Double lot in Newport Beach’s Balboa Peninsula asks $36M

An upcoming listing for a house in Newport Beach’s exclusive Balboa Peninsula enclave could break neighborhood records.

The listing at 2168 East Oceanfront is scheduled to be unveiled by the end of the first week of October. The newly built, four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom house will be listed for about $36 million. The property has almost 3,800 square feet, so the price works out to $9,663 per square foot.

Agent Tim Smith of Coldwell Banker Realty holds the listing.

Smith said that 2168 East Oceanfront will break records for Balboa Peninsula’s beachside neighborhood. No house has sold for more than $20 million in the neighborhood, which overlooks Balboa Peninsula’s famous Wedge surf break. Earlier this year, a neighboring house, 1510 East Oceanfront, sold for $19 million. In 2019, another home, 1752 East Oceanfront, sold for about $19.4 million, Smith said.

The listing at 2168 East Oceanfront, nicknamed The Wedge House, has an asking price more representative of Malibu or Bel Air. The listing offers two adjacent lots, which are comprised of 2168 East Oceanfront and 2172 East Oceanfront. It has unobstructed views of the Wedge surf break, Newport Harbor and the coastline down to Dana Point, Smith said.

It also offers a trophy house that was never occupied.

“The challenge is that we don’t have enough inventory to satisfy demand for buyers looking for trophy homes,” Smith said. “Our biggest challenge is getting people to sell trophy properties.”

Demand for Orange County trophy homes has spread since the pandemic. Since 2021, 51 percent of prospective buyers come from outside California. Before 2021, it was about 12 percent. In 2021, about 19 homes priced over $20 million sold in Orange County, Smith said. In 2022, 16 homes with an ask over $20 million sold in Orange County; another five are in escrow, he said.

The original homes built on 2168 and 2172 East Oceanfront were torn down to make way for new construction after Helle Skov McClain, an influential London-based biotechnology and pharmaceutical executive, acquired the properties, according to a records search. Smith declined to state who currently owns 2168 East Oceanfront. He said that the current owner was unable to spend time at the properties due to family obligations.

While 2168 East Oceanfront has a newly built house designed by Graham Architecture, 2172 East Oceanfront comes with city and Coastal Commission approved plans to build a one-bedroom, one-bathroom guesthouse, as well as a pool, a spa and two-car garage.

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