but after some serious thinking decided not too.. oh yeah, the $4600/yr mello roos and not getting the $10,000 arnold cash kinda pushed us away as well.
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Carmel II will be next to Keystone based on a previous post. I was at sonoma the other day and they did not know if they would be building on the plots next to them. Those are bigger than the current lots, so i suppose new home designs would be made - TIC does not want to give too much land away.
Yes, we're still in the hunt, too bad Sonoma didn't work out for us.. devoted a lot of time to them. It's hard to justify an upgrade move from a 3bd2.5ba 1500 sq ft. condo to a 3bd2.5ba 2300 sq. ft. SFR. I guess the extra 800 sq. ft was split among the master bedroom, laundry room (too big!), and the great room/kitchen combo. Lack of a TV wall is a negative as well... above the fire place is too high for viewing comfortably in the great room. At least you can watch TV from your dining room. Plan 1 can work out great for empty nesters.. but not for a growing family like mine. Plans 2 and 3 should do well in resale. Plan 1 will be hard. We'll be looking again once the RE bubble in China bursts and there will be less FCB to compete with in Irvine.
nytransplant
New member
Irvine2Irvine said:
Within the first 2 minutes on the first day. Been waiting a while. However, we didn't decide on the plan or lot until later.
nytransplant
New member
new2irvine said:
Thanks. Prices are always relative. Though irvine is still high compared to my parents place in LI.
iacrenter
Well-known member
new2irvine said:
Wow, the TIC builder reps must have loved you. Coming from NYC, your sense of fair pricing and square footage are all messed up. When I first moved here, I loved paying almost $2000K for my 1bd IAC unit with granite counters, community pool/gym/CompRm/ClubHouse, enclosed garage parking, and especially a built-in washer/dryer! I think my NYC sense of RE pricing has changed.
Should we start calling ex-manhattanites something like "FCB" too because their skewed ideas about housing prices are propping up prices? They are like the OC-ites moving to oregon and arizona that thought buying a 400k house was a great deal while the natives thought those people were out of their minds. ITs all relative.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
NYCBs?
It's interesting there are several of you New "Yawkahs" moved here... I guess when others are complaining about the density and lot sizes of Woodbury you guys are thinking that's crazy talk. Heh.
It's interesting there are several of you New "Yawkahs" moved here... I guess when others are complaining about the density and lot sizes of Woodbury you guys are thinking that's crazy talk. Heh.
nytransplant
New member
I must correct your assumptions. I lived in NYC but was raised in Long Island - in a close suburb of NYC. In that suburb you can get a 2300+ sq ft house on a 1/8 of an acre lot for 500K. There are very little planned communities so no HOA's. Instead of mele-roos there is school taxes which sometimes equal the mele-roos.
Let me be clear (to steal a line from our president), Irvine prices are the highest i have ever encountered for a suburb (especially one that is 50+ miles from LA). Unfortunately to get a new traditional SFR (motorcourts excluded) there are not a lot of choices.
Let me be clear (to steal a line from our president), Irvine prices are the highest i have ever encountered for a suburb (especially one that is 50+ miles from LA). Unfortunately to get a new traditional SFR (motorcourts excluded) there are not a lot of choices.
Technically (and this is just my opinion), Irvine (and Santa Ana) is not really the suburbs of LA - we have quite a lot of business here and most people work and live here or nearby.
If you're looking for an LA suburb you're more likely to go someplace like Brea or Cerritos (if you want the higher end) or garden grove/stanton on the cheaper end. And South County feels more like the suburb of SA/Irvine.
There might have been more LA commuters 20 years ago when crime in LA was pretty high and prices in OC were still lower but my gut feeling says that has changed a lot. Its no longer cheaper here than in LA county (Depending on the area), and its certainly more to live in Irvine than it is to live in Cerritos (which is a nice town). When we first moved to OC my dad still commuted to LA and I had a friend who's dad also commuted, but now my dad works her, my friends dad is retired, and my friends that work in LA just moved up there.
If you're looking for an LA suburb you're more likely to go someplace like Brea or Cerritos (if you want the higher end) or garden grove/stanton on the cheaper end. And South County feels more like the suburb of SA/Irvine.
There might have been more LA commuters 20 years ago when crime in LA was pretty high and prices in OC were still lower but my gut feeling says that has changed a lot. Its no longer cheaper here than in LA county (Depending on the area), and its certainly more to live in Irvine than it is to live in Cerritos (which is a nice town). When we first moved to OC my dad still commuted to LA and I had a friend who's dad also commuted, but now my dad works her, my friends dad is retired, and my friends that work in LA just moved up there.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
So we finally went to see Primrose this weekend and decided to give Montecito another look (to see the layout of MTwo) but seeing the prices, it led us back over to Sonoma.
Here is the latest pricing on M and S:
Montecito
1: 747k-757k
2: 802k-806.5k
3: 816k-840k
Sonoma (Phase 13)
1: 778k-782.5k
2: 845.5k-857k
3: 881.5k
I can't believe how high the Plan 2s up on both have gone. It looks like that downstairs bedroom has a $50k+ premium on it. Considering how much they are, we are seriously thinking that Sonoma Plan 1 is the best deal for us, even if we are missing the 4th bedroom. We really like the layout of the downstairs and the upstairs seems less cramped and has the biggest master bedroom.
