Dana Point Real Estate News

Selling a home can be a tricky thing when looking for the right buyer to buy your home.  From time to time some sellers will offer incentives to help the buyer pick their property over another.  These are often referred to as concessions that are given by the seller to the buyer to put a deal together.  We see this a lot when the real estate market is in a decline and sellers feel the need to offer incentives to get the home sold.  In a strong real estate market it's not very common to see these extra incentives because there potentially may be a large number of buyers who may want to buy your home.

Seller concessions can vary depending on the transition but the most common incentive is to help pay a percentage of the buyers closing costs.  Closing

Having a home with a dedicated wine cellar is truly a luxury item that is often reserve for very large homes that have the extra space to dedicate to the proper climate control storage of wine.  This is not always the case with smaller homes as their are some wine enthusiasts who have dedicated enough space for a wine cellar. Here is our guide on where to find these homes.

The large majority of these can be found in the new community of "The Strand at Headlands."  These are grand newer construction homes that often feature 7,000 to 10,000 square foot homes that are steps away from the sandy beach and Pacific Ocean.  One of the most common features in the Strand homes is having a dedicated wine cellar room.  The below photo was taken from a home in the

As we head towards the end of the year we have seen many record sales.  One of the biggest sales happened last month in the Strand at Headlands community.  The record sale of $23.5 million happened at 39 Strand Beach and accordingly to our MLS the most expensive home ever sold in Dana Point history.  What makes this home so unique and expensive?  First, the location is right next to the sandy beach in one of the top neighborhoods in Dana Point called "The Strand at Headlands."  It's one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Dana Point and has had a total of 4 sales over the $9 million dollar price point.  The home itself was huge which occupied 3 different levels with an estimated 9,300 square feet.  The views could clearly be seen from the upstairs

Many buyers have different things that they are looking for when buying a home.  While the closets are typically not the first on the list, a well organized and carefully planned closet can bring extra dollars when it comes time to sell. Point in case is a new ocean front home in Dana Point, California that was done entirely by California Closets.  The design of this walk-in closet is simple yet elegant.  The rest of the house is very light and bright and located right next to the ocean so the design on this walk-in closet continues with this theme.   The color is Classic White with a large center island and lots of hanging spaces for closets and raised shelving to display shoes as well.  The lighting is the first thing that really creations an impression

With real estate prices increasing in the beach communities it's getting much harder to find condos for under $400,000 in Dana Point, California.  There are still some viable good options available in this price point for 4 condo communities that we can recommend.  It seems like it was only a couple of years ago that many of these same condos were priced in the $300,000 range, a true showing of the appreciation values here in Orange County.  Here is our guide to condos in this price range.

The very first place I always recommend when I learn someone is looking for a property under $500,000 is the Ritz Pointe gated community.  It's really hard to get much better in this price point with several amenities that make it more desirable then the rest on this

Owning a home that's located on a double lot holds a lot of value.  We have seen some really iconic homes that were located on 2 lots be subdivided into two different homes which is really a shame since part of the charm of the home is having the extra land space to really enjoy the Southern California weather and ocean views.  There are still a few homes left that have not been subdivided and still located on double lots. They are few and far between and rarely come on the market for sale.  It's important to note that the price range often reflects the value if the home were subdivided and if two homes were to built in it's place.

A newly listed home in the Lantern Village community has just come on the market and located on a large double lot that

One of the newest neighborhoods in Dana Point, California is the Ocean Del Rey Estates community.  Situated in the upscale Capistrano Beach area of Dana Point is a collection of 10 semi-custom homes that boarder the Seascape Village and Chateau Clemente communities in San Clemente.  It also offers a very close proximity to the bluff front off Camino Capistrano street with a short distance to local restaurants, shopping and the 5 freeway.  

Currently, the first 3 homes have been released for sale and range from $1,995,000 to $2,250,000.  These are large scale homes that range from 3,944 to 4,297 square feet and can include roof top ocean view decks and a basement level which is very rare for homes located in Southern California.  Some of the other

Sometimes finding an ocean view home is not good enough.  The city of Dana Point has many different neighborhoods that offer a wide variety of views from small peek-a-boo to panoramic ocean views.  For those looking for an unobstructed ocean view homes you either have to looking for an ocean front home that can be very expensive and unaffordable to most home buyers.  There are several locations in Dana Point where unobstructed ocean views can be found without breaking the bank.  Here are some of the places we recommend looking.

First, the Lantern Bay Villas complex is a great place to start for finding places in the $1 to 2 million range.  For the most part, there are several condos in this complex that can offer partial to panoramic ocean views.

We get a lot of calls for clients who are currently looking to rent a home but in the near future be able to purchase a property.  They often ask us if the current owner would consider a lease option that would allow them to lease the home and then purchase it at a later date.  This can be a tricky transaction and often should be negotiated by a licensed California real estate agent who has done this before.  The basic concept is to find a rental property that you like and ask the owner if they are open to selling it.  If they say yes then you have the potential to set up a lease option.  Here are the points you want to consider and negotiate.

First, figure out the current value of the home.  This will be important to establish a fair market value

Last weekend I had the opportunity to take a tour of open houses in the Capistrano Beach area of Dana Point and was really amazed how many single family homes are selling for over $1 million dollars.  Capistrano Beach has always been known as a very expensive community due to it's close proximity to beach and located on the ocean side of the 5 freeway.  During the tour I was pleasantly surprised to see quality homes that were actually priced under $1 million and seemed to offer a very good value based on the location and quality of the home.

One of these homes was located at 26761 Calle Maria.  The owners agent quickly let us know that she was selling her parents house which I thought to be very interesting. The home itself was very charming and built