El Toro Home Values Keeping Pace With O.C.

Providing fresh evidence that a proposed commercial airport in El Toro hasn’t hurt the local real estate market, a report has found that home values around the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station are keeping pace with the rest of Orange County. The study of 1,000 homes shows that between January and June this year, house and condominium values within a 6.5-mile radius of the military site rose by an average of 1.3%. Similar homes in other parts of the county appreciated by 0.7%, a statistically insignificant gap, said a study by Anaheim-based information services firm Experian Inc., which is not affiliated with groups on either side of the debate over the airport plan. The results contradict opponents’ claims that housing values will decline in Irvine, Laguna Hills, Lake Forest and other nearby communities if the the air base is converted into a commercial airport where passenger and cargo jets are continually taking off and landing.