Sunny city with low crime, plentiful parks and booming job market now boasts America’s hottest housing market

A California city with lots of parks, low crime and a booming job market has become the hottest housing market in the U.S.

Irvine has experienced a huge population growth in recent years, which many residents attribute to the high standard of living.

Although 35,000 new homes have been built in the past 14 years, demand for housing still exceeds supply.

As a result, home prices have risen more than 20 percent over the past year to a median of $1.56 million, the LA Times defeated.

For comparison, the average home price in the US is considerably lower, at $361,481.

Irvine resident Kim Pohas shared how she made a $178,000 profit on her condo within a year of purchasing it.

“It’s like I flipped a house and didn’t do anything to it,” Pohas, 40, told the LA Times. “It’s brand new. I lived in it.”

Since 2010, more than a third of new homes built in California have been in Irvine.

A new residential area in Great Park, the site of a former naval air base

But its location as an employment centre for many companies means that even this is not enough to meet demand.

The town has always been popular, emerging in the 1960s when a number of villages sprang up around a new University of California campus.

Locals were drawn to the planned community in large numbers because of its many recreational opportunities and conveniently located schools and shops.

Today, Irvine is the 63rd most populous city in America and has added 13,000 new residents in the past three years.

Despite the city building 35,000 new homes over the past 14 years, demand for housing continues to outstrip supply

Despite the rapid population growth, it is still a relatively safe place to live.

According to officials, FBI data showed that Irvine was the safest city in America when it comes to violent crime for the 18th consecutive year last year.

However, according to a RealtyHop survey, Irvine is also the third least affordable city in the US.

Middle-income families in Orange County should spend 85 percent of their income on household expenses.

In addition to the mortgage, there are also high property taxes and insurance.

This has resulted in some buyers being squeezed out of the market, particularly those looking to renovate their homes and finding that the money they can get from selling them is not enough to make a significant move up the housing market.

One of them is Jonathan Sun, 37, who hopes to move with his wife and two children, but discovers that their $2.7 million budget won’t cover the 2,200-square-foot space they now live in.

“We could probably sell it and move north or south of Orange County and have exactly what we want, but it’s our choice to stay,” Sun said.

Home prices have risen more than 20 percent over the past year to a median of $1.56 million

Irvine’s beachfront location and the addition of a brand new $2 billion shopping center continue to make it an attractive destination.

A study by Wallethub found that the city is the third best place in the US to raise a family.

The study cited the low crime rates and highly regarded schools.

“It’s such a clean, safe city that there’s still room for more housing and jobs,” said John Burns, managing director of John Burns Real Estate Consulting in Irvine.

“Nothing else in Southern California compares to this.”