San Clemente Ocean View Homes

The San Clemente Real Estate market in the last three to four months has been really crazy as buyers are bidding against each other when new listings that are priced well come on the market.  Many thought COVID would bring the real estate market down but it has actually had a reverse effect and the market has never been stronger.  One of the biggest issues is limited inventory which has been a problem for the last two to three years in San Clemente and has become even more limited due to COVID.  What many buyers are doing is looking for homes that are not on the market yet but will be coming on the market soon.  These listings that were once only limited to real estate agents are now available to the general public.

One of the best things you can do

We recently were working with a client who was excited to hear that there was a Life Time Fitness center in San Clemente.  He wanted to look for homes in close proximity to this chain fitness company.  We never realized that there was a huge following up this gym and quickly realized they had other locations in Southern California including Laguna Niguel and La Jolla.  The best place to look for homes within close proximity to the San Clemente location is the Rancho San Clemente area.  In fact, Lime Time Fitness is located at the base of Rancho San Clemente and used to be the old Swim & Tennis Club if you have been here long enough to remember that.  There is even a 24 Hour Fitness Located Near the very end of Rancho San Clemente which is a less

What a difference a couple of months make when looking at San Clemente real estate market.  COVDI19 has really changed the landscape of the marketplace and has actually caused the reverse of what most people think would happen.  We get a lot of calls from buyers thinking they can get a big discount on real estate since they feel the overall economy has taken a hit due to the large number of jobs that were lost.  In fact, the opposite has happened to the real estate market.  The inventory of homes on the market for sale was low before COVID19 and because of the pandemic there are even less sellers wanting to put their home on the market.  Given the high demand of buyers that still want to buy in part to the very low interest rates there is almost a bidding

San Clemente has many different neighborhoods that can offer private backyards if you know where to look.  It seems like the latest trend in real estate is to build new homes close to each other which sometimes seems to come in the lieu of offering privacy between properties.  For the most part it's always best to look in older and more established neighborhoods as these were often built on larger lots.  This is especially true for some sections of the Forster Ranch and neighborhoods by the beach in San Clemente.

The first place we recommend looking is the Forster Ranch of San Clemente.  While this area isn't the oldest community in San Clemente, homes in this area are well known for having large over-sized lots.  This is especially true for the large

If you are considering buying a home in San Clemente then it's still not too late to find a detached home for around $600,000.  Over the last 10 years these numbers have been slowly increasing but there are still some neighborhoods that offer excellent values when looking at detached properties.  One thing to keep in mind that not all detached homes are classified as single family homes and can be considered a residential condo.  This is often done by real estate builders who build a new community but want to save money so they classify the homes as condos to save money.  This doesn't seem to be a big deal since the home has the look and feel of a traditional detached single family home but without the classification.  

A perfect example of this is the

This has been a great year of real estate in San Clemente with over 900 homes selling in this calendar year.  The strength of the economy and the stock market has resulted in a very active market with higher sales than the previous year.  There were a total of seven homes that sold for $4 million dollars or more with the top sale over the $6 million dollar price point.  December is typically one of our slower months but many agents whom I have spoken with think it's been the busiest December that we have had in recent years. Here is a quick guide to the highest homes sales in San Clemente for 2019.

The highest sale this year occurred in the Cyprus Cove community which sold before it even came on the market.  This was a newly designed home by James

There is one thing that is true about real estate no matter where you decide to buy and that is always about location.  You can always change the interior of the home but you can never change the actual location of the land that the property sits on.  This is also true for homes located on a corner lot as these types of properties are considered prime real estate here in San Clemente.  One of the main reasons why homes on corner lots are so desirable is having only one neighbor to the side of you.  If you like having extra privacy then this is type of property that will give you the extra space that you are looking for.

There are also other factors as well.  Homes on corners lots tend to be typically larger than other neighboring lots.  Often times

The San Clemente historic home tour is set to take place next month on October 12, 2019. This year will feature a tour of 9 historic properties here in San Clemente.  San Clemente has a very small number of historic properties still in existence so a chance to visit nine different properties is a rare opportunity.  The San Clemente historical society is now offering advance tickets for those who would like to attend.  Currently tickets are being sold at $30.00 per person or $100 for 4 tickets.  This changes on the day of the event which increases to $40 per person.

The tour details of which properties will be on the tour have not been released yet but will be sent via email once tickets have been purchased.  It's important to note that the tour will

The long anticipated development of this community has finally come to life with 3 homes being released on to the market in the Socorro Shores neighborhood.  I received a call on this development many years ago as they were trying to figure out how much homes would sell for in this area.  At the time the Sea Summit community located next door had not even started development so it was tough to gauge exactly what homes would sell for.  Since the Sea Summit neighborhood is heading towards it's final stages of selling out it makes sense that there are enough comps to support a brand new construction home with over 4,000 square feet on the north side of San Clemente.

Socorro Shores is a combination of 9 luxury homes located on Via Socorro street in San

When I first got into real estate over 20 years ago I always heard the word "turnkey" and had no idea what people were talking about.  It seems like its a favorite word among real estate agents for describing a home that is in excellent condition.  it wasn't later that it was explained to me that it literally meant turn the key in the door and leave without any concern about something falling apart or not working correctly.  Once I got this explanation it started to make sense but I still feel like it's a word that is over used by the real estate community.

Nevertheless, it's a short way to describe a home that needs little to no work done on the home.  Basically, bring your touthbrush and move right in.  This is especially true to describe condos in

We have many clients who are looking for a highly upgraded home with modern finishes in a turnkey condition.  While there are many homes that have been completely renovated there is nothing like a brand new home that offers everything that a client is looking for.  Model homes tend to offer these amenities and one of the best places to look is the brand new Sea Summit community in San Clemente which offers 4 unique neighborhoods that typically have 3 model homes to display various floor plans that each specific neighborhood has to offer.

