Newport Beach | $2.995 Million
A 1940 cottage with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a studio guesthouse with one bathroom, on a 0.1-acre lot
Balboa Island is a community with a small-town feel within the city of Newport Beach. This recently renovated house, which has been in the same family for decades, is a few blocks from Marine Avenue, a thoroughfare with numerous businesses, including an Italian restaurant, beachwear shops and a retro-style candy store. It is less than 10 minutes from the Fashion Island shopping mall and Corona del Mar, a popular shopping and nightlife hub.
Irvine is a 20-minute drive; downtown Los Angeles is about an hour away.
Size: 1,904 square feet
Price per square foot: $1,573
Indoors: Behind a white picket fence is a stone patio in front of the house with a fire pit and room for a dining table and chairs.
The front door opens into a living area with new white oak floors, a fireplace and a staircase to the second floor with a full bathroom tucked behind it.
Beyond is an open dining area with a built-in home-office setup along one wall and folding glass doors that open to another patio. The adjacent kitchen has new appliances and a center island topped with quartz.
All three bedrooms are upstairs. They share a bathroom with a combined tub and shower.
A guesthouse across the patio, updated during the recent renovation, is laid out as a studio apartment, with a bathroom behind a farmhouse-style door.
Outdoor space: The brick patio off the dining area has room for separate dining and lounge areas. The garage, accessible from the patio, holds one car.
Taxes: $37,440 (estimated)
Contact: Ryan Gunderson, The Gunderson Group, 949-873-3841; 305apolena.com
Larkspur | $2.995 Million
A 2016 house with four bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms, on a 0.2-acre lot
This house is in one of the few relatively new developments in Marin County, with views of the local ferry terminal and San Francisco Bay. It is a five-minute drive from restaurants and wine bars in the center of the city.
Traveling by boat to San Francisco from the ferry terminal takes about half an hour, making Larkspur an appealing location for commuters looking to minimize the time spent in cars. The East Bay cities of Berkeley and Oakland are about a 25-minute drive, and the parklands surrounding Mount Tamalpais are as close as 20 minutes away.
Size: 3,382 square feet
Price per square foot: $886
Indoors: The house is near the top of a hill, with a driveway ascending from the street to the front entrance and a brick path leading to a patio big enough for outdoor entertaining.
The front door opens into a long foyer with engineered wood floors that continue into an open living area with a fireplace and large windows facing the hilly Marin landscape. There is space for a dining table between the sitting area and the kitchen, which has stainless steel appliances and an oversized center island with a cooktop. Off the kitchen are a walk-in pantry; a wine room that holds more than 1,000 bottles; a powder room; and a storage closet.
A full bedroom suite is on this floor, off the living room. The bedroom comfortably holds a king-size bed, and the bathroom has a porcelain soaking tub. Sliding-glass doors open to a deck with a hot tub.
Three more bedrooms are on the second floor, including the primary suite, which has a private deck with mountain views and a bathroom with a long, marble-topped vanity. The other two bedrooms share a hallway bathroom.
One side of this level functions as a den, with a built-in entertainment center that holds a television and books or CDs.
Outdoor space: The stone patio off the kitchen and dining area offers views of the small yard, landscaped with native plants, and Mount Tamalpais beyond. The brick patio in front has a wood pergola for shade. The attached garage holds two cars.
Taxes: $37,440 (estimated) and a $335 monthly homeowner association fee
Contact: Tyler Grossman, Compass, 415-686-4451; compass.com
Sacramento | $2.999 Million
A French country-style house built in 1936, with three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a guesthouse with a kitchen and one bathroom, on a 0.9-acre lot
This home’s location is an ideal mix of city and country: It is less than 10 miles from downtown Sacramento and the California State Capitol, but also within two miles of the banks of the American River, where there are trails for walking, biking and horseback riding, as well as spots for launching river rafts and kayaks.
Valley Oak Park, which has a playground and a baseball diamond, is a few blocks away, and a shopping center with a Whole Foods grocery store is a five-minute drive. Rio Americano High School, a public school, and Jesuit High School, a private Catholic school, are both less than a mile away.
Size: 2,937 square feet
Price per square foot: $1,021
Indoors: The front door, framed by a wood-shingled portico, opens into a foyer with hardwood floors and exposed ceiling beams. This space flows into a living room with a brick fireplace and glass doors that open to a dining room with brick floors and cedar ceilings.
Off the other side of the living room is another sitting area with built-in bookshelves. Around the corner is the kitchen, which is also accessible from the foyer. It has a range hood forged by the Arts and Crafts designer Gustav Stickley and a copper sink surrounded by stone countertops; appliances include a Sub-Zero refrigerator with cabinet-style doors.
All three bedrooms are on the second floor. The primary suite has access to a wraparound porch with views of the pool and the backyard; the primary bathroom has a soaking tub and a separate glass-walled shower. The bedroom next door is used as a walk-in closet. At the opposite end of this level is the third bedroom, which has an en suite bathroom. The third full bathroom is on the first floor.
The two-story guesthouse has a one-bedroom apartment with a kitchen and recently updated bathroom on the first floor. The second floor could be used as a work space.
Outdoor space: The property includes a swimming pool with a waterfall feature; a lawn shaded by mature trees that backs up to a barn with a chicken coop; and a group of raised garden boxes. The 16-car detached garage has its own bathroom.
Taxes: $37,488 (estimated)
Contact: Iman Turminini, Nick Sadek Sotheby’s International Realty, 650-796-3387; sothebysrealty.com
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