All Blog Entries by Sam Smith

Niguel Shores in Dana Point, California is made up of a lot of different neighborhood that are within the guard gated entrance.  A very nice community called "The Villas" is located across the street from the main Niguel Shores neighborhood and has it's own individual gated entrance off Selva Road which is commonly known as the "Garibaldi Entrance" as pictured below.  The Villas are one story Spanish style homes located on four small individual cul-de-sac streets with attached garages and interior courtyards.  Built in the late 1970's, these homes have a lot of character and charm with vaulted ceilings, outdoor decks with properties located around the permitter offering wonderful ocean and Catalina Island views.

Real Estate prices for the Villas are

Monarch Bay is one of the more exclusive gated neighborhoods in Dana Point and is one of the most expensive ocean front communities.  Only a small select homes will be located on the bluff front which resides next to the "Three Arch Bay" community to the north and the Ritz Carlton neighborhood called "Ritz Cove" to the south.  These are often understated homes that are single level and located on large over-sized lots.  Many of the bluff front properties have coastline and white water views looking towards the San Clemente area.  

The Monarch Bay community has had an interesting period in the last 5 years with the owners being able to purchase the land from underneath their homes.  We discussed this issue in a previous article which talked about the

The Lantern Bay Villas condo complex is one of the closest communities near the Dana Point Harbor and Doheny Beach.  Situated on the ocean side of Pacific Coast Highway and a half a block to the harbor is a large complex that is well known for their ocean and harbor views.  The complex sits directly across the street from the Lantern Bay Estates community and offers two to four bedroom condos with select units offering views of the Pacific Ocean.  This a gated neighborhood with units offering dual master suites, nine foot ceilings and gourmet kitchens with formal dining rooms.  The interiors often include living room fireplaces, air-conditining and private balconies.

Ocean Views come at a premium in Lantern Bay Villas since a large majority of the

Dana Point has seen some great home sales in 2014 with the highest sale coming in at $9.4 million dollars in the luxury Ritz Cove community.  The home pictured below featured four large bedrooms, four baths and 5,200 square feet of living space.  It was situated on the front row and featured direct ocean and park views.  The upstairs suite was located on the second level and had it's own private balcony.  The interior was equally stunning with a spiral staircase, soaring ceilings and classic Mediterranean arches to carve out the view.  The Ritz Cove community is a 24 hour guard gated community that is located adjacent to the 5 star Ritz Carlton hotel.  It's considered one of the premier oceanfront communities in Dana Point and holds the prize for having

Diamond Ridge Estates is one of the most exclusive gated neighborhoods in the Dana Hills area of Dana Point, California.  The community was built in two sections and has two individual neighborhoods within the gated compound as commonly known as Diamond Ridge Estates I & II.  Diamond Ridge I homes were the earlier homes built in this community and constructed between 1999 to 2001.  The majority of the homes are around 4,000 square feet and occupy the best ocean view streets known as Catherine Way and Holtz Hill Drive.  On average only one property will come on the market every year here and normally be priced between one to $1.2 million dollars.  

Diamond Ridge 2 homes are were built at a later time with construction between 2001 to 2002.  This is a

The Stratford at Pacific community offers a very unique beach close location in Dana Point is a great place to find one and two story homes for sale for under $900,000.  Situated between Del Obispo street and the San Juan creek near Stonehill Drive is a small non-gated neighborhood called "Stratford at Pacific."  These are quality homes that were built in the early 1980's and feature a large number of single level homes.  One of the best selling points for living here is the location.  The neighborhood sits next to Creekside Park and the San Juan Creek which has a direct trail that leads to the beach.  This is a very easy 10 to 15 minute walk to the beach and the Dana Point Harbor with major streets to cross.  The newly built Dana Point entrance cross

La Cresta Gardens is a small condo building consisting of 15 individual units.  The condos are located in the heart of the Lantern Village area and just minutes to the beach and the Dana Point Harbor.  This is a great area that allows an easy walk to the newly renovated downtown area of Dana Point that is filled with many great restaurants and small boutique retail stores and business's.  La Cresta Gardens is an older building that was built in 1962 that offers two and three bedroom condos that can offer small patio backyards, indoor fireplace and peek views of the ocean.

The exterior building architecture is in the Bungalow style with smooth stucco walls and craftsman details.  The interiors have nice vaulted ceilings giving an extra illusion of space

The Palisades community is an eclectic area filled with custom homes situated near the beach in the Capistrano Beach area of Dana Point.  The Palisades neighborhood is very unique and considered the most expensive area in Capistrano Beach due to the prime location and large scale homes that can be found here.  One of the most visited location at the Palisades neighborhood is Pine's Park.  Many residents and tourists alike visit this location for it's oceanfront views and park like setting.  Homes in this community can have nice views ocean, white water and Catalina Island views but usually will command a big premium in price.

When looking in this area the best place to find ocean view properties is on the streets called "Camino Capistrano" and "Doheny

One of the great places in Dana Point to find golf course view condo is in the Tennis Villas condo complex.  Situated in the exclusive Monarch Beach area of Dana Point and adjacent to the St. Regis hotel are luxury golf course view condos.  The condos sit next to the Monarch Beach golf links that runs directly next to the community and continues down to the Pacific Ocean through the Ritz Cove neighborhood.  Condos located on the north wing of the community directly face the golf course and the city of Laguna Beach.  

Real Estate prices have gone up in the last year with current real estate prices starting at $639,000 and going as high as $769,000.  Golf course view condos start at $729,000 and have views similar to the photo below.  All of these units

The headlands is one of the most recognizable spots in the Dana Point area and can be seen for miles down the San Clemente coastline.  The Dana Headlands area is a special area where cliff formations have jetted out into the ocean creating a focal point and incredible coastline views with the Dana Point Harbor to the south and the Strand located to the North.  Homes and condos located at the very tip of this area is called the Dana Headlands and is arguably that best place to find ocean view properties in Dana Point.  

For the most part, the Dana Headlands is filled with individual condos that are perched at the very top of the cliffside and overlook Strands Beach and the Monarch Beach coastline.  Views of the Ritz Carlton, and Monarch Bay area can