Mesa Verde

Homes for Sale in Mesa Verde, Costa Mesa

The Mesa Verde neighborhood, in the very northwest corner of the city of Costa Mesa, is defined by the area that is south of the 405 Freeway east of the Santa Ana River, west of Harbor Blvd, and North of Fairview Park. The neighborhood is of fairly decent size, with about 13,000 residents in about 3,000 homes covering roughly 4 square miles.

The Mesa Verde neighborhood represents the most quiet and “Norman Rockwell-esque” landscape of Costa Mesa real estate. Many of our clients, upon their first visit into Mesa Verde tell us that they had no idea neighborhood such as this existed in Costa Mesa, and we often tell customers that Mesa Verde is one of the Orange County areas best kept secrets, with quiet serene Orange County living available at a price point that is considerably lower than most similar neighborhoods in the area.

As the Mesa Verde neighborhood is bordered by the Santa Ana river trail, a 12-foot wide path following the cement-lined Santa Ana River, residents have easy bike access from the west to Huntington Beach and it is just a quick 20 minute bike ride for residents to reach the sand.

Mesa Verde Home Prices

If you’re looking for an Orange County home on a decent sized lot with wide tree-lined streets, Mesa Verde is considered by many to be one of the area’s best kept secrets. Most homes in Mesa Verde cost between $450,000 at the low end to $1,500,000 at the higher end.

At the lower end of the Mesa Verde price range, homes are typically 1,400 to 1,600 square feet with three bedrooms and two bathrooms on a 6,000 to 7,000 foot lot, while the higher end of the range sees homes of 2,000 to 3,500 square feet, with 4-5 bedrooms on lot sizes of 8,000 feet and up.

There are also a few estates to be found typically within Mesa Verde – and they usually represent some of the best pricing available in the county for large properties, with 7,000+ square foot homes sold for $2.5 million or so.

Things to do in Mesa Verde, Costa Mesa

For those looking to buy a home in a quintessential suburb with quiet and serenity, one of the things to look for is absolutely nothing to do in that neighborhood, as having little to no reasons for non-residents of the area to be in the neighborhood is what keeps the neighborhood quiet, and Mesa Verde certainly fits the bill of not being the raging party scene.

In fact, if you scour the internet looking for information on the Mesa Verde neighborhood, you’ll see evidence that folks are really reaching to describe it: pages that talk of the nearby In-N-Out and CVS really signal to you that if you’re looking for a quiet street in a quiet neighborhood, this is probably one that fits the bill.

With that being said, the neighborhood is home to Mesa Verde Country Club, a private member-owned golf course that also features tennis courts and a swimming pools along with banquet and dining halls. The member roster of the club features many very skilled and avid golfers with more than 150 club members sporting handicaps in the single digits.

More importantly though, what many of our clients are looking for is often a boring neighborhood where nothing happens to raise children in – but they want the boring neighborhood to be a short drive to interesting places – and Mesa Verde has this in spades – being less than a 15 minute drive to the Huntington Beach Pier or the Newport Beach Peninsula, 5-10 minutes from the beach, and less than 10 minutes to South Coast Plaza, Mesa Verde gives residence the benefits of a quite neighborhood, but without the downsides that some people find when they go and move out into the middle of nowhere.

Pros and Cons of Mesa Verde Real Estate

Mesa Verde is one of the more stable real estate markets in Costa Mesa, with 44% of residents having lived there for 5 years or more (versus 32% for Costa Mesa as a whole). That makes it a good environment for families, with almost 80% of households containing residents that are married.

This fact, of course, means the neighborhood is often not the first choice for many singles. If you’re looking for an area with a vibrant nightlife and fine dining options just outside your front door, Mesa Verde definitely won’t be featured on your short list of neighborhoods to consider moving to.

With that being said, as quiet as the area is, it is just a short drive from anywhere in Mesa Verde to Harbor Blvd, which features stores and restaurants and most services one would need.

For some parents, the quality of available public schooling in Costa Mesa might hold minor concern – while the schools are not horrible – they are considered to be average, which means they are not rated as high as those in nearby Irvine or Newport Beach, with some of the very best schools in all of California; the disparity inherent in the differing school rankings probably plays heavily into the fact that homes in Mesa Verde comprise uncommonly favorable valuations for the buyer when being compared to those in nearby cities when being looked at on a “dollar for dollar” or “bang for your buck” basis.

One exception – the Mesa Verde neighborhood is home to Early College High School, one of the absolute best education institutions in all of California and a school which takes 4 years of high school and manages to add the first two years of college into it, meaning that students graduate with an associate’s degree or up to two years of credit towards a bachelor’s degree. The downside is that the school only accepts 100 students per grade level, so most Mesa Verde residents are not likely to see their children enrolled in this school.