Woodbury vs Stonegate

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Apple97

New member
Hi we recently relocated to irvine and are looking at either a resale in Woodbury or new home in stonegate.  We have looked at other neighborhoods too but both of these are our favorite so far.  We also are choosing between these 2 communities because we have some friends in the area who live here.  We have taken input from them, but would appreciate any other advice we can get. 

We are a family of 4 with 2 young kids under 3 yrs.  One of the reasons we moved to irvine is for the schools.

Any input would be appreciated.  Thanks.
 
Also I forgot to mention that we have seen homes in these communities that fit in our budget of $800k to $900k.  We like that Stonegate elementary is within stonegate, but we like the vibe at Woodbury and it's proximity to Woodbury center. 
 
I like the overall community design and central location of Woodbury much better; only advantage in SG is the elementary school plus houses are newer.

Woodbury elementary while not a top school in Irvine, is still pretty good compared to the rest of Orange County. Since both feed into the same middle and high schools, I think the difference in schools is quite miniscule.

Unless you prefer brand new with custom design, Woodbury is a better choice.
 
Stonegate has options to buy new. If you are set on buying resale I'd go with Woodbury:

- More ethnically diverse
- Better amenities
- Better location
- More choices in home layout / design (there is only one builder in Stonegate)

For us the floor plan and price were very important. If they are to you, you may find a better floor plan for a better price in Stonegate.

Walking to the Woodbury Village Center is overrated since most of Woodbury is a long walk away and you'll drive anyways. If you don't mind a long walk, most of Stonegate is still within walking distance.
 
Apple97 said:
Hi we recently relocated to irvine and are looking at either a resale in Woodbury or new home in stonegate.  We have looked at other neighborhoods too but both of these are our favorite so far.  We also are choosing between these 2 communities because we have some friends in the area who live here.  We have taken input from them, but would appreciate any other advice we can get. 

We are a family of 4 with 2 young kids under 3 yrs.  One of the reasons we moved to irvine is for the schools.

Any input would be appreciated.  Thanks.
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Woodbury has the better vibe with more trees as it's a more mature neighborhood.  Also, you will find more choice of resale homes at WB as there are more resale listings in your budget range.  SG elementary is higher ranked (#1 in OC) which might be good for your kids later (if ranking does not change).  I wonder how WB or SG compare in regards to HOA/Mello-Roos that are in your price range.  If someone knows, please post.

If you are looking for a new home in SG with a budget between $800k and $900k, which is Saratoga, they are Sold Out.  Cambria is probably too small for you (almost sold out too) and Mendocino with upgrades is at >=$1mm.  Arcadia starts at $1.2mm.  I don't think you can get a new home right now at SG near that budget range unless they are building similar homes to Saratoga or San Mateo near the corner in Jeffrey and Port.  However, I think this might be Aracdia extension or higher priced homes as it's adjacent to JOST that would demand higher premium.
 
Irvinecommuter said:
test said:
FCB prefer new construction.  Location wise CV > WB > SG > PP > PS/LR
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I think you're the only person who would put CV above WB or SG locationwise.
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Test says closer to highway = better. A lot of buyers in the 900k price range don't mind paying $0.80 to use the 133 which is convenient from Stonegate and PP in particular.
 
Goriot said:
Apple97 said:
Hi we recently relocated to irvine and are looking at either a resale in Woodbury or new home in stonegate.  We have looked at other neighborhoods too but both of these are our favorite so far.  We also are choosing between these 2 communities because we have some friends in the area who live here.  We have taken input from them, but would appreciate any other advice we can get. 

We are a family of 4 with 2 young kids under 3 yrs.  One of the reasons we moved to irvine is for the schools.

Any input would be appreciated.  Thanks.
Click to expand...

Woodbury has the better vibe with more trees as it's a more mature neighborhood.  Also, you will find more choice of resale homes at WB at their are more resale listings in your budget range.  SG elementary is higher ranked which might be good for your kids later (if ranking does not change).  I wonder how WB or SG compare in regards to HOA/Mello-Roos that are in your price range.  If someone knows, please post.

