I live at 21 Via Buen Corazon. I bought at 1,150,000 in December 2006. So I'd be out $300,000 after commissions if I had to sell right now, but I have enough skin in the game that I'm not selling. There's plenty of others on my street who paid cash too.
All of my neighbors are great, and I love this neighborhood.
The single best resource for the pricing details of Talega and pricing in Doug Echelberger. Just google his name, then click through to "Talega Info" and then "Greensheet" and you can see all the talega homes for sale separated by tract. People who are buying during the downturn are firming up this neighborhood bringing in cash instead of risking the bank's money.
As far as Careyes, those homes are highly upgraded inside. That's why they are so expensive. It's all relative. I think Careyes and Lucia and even Alta is just "too much" but here I am at Cazadero and everyone that knows me thinks my house it too much. I got used to having a big house full of arcade games since that's how I made my money and was able to afford a house in the first place. Cazadero has big shared areas, big master bedroom, and small bedrooms. I use shared areas for my games, and use my private master for hanging out and watching TV but I think it's really designed for people with lots of elementary school aged children (small secondary bedrooms 2-5 .. big master and shared areas).
For me it's just the cheapest per square foot I could find for a new home for my arcade games and motorcycles.
I don't have any kids myself, but this is a great place for people with elementary school kids. The neighborhood is composed of lots of newer families with elementary school kids. The kids are out playing outside all the time.
Some of the info posted by someone else on this thread who said he rented here is just wrong. For example, it's not 20 degrees hotter up here. Especially on the front sides of the hills we get constant breezes. It's very nice. It is 2-5 degrees hotter no doubt, but 20?
Also, the commute to irvine spectrum for me (where I work) is 22 minutes exactly almost every day and I get 35 mpg in my new car .. I just sold my previous car that I had for 12 years and am not into the fancy car business. But I am having fun trying to get 36 mpg watching the car's computer but not yet - it's another game for me.
I get really put out by people who get on here and other blogs say a bunch of BS but can't back it up, so that's why I posted all this personal info. You can check out my myspace page at www.myspace.com/ahigh and see that I'm for real. If you really want to live in Talega, I think you should just do it. We moved down here in part because we liked talega so much and we had enough money to do it, so we did. I'm not leaving as long as I can stay employed and continue to have more fun working than most people have in their time off and that's that for now.
As far as those who rented over the last 2 years, congratulations to you. I could have rented and not had to work (being bored I expect), but at my work, we're making something really great and having fun, and I would rather work and live this lifestyle contributing towards others having fun playing games than to make money off other people's misery. A lot of people I meet in Orange County (b/c it's so RE focused) just do work that depends on taking other people's money (RE commissions, flipping foreclosures, etc etc). I may never get used to that, and for what it's worth, that's fine for those guys stepping on and getting stepped on, but I thought maybe someone wanted to hear a perspective from someone who plans to stay and doesn't mind working as part of my goals for my life rather than just getting ahead at the expense of the next guy.
The people who live here definitely aren't looking for the cheapest living arrangement. They want to provide a nice lifestyle that includes their kids and they socialize and hang out together all the time. I work all the time and play video games and stuff like that, so I don't hang out with them as much, but it's really like a great community for people with kids.
I hope this helps you decide if Talega is right for you. I definitely could have found a better place to build equity if I were worried more about preserving it instead of living my life. But I think if you might enjoy the Talega lifestyle there aren't very many other places like Talega .. it is what it is. And I like it.
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