Neighborhoods
In 1955, buyers camped overnight to get one. Jean Vandruff's storybook ranches still command a following — and Orange County holds thousands of them.
The story
Jean Vandruff designed them; his brother Shannon built and sold them. Their first tract — 168 houses in west Anaheim, 1955, priced around $14,000 — sold out in three days, and the first three Anaheim tracts all had families lining up overnight.
The formula: a one-story ranch dressed in storybook charm — high-gabled shake roofs, diamond-pane windows, gingerbread trim — wrapped around genuinely modern open plans. Seventeen designs, roughly 6,000 homes built across Southern California and beyond, until 1960s fire codes banned the shake roof that defined them.
Purists will tell you it's "storybook ranch," not strict mid-century modern. Fair. It's also one of the most beloved and recognizable 1950s tract designs in the county — with its own book and an active enthusiast following.
Where they are
Verified Cinderella tracts sit in Anaheim, Tustin, Costa Mesa and Placentia — with west Anaheim holding the originals.
The 1955 tracts that started it, including the first 168 homes. Anaheim listings →
Cinderella stock near Tustin's historic core and its jacaranda streets. Tustin listings →
Same plans, closer to the beach — usually the strongest appreciation of the four. Costa Mesa listings →
The under-the-radar tract — often the best value entry into the marque. Placentia listings →
What to look for
Value in a Cinderella follows originality: the gable profiles, the window shapes, the low ranch massing. Stucco-over remodels and boxy second stories cost more at resale than they saved in construction.
There's an active owner community around these homes — restored examples get attention, and that attention shows up in the comps.
On the market now
Straight from the MLS, drawn against the actual Cinderella Homes boundary — not a citywide radius. Every card links to the full listing.
Checking the MLS…
Small tracts trade quietly — the good ones are often gone in a weekend. Leave your email and we’ll flag new Cinderella Homes listings when they hit the MLS. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Contact
The best examples keep their gables, shakes and diamond windows. Stacey can tell you which tracts — and which streets — held onto theirs.