If you are looking for a new home in SG with a budget between $800k and $900k, which is Saratoga, they are Sold Out.  Cambria is probably too small for you (almost sold out too) and Mendocino with upgrades is at >=$1mm.  Arcadia starts at $1.2mm.  I don't think you can get a new home right now at SG near that budget range unless they are building similar homes to Saratoga or San Mateo near the corner in Jeffrey and Port.  However, I think this might be Aracdia extension or higher priced homes as it's adjacent to JOST that would demand higher premium.
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There are some Saratoga and San Marcos resale that are around that price range.

Too tired to rehash all the arguments regarding neighborhood but I would say that both have pros and cons.  IMO

Woodbury:

Pros:

A lot of variety of homes
A lot of resale (choices)
Mature neighborhood
Better amenities in connection with the pools and clubhouse.
Woodbury shopping center.
Location

Cons:

Woodbury Elementary (it's still a very good school, just not as good as Stonegate)
Really big neighborhood with a lot of weird streets (easy to get lost).

Stonegate:

Pros:
New homes (some still available)
Stonegate Elementary
Relatively simple layout
Less dense than Woodbury (yes, it's actually less dense).

Cons:
Location
Stop signs (yes they're that annoying)
not much variety of homes/re-sale.

Ultimately, you need to get a feel of both neighborhoods and see what you like.
 
paperboyNC said:
Irvinecommuter said:
test said:
FCB prefer new construction.  Location wise CV > WB > SG > PP > PS/LR
Click to expand...

I think you're the only person who would put CV above WB or SG locationwise.
Click to expand...

Test says closer to highway = better. A lot of buyers in the 900k price range don't mind paying $0.80 to use the 133 which is convenient from Stonegate and PP in particular.
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There is closer to the highway (WB compared to SG) and then there is right next to the highway (CV).  Also, CV gets a lot of congestion with the middle school, the highway entrances, and the shopping center (which was way too many lights).
 
Stonegate has the best elementary school in all of OC. The homes are newer so they will retain their value better than Woodbury as they are nearing 7 or more years old. A big turn off to buyers is when a home is in that in between stage, not old enough to rip out and replace, but obviously looks dated from a design/trend perspective.

I looked at many homes at Woodbury before buying Stonegate and I was underwhelmed by Woodbury. As someone said, it's very dense. For equal price, you can get new or 1 year old resale at Stonegate.

I bike to Woodbury Square from Stonegate all the time and it's literally 5-7 minutes. So the distance is not at all an issue. They recently opened up that new road into Stonegate from Jefferey. Makes the commute really easy!

Good luck!
 
I agree with test that being closer to the freeway has a much higher value in today's world compared to traditionally. Younger generation now desire to cut commute time by living closer to the freeway or right next to work, and these younger generation are going to be your home buyers down the line. However, half of the CV is right up against the freeway which makes WB a more ideal location. I believe the location rankings should be as follows: WB > CV > SG > PP > PS/LR

So to Apple 97's point, unless getting a brand new house is a huge plus, go with the better location in WB.
 
irvineguy said:
I agree with test that being closer to the freeway has a much higher value in today's world compared to traditionally. Younger generation now desire to cut commute time by living closer to the freeway or right next to work, and these younger generation are going to be your home buyers down the line. However, half of the CV is right up against the freeway which makes WB a more ideal location. I believe the location rankings should be as follows: WB > CV > SG > PP > PS/LR

So to Apple 97's point, unless getting a brand new house is a huge plus, go with the better location in WB.
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I think living closer to Freeway is more of a personal preference.  Reason we didn't buy in CV was because it was too close to Freeway and there are no high end homes there >Mulberry which could hurt in the long-run in regards to retaining value.  However, you have the convenience of walking distance to both Elem. and Middle school. Every neighborhood has pros and cons.

Apple 97's primary reason for moving to Irvine is for the School for their <3 year olds.  Thus, this should be given the most weight.  SG and WB elementary school are both good, but SG is ranked higher and more reputable.  CV to SG is literally about 1 to 1.5 miles and WB and SG is like 0.25 miles apart.  Not enough to make much of a difference in regards to commute.  Not sure if Apple 97 is planning to stay in the same location when their kids reach middle/high school, but both WB and SG will zone to new high school and Jeffrey Trail Middle School.

I think it's just best for Apple 97 to hang out at both neighborhoods (walk and drive around) during the day and night and get a good feel for what you like as most of it is personal preference.  Personally, I like the openness of SG that is far enough from congestion and freeway but not too far.

