Irvine, California is located on the Pacific coast forty miles southeast of Los Angeles. This booming city is one of the largest planned communities among California real estate.

Originally an agricultural town that grew up around a railway station, Irvine was named after the family that owned the land. In 1959, the University of California requested a portion of Irvine property for the construction of a new campus. The University's consulting architect, William Pereira, along with the Irvine family business, The Irvine Company, began to design a master-planned community for 50,000 people to be built around the university. The first Irvine homes for sale were available in the early 1970s. 

It was decided that the newly planned city would be called Irvine. The small town on the railway became known as East Irvine. The residents owning Irvine real estate voted to incorporate into a city on December 28, 1971, and by 1999 the population had grown to 134,000 residents. As a master-planned city, Irvine property was carefully outlined by its designers. The city is broken up into several townships known as villages. These villages have housing that is similar in theme and design. Each of these villages is separated by streets that have six lanes for easier navigation. By 1970, construction of five of these villages had already been completed. Currently, Irvine real estate located within the city limits spans over 65 square miles.

Due to numerous factors, including a burgeoning job market, great schools, and a strong housing market, Irvine has become one of California's premier cities. In 2008, it was named by CNNMoney.com the fourth best place to live in the United States. Irvine also enjoys an extremely low crime rate with the Federal Bureau of Investigation reporting in 2009 that Irvine had the lowest crime rate of all US cities with a population of 100,000 or greater. With a current average listing price of over $750,000, Irvine homes for sale rank well above the average for California real estate.

Irvine's economy is incredibly robust with the vast majority of businesses focused on the technology industry. Many major companies are headquartered there including Broadcom Corporation, eMachines, Gateway, Inc., and Toshiba Corporation (North American Headquarters). Irvine's Chamber of Commerce developed an effective program called “Destination Irvine” which provides information to businesses about the advantages available to the corporations and their employees. This information includes incentives, demographics, Irvine real estate information, and information about services including childcare and schools.