The prices are still so high but if you want brand new in Irvine, this seems like your only choice. We drove around the neighborhoods and we do like they way they are building out.
So the lots right next to Sonoma off of Rolling Green are going to be Carmel II or Sonoma II? Because Sonoma is in their last phase (14) and then the models row and they said they are done. You usually don't sell the models if you are opening up a 2nd neighborhood unless you are changing the floorplans.
Here is the latest pricing on M and S:
Montecito
1: 747k-757k
2: 802k-806.5k
3: 816k-840k
Sonoma (Phase 13)
1: 778k-782.5k
2: 845.5k-857k
3: 881.5k
I can't believe how high the Plan 2s up on both have gone. It looks like that downstairs bedroom has a $50k+ premium on it. Considering how much they are, we are seriously thinking that Sonoma Plan 1 is the best deal for us, even if we are missing the 4th bedroom. We really like the layout of the downstairs and the upstairs seems less cramped and has the biggest master bedroom.
The prices are still so high but if you want brand new in Irvine, this seems like your only choice. We drove around the neighborhoods and we do like they way they are building out.
So the lots right next to Sonoma off of Rolling Green are going to be Carmel II or Sonoma II? Because Sonoma is in their last phase (14) and then the models row and they said they are done. You usually don't sell the models if you are opening up a 2nd neighborhood unless you are changing the floorplans.
ps99472
New member
irvinehomeowner said:
We seriously considered a Plan 1 at Sonoma but in the end decided not to.. Biggest concern for us is the lack of den/loft/4th bedroom. For this price, we should be able to get one in Irvine, granted it is brand new and nothing beats that.. but the newness will wear off, where as the lack of room will not. Other concerns we have: Sand Canyon noise/pollution, zero lots, lack of diversity? (guessing from the foot traffic). Like I said we were one step away form owning one of these, but after some serious thinking decided not too.. oh yeah, the $4600/yr mello roos and not getting the $10,000 arnold cash kinda pushed us away as well.
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irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
ps99472: So are you still looking?
What gets me is that they really could make more efficient use of their space in Sonoma. The Portisol plans are smaller yet have the same bedroom count so they should have taken that into account. It's really hard for us because we used to own a 2500sft place with 5 bedrooms, a 5-piece 1st floor (to steal a bathroom phrase, it had dining/living/family/kitchen/nook) and a 3CWG. I am still astounded that Carmel sold through at $1m w/out those amenities.
What gets me is that they really could make more efficient use of their space in Sonoma. The Portisol plans are smaller yet have the same bedroom count so they should have taken that into account. It's really hard for us because we used to own a 2500sft place with 5 bedrooms, a 5-piece 1st floor (to steal a bathroom phrase, it had dining/living/family/kitchen/nook) and a 3CWG. I am still astounded that Carmel sold through at $1m w/out those amenities.
usctrojancpa
Well-known member
You aren't alone PS. Just in the past month or so I've had 2 people that signed a contract to buy a Carmel home and a Sonoma home change their mind and contact me in helping them find something that offered them more without having to settle on important preferences. The potential parking problem, lack of a yard, and crazy upgrade prices were the deal breakers for the Carmel buyers and the zero-lot line, noise/dust from Sand Canyon, and small master bedroom were the deal breakers for the Sonoma buyers.ps99472 said:
usctrojancpa
Well-known member
None of my 3 buyers forfeited any of their deposits as they backed out of their contracts within a week of signing them. I'm sure it would have been different if they would have canceled months after they signed their purchase contracts.irvinefan said:
nytransplant
New member
irvinehomeowner said:
Carmel II will be next to Keystone based on a previous post. I was at sonoma the other day and they did not know if they would be building on the plots next to them. Those are bigger than the current lots, so i suppose new home designs would be made - TIC does not want to give too much land away.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
The sales people at Sonoma hemhaw'ed also when I asked about more inventory, which is understandable considering they want to sell their current inventory.
ps99472
New member
irvinehomeowner said:
Yes, we're still in the hunt, too bad Sonoma didn't work out for us.. devoted a lot of time to them. It's hard to justify an upgrade move from a 3bd2.5ba 1500 sq ft. condo to a 3bd2.5ba 2300 sq. ft. SFR. I guess the extra 800 sq. ft was split among the master bedroom, laundry room (too big!), and the great room/kitchen combo. Lack of a TV wall is a negative as well... above the fire place is too high for viewing comfortably in the great room. At least you can watch TV from your dining room. Plan 1 can work out great for empty nesters.. but not for a growing family like mine. Plans 2 and 3 should do well in resale. Plan 1 will be hard. We'll be looking again once the RE bubble in China bursts and there will be less FCB to compete with in Irvine.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
I totally understand that upgrade move. We're currently back in our former home, a 4br/3ba 1800 sft SFR that has a 5-piece 1st floor. We would have to get rid of a dining table and a living room set to move into Sonoma Plan 1. And... no place to put our desk, extra TV and workout equipment... not to mention that when we have the occasional guest over, our kids would either have to bunk together or the guest sleeps in the great room or the Cali room.
It's why there is such a price divergence between the 3br models and the 4br ones.
It's why there is such a price divergence between the 3br models and the 4br ones.