Laguna Hills Homes for Sale

Located in Orange County, Laguna Hills is one of a handful of area cities – Laguna Beach, Laguna Canyon, Laguna Niguel, and Laguna Woods – similarly named. Located fewer than 20 minutes from the beach, and boasting pleasant, year-round weather, Laguna Hills is close to shopping centers, quality schools, and a wide range of attractions.

Laguna Hills Homes for Sale

History

Laguna Hills, which today has a population of roughly 30,300, was developed on the 13,000-acre Rancho Niguel, formerly owned by Don Juan Avila, who was granted the land in the mid-1800s following Mexico´s independence from Spain. Avila was among those who had friends in positions of authority who were given land upon which to tend cattle, in the area.

In 1894, Avila sold the land to two men who increased its size to 22,000 acres and rechristened it the Moulton Ranch. Moulton Ranch was subdivided in the early 1960s. In 1991, following a vote of residents, Laguna Hills became an incorporated city. Since then it has annexed several areas, including North Laguna Hills. The city is part of the Saddleback Valley Unified School District.

Attractions

Costeau Park shows visitors what life was like in the area 50,000 years ago, when more than 42 species of Columbian mammoths, mastodons, giant sloths, saber-toothed cats, camels, and long-horn bison roamed what is now Laguna Hills. The park showcases Ice Age fossils discovered by high school students in the 1960s.

Fossil Reef Park offers a glimpse of 48 species of marine fossil vertebrates found in a six-mile, limestone section of Saddleback Valley. Many of these fossils are large scallops, suggesting the area was once a tropical marine site. The reef is part of the ancient sea floor exposed by tectonic uplift.

Real Estate

The median sales price of homes in Laguna Hills in January 2013 was $478,000, down 4.2 percent from the previous quarter.

Latest Laguna Hills Homes for Sale:

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