Sell Your House Fast in Irvine, CA: A Diverse Haven with Top-Notch Education

A door is opening to a new chapter of your life, and maybe you’re looking at a fast move. Whether you are an empty-nester looking to downsize or a tech professional migrating from Silicon Valley to Silicon Prairie, you are on a mission to sell your house fast in Irvine, California.

With the top-rated schools, exquisite outdoor activities, and close proximity to the best beaches in Orange County, Irvine is an attractive destination for active people and for families, giving you lots of great selling points. “Most of the people that live here are families with children,” says top-selling real estate agent Nagla Ameerally, a team member with Edgar Adame, whose team earned the Sells Homes Fast and Top Producer HomeLight Achievements in 2021.

With 41.16% of it’s population born in another country, Irvine is also incredibly diverse. Irvine boasts the Irvine Global Village Festival, which is Orange County’s long-running annual multicultural bash of arts, food and music. The Irvine area has a lot to offer, and highlighting Irvine features such as these to potential home buyers is a great way to sell your house fast. We’ll show you how to make the most of your home’s features that align with what buyers in the Irvine market are eagerly looking for.

Work with a top agent for a smoother selling experience

Selling fast can be a lot easier when you have experience. According to local data from HomeLight, the top 3% of agents sell an average of almost 5 times more homes than Irvine’s average agent — and they sell homes almost twice as quickly.

We can match you with top agents in the Irvine area with our agent matching platform. It takes just two minutes to match clients with the best real estate agents, who will contact you and guide you through the process. To connect with an agent, simply tell us a little bit about your property (single-family, condo, townhouse, mobile home, commercial, or vacant lot) and how soon you’re looking to sell. From there, you’ll be able to talk with candidates to find the right person for the job. Be sure to ask plenty of questions  — they’ll be more than happy to answer.

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It’s a sellers’ market, but pricing still matters

According to the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency, home sale prices in the Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine metropolitan area were up almost 16% at the end of 2021 compared to a year earlier. However, pricing can still be a major factor in determining how fast your house can sell. Fortunately, setting a listing price correctly is a skill that top agents have honed through their experience. If you’d like an idea of what your home could be worth, our Home Value Estimator pulls market data from multiple trusted sources, though we still recommend working with an agent, who will perform a comparative market analysis as one of the most accurate ways to determine a sale price.

Sell your neighborhood

Irvine abounds with appealing neighborhoods. Here’s a snapshot of just some great areas that can give you an idea of who may be looking to buy, helping you to sell fast:

1. Parasol Park

The median price for real estate in this area is $1,184,225. Most homes here are newer, with over 90% having been built since 1999. Highlight newer features and the lack of big-ticket updates that your home will need. Families especially will appreciate not having to take time from their busy lives settling into a new place, and this way you are more likely to sell your house fast in Irvine.

2. Turtle Rock West

This is one of the more affluent areas in Irvine, with a median home price of $1,564,133. Since homes in this neighborhood tend to be a bit older, with most of them built between 1940 and 1999, you may want to emphasize how your home is brimming with historic charm and is part of an established neighborhood. Also, if you want to sell your house fast in Irvine, make sure that potential buyers are aware that the home has been maintained well over the years.

3. University Park

This is one of the more affordable sections of Irvine, where many students reside. The median home price here is $692,509 and with a vacancy rate of only 6.2%, it’s one of the more in-demand neighborhoods in Irvine.

4. Oak Creek

This section of Irvine has a median home price of $850,455. At 0.00% vacancy, this suburban neighborhood is one of the most in-demand areas for housing in America. The high level of demand here can make selling your house fast in Irvine, CA a bit easier.

Location is one factor that affects housing prices in Irvine, as well as other factors such as size and amenities such as swimming pools and in-law apartments. But no matter what kind of house you have, you can always increase the value by adding upgrades to the kitchen, bedrooms, renovating the landscape, installing energy efficient amenities, etc., as we will discuss.

Showcase a modern interior

Of course, it’s not all about the neighborhood — the specific features of your home, and how you present them, will matter a great deal as well.

When scouring through real estate listings in Irvine, one thing is very clear: open floor plans are what’s happening. And since one common trend in Irvine seems to be mid-century modern homes with an open concept, this allows you to promote both vintage features alongside modern-day preferences, which can help you sell your house fast in Irvine, CA.

Make the most of your backyard

With Irvine being such a family-oriented city, Ameerally says she has noticed that backyards are a primary interest for many buyers, with outdoor entertaining taking on increased importance in recent years. Irvine has a growing scene in the tech industry, and with more people working remotely these days, people are likely to be seeking more space for themselves and their families.  In Irvine, it seems that the more entertainment and playtime-ready your backyard is, the higher the value of your home, therefore making it more likely to sell fast.

