Santa Ana, CA Real Estate

Santa Ana is the heart of Orange County. Its county seat and largest city, Santa Ana has housing possibilities from turn of the century bungalows to brand new live-work loft condos. The center of the city has one of the county’s largest old downtowns. For years, this was the place where families did their shopping along Main and Fourth streets and bought cars along First Street.

The city has matured, but the downtown is undergoing a renaissance with new restaurants and art galleries taking the place of Woolworth’s and Grants. In fact one of the attractions of the downtown is the Artist’s Village, which includes the graduate studios for Cal State Fullerton and trendy cafes surrounding it. There are several live-work loft developments in this area that provide opportunities to establish an art studio, gallery, professional office or other business on the ground floor and live above. Another group of lofts is being developed adjacent to the Santa Ana train station – one way to beat the high cost of gas!

The city extends south, almost to South Coast Plaza and there are newer condos and apartments in that neighborhood. Throughout the city, there are opportunities to find fixer-upper properties of almost any size or age. North of Seventeenth Street, you will find the city’s most prestigious neighborhood – Floral Park – an enclave of mansions and mini-mansions, most dating from the 1920’s to the 1940’s, with one new development of large homes just to the north, bordering the 5 Freeway.

The “Museum District” in the north end of the city includes Bowers Museum, a historical and cultural museum that often features travelling exhibitions, and the Discovery Science Center, a children’s museum. Within the Museum District are many opportunities to purchase and rehab a 1900’s home – either large or small, either as a place to live or place of business.

Historic French Park is a neighborhood of 1880’s homes within walking distance of the downtown, most of which have been painstakingly restored. Other well-kept neighborhoods include Washington Square, Wilshire Square and Eastside. The city of Santa Ana has encouraged homeowners to form neighborhood councils to promote improvement and preservation. The city also offers attractive improvement loans for qualifying residences.

Santa Ana’s major shopping area is Westfield Main Place, anchored by Macy’s and Nordstrom. A major office building, One Broadway Plaza at the corner of Broadway and 10th Street will be the tallest in the OC at 37 stories.

One advantage of living and/or working in Santa Ana is its proximity to almost everything. The 5, 22, 55 and 57 freeways all run through town, so you never have to go long distances on surface streets to get to an onramp. Santa Ana’s train station is served by both Amtrak with direct trains to San Diego and Northern California as well as connections in Los Angeles to the East. Metrolink commuter trains also stop here and the county has plans to expand the commuter runs to every half hour from early morning to midnight. John Wayne Airport with flights nationwide is nearby.

Househunters should note that several large residential areas east of the 55 Freeway are technically in “unincorporated” county territory, but have Santa Ana mailing addresses according to the U.S. Post Office. But locals, including some local real estate agents may refer to these areas as being in Tustin or Orange, so double check where you actually are!