In one of the pricier deals of late for one of Orange County’s most luxe communities, a 6,271-square-foot home in Newport Beach’s gated Crystal Cove community sold last month for $27 million.
The four-bedroom, eight-bathroom property at 5 Del Mar marks the 10th-highest sale on record for the roughly 2,500-home Newport Coast area.
It’s the second-priciest sale this year for the 700-home enclave of Crystal Cove, which frequently acts as the source of top home sales in Orange County due to its location and supply of newer inventory and larger lots.
“We’ve seen a four times increase in demand from out of state buyers” for Crystal Cove, listing agent Tim Smith of Coldwell Banker Realty told the Business Journal.
“Crystal Cove is a nice community—it’s gated, clean and has great views. So it appeals to a really wide buyer demographic.”
Ameriway Realty’s Jenny Tsao represented the unidentified buyer.
Custom Home
The 5 Del Mar estate is one of many custom properties in Crystal Cove.
The hilltop home, built in 2016 with ETA Architects and Pinnacle Custom Homes, features a saltwater pool and 20,703 square feet of private grounds that “rival nearby five-star hotels,” according to brokers.
Perched atop the end of a cul-de-sac, the property offers “unobstructed views of the Pacific Ocean, Catalina Island, coastline, pier, city lights and fairway of the golf course at the Resort at Pelican Hill,” Smith wrote.
The home previously sold last June for $25 million. The property then hit the market again in July for nearly $30 million, before trading for $27 million.
The home’s latest price works out to about $4,306 per square foot, “the highest price per square foot for a newer home in the history of Cystal Cove custom homes,” Smith said.
Top-Dollar Estates
Crystal Cove held the price record for a single-family residence sale when 15 Del Mar sold in 2020 for $61 million.
The 18,717-square-foot property is owned by loanDepot founder Anthony Hsieh.
That deal was bested a year later by a 9,517-square-foot Laguna Beach home in Abalone Point. Biotech hedge fund executive Joseph Edelman and his wife, Susan Lebovitz-Edelman, bought the 1-acre parcel at 2585 Riviera Drive, situated inside the high-end community of Irvine Cove, for $70 million.
Other notable residents of Crystal Cove include Joe Wen, founder of multinational conglomerate Formosa Ltd., and Yard House USA Inc. founder Steele Platt.
New Homes
A recently built Crystal Cove estate may set a record for the Newport Coast if sold near its asking price; 6 Midsummer is currently listed at $69.8 million.
Michael Amini, founder and chief executive of Pico Rivera-based home-furnishings company Amini Innovation Corp., is the owner of the 15,500-square-foot property, which counts seven bedrooms and 13 bathrooms.
Amini acquired the half-acre parcel in 2007 for a reported $5.1 million and started construction on the home in 2013; it finished work two years ago.
His mansion is one of five Newport Coast homes listed for over $50 million, four of which were built in the past four years.
All five listings top 10,000 square feet.
Crystal Cove has a limited supply of new homes anticipated to hit the market.
“All of the lots have been sold out from the developers, so there’s no more developer product,” Smith said.
About 30% of homes in the neighborhood are in development, while the remaining 70% are already built, Smith added.
