About Newport Coast Real Estate

There is a possibility of living near the ocean in a way few ever have. Ideally located just minutes to Laguna Beach, Irvine, and Newport Beach, the exclusive community of Newport Coast offers a sophisticated beach lifestyle that appeals to families, executives, and those that desire the feel of luxury country living with the convenience of city amenities.

Developed in the 1980’s, the Newport Coast area now encompasses approximately 9,432 acres. Canyon and Ocean views often seem endless from the ridgeline city – a place with wide open spaces, nature trails, luxury golf courses and the best of Mediterranean flair and drama.

The communities are gated, safe and offer some of the best schools in the area. The luxury urbane neighborhoods include vibrant parks for children to explore and play, long greenbelts to enjoy a game of catch, take a jog, or to simply enjoy for the wide open space.

Newport Coast has Wealthiest O.C. ZIP
By JOHN GITTELSOHN
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

92657 is the wealthiest ZIP code in OC, with an average household income of $475,757, according to the IRS.

It's home to billionaire Broadcom Corp. co-founder Henry T. Nicholas III, best-selling horror novelist Dean Koontz and Kobe Bryant, who needs no introduction.

Those three are far from the only rich guys in the neighborhood.

Newport Coast, 92657, is the wealthiest ZIP code in Orange County, with an average household income of $475,757, according to 2005 data from the Internal Revenue Service.

For Newport Coast, 2005 was a very good year. Average incomes jumped 22.4 percent from 2004.

You can see the money on the newly renovated links of the Pelican Hill Golf Club, a public course where a round of 18 holes costs $235.

You can see it outside Mastro's Ocean Club in the Crystal Cove Promenade, where restaurant guests arrive in Bentleys, Lamborghinis and Ferraris.

You can see the money in the Tuscan-style hillside mansions, which fetched a median $2.26 million in October, according to DataQuick.

The biggest is yet to come. The Villa del Lago, an 18,000-square-foot palace on 12 1/2 acres, is under construction on Pelican Hill. It features a garage for 20 cars, guard house, tennis court, vineyard and horse stables. Asking price: $67 million.

Barely 10 years old, Newport Coast ranks fifth among California's wealthiest ZIP codes. It's quickly gaining on No. 4, Beverly Hills' 90210, where the average income was $476,155 in 2005.

Newport Coast still ranks far behind California's richest ZIP code, 94027 in Atherton. That community, in the heart of Silicon Valley, is home to six members of Forbes magazine's list of billionaires and enjoys an average household income of $1 million – up 43 percent from 2004.

Silicon Valley and Los Angeles County each claimed four of the state's 10 wealthiest ZIP codes. San Francisco and Orange County hosted one apiece.

In the top 10 ZIP codes, incomes came mostly from investments rather than wages and salaries. In Atherton, residents reported 60 percent of their income came from interest, dividends and capital gains. In Newport Coast, investments were a source of 34 percent of the average household income. The Orange County average is less than 12 percent from investments.

A big question is how Newport Coasters will fare in coming tax years. Profits in the mortgage and real estate industry – a big source of wealth for many 92657 residents – have been on a downward slope since 2005. The median price of a home sold in Newport Coast fell 10 percent in October vs. the year-ago period.

"It's not just real estate; it's economic uncertainty," said Doug Freeman, an attorney who specializes in estate planning for wealthy clients. "Economic uncertainty is going to affect new money, and what you see in Newport Coast is new money."

Freeman, by the way, lives in 92625 – Corona del Mar.

92657 BY THE NUMBERS
By H. LORREN AU JR.
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER


$2,090,475,000: Total adjusted gross income in 2005
52.3: Percentage of filers who reported income exceeding $100,000
716: Filers who reported income of less than $10,000 for the year. Their combined adjusted gross income: -$47.9 million.
39: Percentage of income from wages and salary. (State average is 68 percent.)
24: Percentage of income from capital gains. (State average is 10 percent.)
3.4: Percentage of income donated to charity. (State average is 2.3 percent.)