Updated October 29, 2026
Price per square foot is a good way to follow the Irvine market, and a poor way to price one home. Over the 12 months through September 2026, the median Irvine resale sold for $797 a square foot, but a detached home of 2,000 to 2,500 square feet sold for a median $687 a foot in Great Park and $1,202 in Turtle Rock. Even inside one village, smaller homes often sell for more per foot than larger ones. To price a home, start from recent sales of the same type and size in the same community, then look at what surrounds it: the street, the lot, the view, what's next door. That's where much of the difference between similar homes comes from.
Same size, very different price per foot
From Irene and Ricky Zhang's review of CRMLS closed resales in Irvine, October 2025 to September 2026 (1,889 sales, new construction excluded). Detached homes of 2,000 to 2,500 square feet:
Community | Sales | Median $/sq ft | Median price |
|---|---|---|---|
Great Park | 63 | $687 | $1,580,000 |
Portola Springs | 35 | $793 | $1,780,000 |
Northwood | 28 | $809 | $1,800,000 |
Woodbridge | 12 | $853 | $1,843,000 |
Orchard Hills | 20 | $955 | $2,144,000 |
Turtle Rock | 24 | $1,202 | $2,750,000 |
Each figure is the community's own median, so it says nothing about a particular home. But it shows why a citywide number can't be applied to one address. Multiply 2,250 square feet by Irvine's $797 median and you get about $1.8 million, roughly $200,000 above the typical Great Park sale of that size and about $950,000 below the typical Turtle Rock sale.
Larger homes usually sell for less per foot, up to a point
The kitchen, bathrooms and garage cost about the same whether a house is 1,600 or 2,600 square feet, so extra space adds less to the price than the first square feet do. Northwood's detached resales over the same 12 months:
Living area | Sales | Median $/sq ft | Median price |
|---|---|---|---|
Up to 2,000 sq ft | 42 | $885 | $1,365,000 |
2,001 to 2,500 sq ft | 28 | $809 | $1,800,000 |
2,501 to 3,000 sq ft | 23 | $730 | $1,925,000 |
Over 3,000 sq ft | 21 | $799 | $2,700,000 |
If you priced a 2,600-square-foot Northwood home at the $885 a foot that smaller homes get, you'd ask about $2.3 million, while homes that size sold for a median $1,925,000. The largest homes break the pattern, often because they sit on bigger or better lots. Condos and townhomes show the same slide citywide: a median $765 a foot under 1,000 square feet and $658 a foot from 2,000 to 2,499.
Attached and detached aren't the same market
Citywide, detached homes sold for a median $849 a foot and attached homes for $743. The MLS lists many detached homes in Irvine as condominiums because of how the land is owned, so "condo" alone doesn't tell you which is which. Compare detached with detached, and attached with attached.
Where the rest of the difference comes from
Within one community, the price per foot of detached homes still spread widely. In Northwood, the middle 80% of detached sales ran from $683 to $958 a foot; in Turtle Rock, from $978 to $1,405. Much of that gap comes from things square footage doesn't measure:
- What's around the home. A busy street, a back fence on a major road, a view, a park or greenbelt across the street, how close the school is.
- The lot. Corner or interior, flat or sloped, how much usable yard.
- Condition. An updated kitchen and baths, a newer roof or HVAC, or a home that needs work.
- Monthly costs. HOA dues and any Mello-Roos tax change what a buyer can afford at a given price. See what Mello-Roos means when you sell.
- How the square footage was measured. MLS square footage usually comes from county records, and a permitted addition may or may not be in it.
How we use price per square foot
We track Irvine's median price per square foot every week in our market updates, because it shows which way the market is moving. Over the four quarters through September 2026 it went from $801 to $809, $799 and $774. That number also moves with the mix of homes that sold, so it isn't the same as one home gaining or losing value. For an individual home, we look at each community and what's around the home. Every seller gets a written pricing analysis that names the comparable sales before the home goes on the market. See how we choose the right listing price and how Irvine's villages sell differently.
FAQ
What is the median price per square foot in Irvine?
The median Irvine resale sold for $797 a square foot over the 12 months through September 2026: $849 for detached homes and $743 for attached homes. It varies widely by community: for detached homes of 2,000 to 2,500 square feet, from a median $687 in Great Park to $1,202 in Turtle Rock.
Why do smaller homes have a higher price per square foot?
The kitchen, bathrooms, garage and land cost about the same whether a home is large or small, so each extra square foot adds less to the price. In Northwood, detached homes up to 2,000 square feet sold for a median $885 a foot and homes of 2,501 to 3,000 square feet for $730.
Should I price my Irvine home by price per square foot?
Not on its own. Use it to see where the market is heading, then price from recent sales of homes of the same type and similar size in your community, adjusted for location, lot, view and condition.
Does price per square foot include the garage or lot?
Not in the square footage. It's the sale price divided by the living area, so the garage, lot and outdoor space aren't counted in the area, even though they affect the price.
Want to know what your home would sell for, based on the sales that actually compare? Get your home value.
About Irene and Ricky Zhang: RealTrends Verified ranks Irene and Ricky Zhang the #1 small team in Irvine by both sales volume and transaction sides (2026 City Rankings, based on 2025 production). Sales figures are from Irene and Ricky Zhang's review of CRMLS closed resales, October 2025 through September 2026.
