Tustin, California

Tustin against Irvine, on the same measures

The price gap is the reason most buyers look here. The other two rows are the reason they should prepare differently.

Tustin homes went into escrow in a median of 17 days at 99.1% of original asking price. Irvine took 29 days and settled at 96.4%. In practical terms: in Irvine the typical home sold a little under its first ask, so there is usually room to negotiate. In Tustin the typical home sold at essentially its asking price, in half the time. A buyer arriving from Irvine expecting the same negotiating posture tends to lose the first two houses.

Older housing stock, and a higher HOA when there is one

Tustin's median year built is 1975 against Irvine's 2005, and the range runs from 1920 to 2025 — so this is a city of distinct eras rather than a uniform product. Fewer homes carry an association at all (76% against Irvine's 95.6%), but the ones that do run higher: a median $325 per month against $251. Only 13% carry a second association fee, against 37% in Irvine.

Practically, that means condition and era matter more here than they do across the border. A 1970s Tustin home and a 2015 Tustin Legacy home are not the same purchase, and they do not compete with each other.

The parts of the city

Old Town Tustin is the historic core, with the city's oldest housing stock and a walkable commercial street — a different proposition from anything in Irvine.

Tustin Legacy is the redevelopment of the former Marine Corps Air Station, which is where most of the city's newest construction sits. If you want a 2015-or-later home in Tustin, this is generally where it is.

Tustin Ranch is the master-planned area built largely from the late 1980s through the 1990s, and it is distinct enough in price and product to have its own page.

North Tustin is unincorporated county, not part of the city, and it behaves like a different market entirely — see below.

North Tustin is a separate market

Buyers routinely conflate the two. Over the last twelve months North Tustin recorded 146 closed sales at a median of $1,991,500 — above Irvine — with a median 2,740 sq ft on a median year built of 1964, and only 10 of 146 homes carrying any HOA at all.

So North Tustin is larger, older, more expensive and mostly association-free, where Tustin proper is smaller, newer on average, cheaper and mostly in an HOA. If someone shows you "Tustin comps" for a North Tustin house, the comparison is wrong.

Schools: mostly Tustin Unified, but not entirely

Over the last 36 months of recorded sales, 1,254 Tustin home sales listed Tustin Unified as the high school district and 55 listed Irvine Unified. That small group is worth knowing about if the district is what you are buying for — a Tustin address in the Irvine Unified boundary exists, and it is not obvious from the mailing address. Verify attendance with the district for the specific address.

Working with us here

Nicole Vu (DRE #01513960) transacts across Tustin and North Tustin as well as Irvine, which is the relevant qualification when the decision is between the two cities. Amy Liu (DRE #01931780) covers Tustin for both sales and leasing.