If you owned a home in Newport Beach around 2001, it would have been the perfect time to earn a quick million.
The city is ranked as one of the top 25 for homeowners padding their net worths by selling their homes after 2001, according to a study last month by New York-based real estate data provider PropertyShark.
Newport Beach is the only city in Orange County to make the list, coming in at No. 17. It churned out 42 million-dollar makers out of an estimated population of 86,813, according to 2016 census statistics.
The study looked at homes purchased before 2001 for less than $1 million, then resold by the same homeowner after 2001, earning them $1 million or more at the time of sale. The research, which looked at single-family homes, condo and co-op unit sales, didn’t take into account the financial status of the homeowner or other wealth factors.
Other key findings show Brooklyn with 280 million-dollar makers out of a population of 2.6 million, almost tying with Los Angeles, which had 281 in a total population of 3.9 million, ranking No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.
San Francisco, No. 1, carved out the biggest slice of the cake, creating 381 million makers—a high number, considering its population of 850,282 is about half of Manhattan, which placed second among ranked communities.
California dominated the list with 13 cities appearing.
New Life
A contemporary Santa Barbara-style home with ties to Steven Bren, son of Irvine Co. owner Donald Bren, has hit the market for $9.9 million.
Tucked inside the guard-gated community of Emerald Bay, the 4,305-square-foot home has five bedrooms and five bathrooms. Sporting large mahogany window casements, it has a formal living room, family room, three fireplaces and an oversized, three-car garage with parking for golf carts. It also has a plunge pool, spa and central patio offering space for entertaining.
Emerald Bay offers residents with tennis and volleyball courts, playgrounds, a swimming pool complex and clubhouse.
The home sold last year for $5.7 million to Thousand Oaks real estate investment firm Besorat Investments Inc., which purchased it from Bren, according to property records.
He purchased the home in 1997, and it’s been on and off the market starting as early as 2012 with an asking price of about $6 million, according to listing details.
Linda Chan and Andrew McDonald of The Agency have the listing.
Stray Cat Strut
Party’s over for The Stray Cats bassist and Co-Founder Lee Rocker.
The rockabilly musician and his wife, fashion designer Deborah Drucker, sold their longtime home in Emerald Bay for $8.1 million, under its asking price of $8.6 million.
The 6,794-square-foot home with ocean views has six bedrooms and seven bathrooms. The property has a wood-paneled library, theater room, wine cellar, fitness room and a private studio that has an adjoining office with its own entrance. The master bedroom features its own private terrace and a limestone soaking tub offering ocean views, his-and-hers vanities and a walk-in shower. Outside, there’s a large dining and lounge area with a swimming pool and spa.
Rocker and his wife, daughter of the late Gucci timepiece designer and businessman Severin Wunderman, purchased the property in 1998 for slightly over $1 million, according to property records.
The home first hit the market in 2016 with an asking price of $13 million but went through a few price chops—as well as simultaneously being offered for lease at $40,000 per month—before hitting its final asking price in January, according to listing details.
Records show it sold to the son of the late Samuel Rappaport, the notorious Philadelphia real estate speculator and philanthropist.
Harold Noriega of Compass had the listing. Christopher Sirianni of Villa Real Estate represented the buyer.