A perfect example of a model home that is offered for sale in Sea Summit is the home located at 123 Via San Sebastian in San Clemente.  It's located in the most expensive Indigo neighborhood and was the "Residence 2"

San Clemente is a small beach town filled with many great neighborhoods and homes.  For the most part real estate tends to be less expensive the neighboring cities to the north like Dana Point & Laguna Beach.  In years past we have seen some pretty big sales that have sold for over $7.5 million dollars with home located in upscale ocean front communities like Cotton Point Estates, the former neighborhood of the Western Nixon White House.  In 2018, real estate sales have gone up to $4.1 million dollars as the highest sale this year here in San Clemente.  The sale occurred 4008 Calle Marlena which closed escrow on 08/19/2018 and located in the guard gated Cyprus Shore community in the Southwest San Clemente.  

The home was situated on Calle Marlena

San Clemente has several areas and neighborhoods of homes that can accommodate RV Parking.  One of the first areas that comes to mind is the Forster Ranch area of San Clemente.  One of the reasons that this is the #1 area is due to the age of these homes.  Many of the homes in the Forster Ranch area where built in the 1970's when homes were not built so close together and tend to be located on large over-sized lots.  Many of the lots have special driveways that can accommodate RV Parking directly on the home which is ideal for those who own RV homes.  There are also neighborhoods like Tocayo Canyon in Forster Ranch that have dedicated areas for RV parking.  The best part about the Forster Ranch area is that home prices tend to be much more affordable than

San Clemente has a wide variety of housing types that include single family homes, condos, townhouses, mobile homes and PUD homes.  What is exactly is a PUD home?  To be honest with you, most local real estate agents here in San Clemente would not have an answer to that question as well.  PUD stands for a Planned Unit Development.  These homes are often detached properties that have been give the tax classification of a PUD home instead of a traditional single family home.  This is also common in detached properties that are classified as condos even though the have the look and feel of a traditional single family home.  Often times this is done for tax reasons and the necessary permits that are required between a condo or a single family home.  When a

Buena Vista is an ocean front street located in the north area of San Clemente.  One of the best values along this street are the condos located at 1412 Buena Vista.  Even though the condos are not located on the bluff front side of the street many of the condos have direct ocean views as the steps leading down to the beach are located directly in front of these condos which affords direct views.  Many also love this building for it's low price point with condos often selling for under one million dollars.  There are only 10 units located here with 5 located on the upper level and 5 located down below.  Units in this complex come with a detached garage and can offer high ceilings, open floor plan, outdoor deck or patio and a custom fireplace.  There is

One of the best attractions in San Clemente is visiting the historic Casa Romantica home in San Clemente that sits majestically above the San Clemente Pier.  In recent weeks there has been a huge television campaign letting people know that the historic home built in 1927 is now open to the public.  The home belonged to the founder of San Clemente, Ole Hanson, who kept this home as his personal residence when building many of the homes built in the 1920's and 30's in San Clemente.  It's best well known for it's "key hole" entrance as pictured below and it's large interior courtyards.

The actual living quarters are modest but still large for it's time with large bathrooms and walk-in closets.  The biggest attraction is the main living room with soaring

It's hard to beat living in a private gated community by the beach in Southern California.  That's the story of the ultra-exlcusive Cyprus Shore ocean front community that offers a prime location that's within walking distance to world famous Trestle surf break.  Of course, not everyone can afford an ocean front estate home that currently starts at just under $16 million dollars.  For those buyers looking for a good deal with homes still offering a view of the Pacific Ocean are in luck as real estate prices are much lower.  Here is a quick guide on where to look at how much ocean view homes will cost in the Cyprus Shore community.

First, the neighborhood is very small with homes located on the ocean front street of Calle Ariana and Calle Alicia.  There

It's hard to find any new community in Southern California being built that doesn't have the added Mello Roos bond attached to it.  For those new to the California real estate market the word "Mello Roos" will be an unfamiliar term, as it was when I first moved here to California.  In essence, a Mello Roos bond is typically a monthly fee that is paid on top of any homeowners association fee and any individual mortgage.  For the most part this is only associated with new communities as you rarely see Mello Roos tax on older homes.  In San Clemente, the most popular area to find Mello Roos is the Talega area which features over 40 communities that all have the added Mello Roos bond fee.  Mello Roos bonds are normally around 30 years and the fee goes towards

Real Estate agents have a special day when they get to preview brand new listings that come on the market in the San Clemente real estate market place.  This is called "broker preview" since real estate agents and brokers have the ability to view a large number of listings in a short four period.  Often times, agents will spend just a couple minutes looking at a property and then drive on to the next property.  This allows them to be able to see a large number of properties so they are better able to identify properties that may work for their clients.

The dates for properties located in San Clemente, Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano is every Wednesday from 9:30am to 1:30pm. Buyers are also welcome to attend these open houses and can quickly view a

The Sea Ridge Estates community is one of the best kept secrets for finding large estate homes with wonderful ocean and canyon views.  The neighborhood is quietly located behind the gates of the ocean view street of Avenida Salvador in San Clemente.  Here you will find 44 luxury homes that have been built for the last 27 years.  The average size home in Sea Ridge Estates is about 4,500 square feet with a total of four bedrooms and four baths.  It's not uncommon to find homes up to 6,000 square feet which are some of the largest in this community.  Real Estate prices for a 4,000 square foot home is normally priced around the $2 million dollar price point with larger homes topping the $3 million dollar price point.  We did a quick search to see what has