Valencia

What is it like to live in Valencia?

Valencia was designed from the beginning as a place where you could walk your kids to school on a path that never crosses a street. That idea, the paseo, is still what defines it. More than thirty miles of landscaped walking and biking paths run through the community with dedicated bridges and tunnels, linking each village to its schools, parks and shopping. Add the Town Center, Bridgeport Lake, Central Park, the library, Henry Mayo hospital and College of the Canyons, and you have a community that is genuinely self-contained.

The feel is safe, green and easy. Residents describe the neighborhoods as friendly, mention summer food trucks and HOA events at the pools, and talk about the paseos more than anything else. It is the largest and most-searched community in the valley for a reason, and if you are relocating from Los Angeles it is usually the first place I show you, because it gives you the clearest picture of what Santa Clarita life is like.

How is Valencia organized?

Valencia is a collection of villages, each with its own character and, in most cases, its own homeowners association. A few to know:

• Valencia Summit is one of the most elegant established villages, with mature trees, HOA amenities and no Mello-Roos.
• Northpark is consistently one of the most popular neighborhoods in the valley, with a modest HOA, no Mello-Roos, a community pool and direct paseo access.
• Bridgeport is built around the lake, with waterside walking paths and the Bridgeport Marketplace.
• Creekside sits near Bridgeport and Northpark Village Square, with easy access to local shopping and dining.
• West Creek and West Hills are newer tracts with larger floor plans and community pools, and they carry Mello-Roos.
• The Woodlands is Valencia’s gated estate enclave near Copper Hill, with larger homes and lots.
• FivePoint Valencia is the newest neighborhood, still being built out on the west side, with modern homes and the highest Mello-Roos in the area.
• Valencia Hills, Old Orchard and the villages around the Town Center are the original Valencia, with the biggest trees and the shortest walk to everything.

Each village answers a slightly different question, and part of my job is matching the village to what you actually want from the next ten years.

What do homes cost in Valencia?

Valencia has the widest range of home types in the valley, so the median sale price across all homes, recently around $785,000, understates what a single-family home costs. Condos and townhomes generally run from the high four hundreds to the low seven hundreds. Single-family homes start around $820,000 in the older villages such as Valencia Summit and move well past $1 million in newer and hillside areas, with Northpark listings recently around $860,000 and West Creek homes trading in the $750,000 to $1.3 million band. The Woodlands and the larger hillside homes reach into the $1.5 million to $2.5 million range.

Valencia is the most competitive market in the valley for well-presented homes, and the first two weeks on market matter. When I list here, the pricing is set from the last ninety days of sales in your village and the current competition, and the photography and video are done before the sign goes up, because Valencia buyers are shopping online first and they can tell the difference.

How do I compare the real monthly cost between villages?

This is the part that surprises buyers who are new to the valley. Two homes at the same price can have different monthly costs by several hundred dollars, because of Mello-Roos and HOA. Older Valencia, built before the mid-1990s, has no Mello-Roos and modest HOA dues. West Creek and other late-1990s to 2008 tracts carry roughly $1,500 to $2,800 a year in Mello-Roos, and the newest FivePoint homes run about $3,000 to $5,000. Most of these districts end between 2030 and 2045, and the remaining term matters. I lay it out for you in a simple side-by-side so the decision is made on the full number, not just the list price.

What are the schools?

Valencia is served by two elementary districts, and the dividing line is Valencia Boulevard and Magic Mountain Parkway. South of that line is the Newhall School District, which includes Valencia Valley, Meadows and Oak Hills. North of it is the Saugus Union School District, which includes Bridgeport, North Park and Charles Helmers. Junior high and high school are the William S. Hart Union High School District, with Valencia High School serving most of the community and West Ranch High School serving the west side, through Placerita, Rancho Pico or Rio Norte Junior High depending on where you live. All of them are highly rated, and I can tell you the exact schools for any address before you fall in love with a house.

How is the commute?

Valencia sits at the junction of the 5 and the 126, so most of the valley’s commute options start here. Burbank and the San Fernando Valley are generally thirty to forty-five minutes, and downtown Los Angeles about an hour in traffic. The Newhall Metrolink station in Old Town and the Santa Clarita station on Soledad Canyon Road both serve Valencia, and the train into Union Station takes under an hour. A large share of residents work locally, at Henry Mayo, the college, the studios’ Valencia offices or the industrial center, and for them the commute is ten to fifteen minutes on surface streets.

What is the lifestyle like day to day?

Mornings on the paseos, with kids on bikes heading to school. Weekends at Central Park, the lake at Bridgeport, or the pool in your village. The Town Center for shopping, dinner and a movie. Six Flags Magic Mountain right across the freeway for season pass holders. When you want a night out, Old Town Newhall is a few minutes away with restaurants, a farmers market and live music, and it has become the valley’s evening spot. Valencia is quieter than the city on purpose, and most people who move here find that is exactly what they were looking for.

Who is Valencia right for?

Families moving out of Los Angeles who want schools, safety and a community that works on foot. First-time buyers who want a condo or townhome in a place that will hold its value. Move-up buyers who want an executive home or a gated street in the Woodlands. Anyone who wants to be in the center of the valley with the shortest drive to everything. Tell me your budget, your commute and how you like to spend a Saturday, and I will narrow Valencia’s villages to the two or three that fit.