1. Highlight the barbecue and patio

“A lot of people are adding the built-in barbecue,” notes Ameerally. To get potential buyers excited about future camaraderie at their new home, stage your backyard with some trendy outdoor barbeque equipment. Some items that are popular right now are parabolic solar cookers and the RIB-O-LATER motorized gourmet rotisserie barbecue.

Half of the respondents from a recent nationwide survey from an Irvine-based plumbing conglomerate, House of Rohl, said that entertaining is at the forefront of their minds when doing home renovations, and this includes outdoor spaces and patio furniture. “For resale, we would recommend very stream-lined and simple furniture that would be appealing to many, which will highlight how the space can be utilized for entertaining and relaxation,” says Suzee Ramirez, a certified landscape designer at Orange County-based Urban Ecology Studio. “We suggest lighter colors for both sun exposure and the fact that it makes the space appear larger.”

Patios can add a huge ‘wow’ factor to any house. Yet research in 2018 from Remodeling Magazine showed that patios have relatively low ROI. So when you are looking to sell your house fast in Irvine, while it may not make sense to install a brand new patio, highlighting an existing patio can really draw in potential buyers. A great suggestion for light-colored and comfortable outdoor patio furniture is the Viribus 5-piece Outdoor Patio Furniture Set. Ramirez also says that in Irvine she is seeing a lot of interest in outdoor gas fireplaces with seating.

2. Don’t forget landscaping!

Landscaping is a surefire way to kick up the curb appeal in your Irvine home, and when it comes to selling your house fast, don’t underestimate the importance of a good first impression. One growing trend for gardens is the use of purple plants that are native to California, such as the Showy penstemon and Snapdragons. Ramirez adds that “jasmine, sage, rosemary and lavender are all very fragrant and inviting plants that are successful in this area.”

For other curb-appeal projects to help sell your house fast, make sure unruly plants are trimmed, give gardens a fresh look with mulch, and consider a powerwash or fresh coat of paint for your house if it’s looking a bit tired.

3. Make your swimming pool a centerpiece

On average, there are 281 sunny days in Irvine a year, and swimming pools are sought after by many buyers in Irvine and California overall. When installing or updating a pool, be aware of the zoning and HOA requirements from the City of Irvine. If your house doesn’t have a pool, Ameeraly says many of the Irvine housing communities have community pools, as well as other activities that you can highlight to potential buyers. “There are parks, children’s parks, water parks. We have a variety of features in Irvine — there’s something for everyone, as they say.” To help sell your Irvine house fast, it’s a good idea to play recreational options, when creating your real-estate ads.

Showcase resilience to climate-related concerns

1. Energy-Efficiency

Last year was a bad year for power outages in California. So installing energy-efficient features in your Irvine home is likely to boost the value and attract buyers. Ameerally says solar roofs have been a popular trend in the houses she sells. Solar can help attract homeowners wishing to have independence from the grid and save on electricity costs. Some other popular energy-efficient features include:

• Amazon Alexa Refrigerators
• Cordless light-filtering cellular shades
• Low-flow showerheads and toilets

2. Protect your property from fire hazards

With wildfires being a hazard in California, one way to attract potential buyers and sell your house fast is to make sure certain fire-proofing measures are taken. If your house has a non-combustible material such as stucco, in order to sell your Irvine house fast, highlight the material’s fire-retardant qualities. Fireproof windows that consist of multi-layered, tempered glass in a steel frame are another effective fire-retardant feature to highlight to potential buyers.

To prevent potential house fires, make sure your furnaces and HVAC systems are in good shape. “The biggest issue with fires and furnaces, I think, are probably with the vent pipes catching combustible materials as the vent pipe goes up through the ceiling and roof structure,” says Orange County-based Certified Home Inspector Scott McMillin. A simple home inspection in Irvine can cost anywhere between $260 to $630, depending on the size of your home. Be sure to mention this to your agent so they can market the fact that your home meets safety standards to prevent house fires.

Get a cash offer to sell your house fast in Irvine, CA

If time is truly of the essence and your main concern is speed and simplicity with the sale of your Irvine home, consider connecting with an investor-friendly agent, or seeking out a cash offer yourself using HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform. Sellers are able to get a competitive cash offer in as little as 48 hours and can close in as little as ten days.

Sell Your Irvine Home Fast With a Cash Offer

Use HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform to sell when you’re ready without the hassle of paying for repairs, prepping for listing, or dealing with showings.

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With these tips, you’ll be well on your way to selling your house fast in Irvine, CA.

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