Do a web search for upscale houses in Orange County and you’ll find plenty of 2- and 3-story homes. Look for 1-story homes and you’ll probably come across smaller, 20th century tract houses. Punch in some numbers to find higher-end residences that also happen to be single story, and … well, you really have to look.

Not that the demand isn’t there.

This 1-story, contemporary, ocean-view home at 4527 Fairfield Drive in Corona del Mar is on the market for $6.4 million. Highlights: 5,032 square feet; 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, open floorplan, 112-inch drop-down projection screen, 72-inch flat screen TV, subterranean garage that can hold up to 11 cars, elevator, sliding glass doors for indoor-outdoor living. Listing agent: Staci Dancey, Surterre Properties. Click through these photos to see other upscale 1-story homes listed now.

Real estate agents around the county say empty nesters, aging baby boomers and even families with small children like being on one level. And because newer, plush single-story homes aren’t that common, those that come on the market tend to attract plenty of interest. Check out examples in photos here or at left.

“There’s a huge demand for (upscale) one-story homes, but they’re so few and far between,” says real estate agent Wendy Gonzales at Casa Verde Realty, the listing agent for a 1-story, 5-bedroom Tuscan-style home on half an acre in Yorba Linda. The house, built in 2006, has an asking price of $1.8 million. Amenities include all en-suite bedrooms, a gourmet kitchen, detached guest house and a salt-water pool.

“There’s a lot of single story homes, but for the most part, they’re smaller and older and need a lot of updating,” says Lynda Hartman at Seven Gables Real Estate, the listing agent on a single-story home in Orange on a half acre with panoramic views and an asking price of $1.5 million. “Builders just aren’t building them anymore, because they take more land to build them.”

The house she has listed in Orange’s guard-gated Portofira Estates, includes marble floors, cathedral ceilings, a butler’s pantry and exercise room.

In Newport Beach’s Cameo Shores, a contemporary 1-story home with ocean views and a subterranean garage that can hold up to 11 cars is listed at $6.4 million. The house has 5 en-suite bedrooms, and comes with a 112-inch drop down projection screen 72-inch Sony flat screen TV, and access to 3 private beaches.

“We had over 100 agents to our broker preview,” says Staci Dancey with Surterre Properties, the listing agent. At open houses, she adds, “Usually we are non-stop for 3 hours. With 2 of us there we can barely handle it.”

In Huntington Beach, a 1-story home listed for $1.3 million that was rebuilt from the ground up in 2003 boasts 10-foot high ceilings and a steam room, with outdoor areas that include a salt water spa and a waterfall feature. The house also comes with 5 Plasma TVs.

“Interest in single levels has been steadily increasing over the past 15 years, with downstairs masters in second place,” says real estate agent Lee Ann Canaday of RE/MAX Fine Homes, who’s listing a “model perfect, high-tech” 5-bedroom single story home in Mission Viejo for $1.2 million. “We probably get about 15% more ad calls on this home than others, plus we get good buyer traffic to our open houses.”

Jim Thompson, a real estate agent and former homebuilder, thinks that single-level houses have always been popular, but through the years, as lots got smaller, homes got taller.

Now, says Thompson, who is listing a “rare” 5-bedroom home in Corona del Mar with ocean and bay views for $2 million, “There’s a definite trend, particularly with older people trying to relocate. There are a lot of people looking for one-story homes.”