In regards to comparing neighborhoods, arguments can go on and on based their own preferences and biased opinions.  Best is to just compare the average sale Price/Sqft adjusted for MR/HOA differences and compare the pricing to see which neighborhood demands higher premium few years from now.  I think CV/WB/SG will be all similar in Price/Sqft in 5 years from now.  At end of the day $$$ talks.

 
Goriot said:
irvineguy said:
I agree with test that being closer to the freeway has a much higher value in today's world compared to traditionally. Younger generation now desire to cut commute time by living closer to the freeway or right next to work, and these younger generation are going to be your home buyers down the line. However, half of the CV is right up against the freeway which makes WB a more ideal location. I believe the location rankings should be as follows: WB > CV > SG > PP > PS/LR

So to Apple 97's point, unless getting a brand new house is a huge plus, go with the better location in WB.
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I think living closer to Freeway is more of a personal preference.  Reason we didn't buy in CV was because it was too close to Freeway and there are no high end homes there >Mulberry which could hurt in the long-run in regards to retaining value.  However, you have the convenience of walking distance to both Elem. and Middle school. Every neighborhood has pros and cons.

Apple 97's primary reason for moving to Irvine is for the School for their <3 year olds.  Thus, this should be given the most weight.  SG and WB elementary school are both good, but SG is ranked higher and more reputable.  CV to SG is literally about 1 to 1.5 miles and WB and SG is like 0.25 miles apart.  Not enough to make much of a difference in regards to commute.  Not sure if Apple 97 is planning to stay in the same location when their kids reach middle/high school, but both WB and SG will zone to new high school and Jeffrey Trail Middle School.

I think it's just best for Apple 97 to hang out at both neighborhoods (walk and drive around) during the day and night and get a good feel for what you like as most of it is personal preference.  Personally, I like the openness of SG that is far enough from congestion and freeway but not too far.

In regards to comparing neighborhoods, arguments can go on and on based their own preferences and biased opinions.  Best is to just compare the average sale Price/Sqft adjusted for MR/HOA differences and compare the pricing to see which neighborhood demands higher premium few years from now.  I think CV/WB/SG will be all similar in Price/Sqft in 5 years from now.  At end of the day $$$ talks.
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Agreed with most part but some parts are missing the point. Of course living closer to the freeway is a personal preference, just like living in the city vs suburbs vs farm land, but one should not ignore the recent trend that more and more of the younger generation now prefer closer rather than farther. The lack of high end neighborhoods in CV could very well hurt it's resell value, but that has nothing to do with its location - and location is what we are talking about. It is up to the individual to decide whether that quarter mile difference between Woodbury and Stonegate makes a difference, but to myself and others I know living in Irvine including SG residents, Woodbury is considered the better location. All 3 of my co-workers living in SG feel that SG is a bit too far out, not to mention it being closer to the landfill. Everyone has their own reasons and preferences or even point systems in purchasing a house, but it's hard to argue that WB isn't a better location than SG.
 
Thank you everyone for all the information.  Some things I did not realize is that all the homes are by one builder in Stonegate which is Irvine Pacific.  Also, I did not know that Stonegate Elementary is #1 elementary in OC.  We are leaning towards Woodbury since we like the vibe and there is more to choose from in resale vs trying to get an affordable new home in Stonegate.  And your money gets a lot more there vs at Stonegate.  What may work for us in Stonegate is to find a resale home within our price range.  The biggest selling factor for us for Stonegate is that Stonegate elementary is within the community.
I also feel that being closer to the freeway is something we look for too.  We also really like to be close to retail center for grocery shopping, pharmacy, take out food, etc. especially with my young children I do not have time to drive around.  This is why having Woodbury center nearby is helpful.
One concern we have with Stonegate is the landfill.  What are your views on this?  Anybody living in Stonegate experiencing any problems due to the landfill?
 
Irvineguy,

In response to younger generation - >80% of the SG residents are young families.
In response to WB being a better location -> I screened for sold homes between $600,000 and $1,250,000 in the past 3 months (Only Resales).

WB (27 transactions) - Average and median Price / Sqft = $408 and $393 / sqft
SG (12 transactions) - Average and median Price / Sqft = $439 and $434 / sqft

Doesn't better location = higher Price / Sqft??



 
Keep in mind SG elem could change quite a bit when all the PS kids go to their own PS elem. Might become less diverse for one thing.
 
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