$34M mansion sale sets record in Newport Beach’s Pelican Crest

A newly renovated mansion in Newport Beach’s Newport Coast has sold for $34 million, setting a local sales record.

The 12,000-square-foot estate traded hands at 1 Shoreridge Drive, in gated Pelican Crest, the Orange County Business Journal reported. Both the buyer and seller were undisclosed.

The remodeled house on more than three-quarters of an acre was initially listed in February for $39.99 million.

The six-bedroom, eight-bathroom home was built in 2010, then recently remodeled for millions of dollars. Highlights include an upgraded floor plan, an Yves Saint Laurent-themed walk-in closet, a golf simulator, full-scale gym and infrared sauna.

The two-story, Tuscan-style property has an infinity pool. 

The buyer is rumored to be a professional athlete, according to the Business Journal. The unidentified seller moved to California during the pandemic, bought the house in 2021 for $14.7 million, then renovated it.

Its sale last month tops the prior record for the neighborhood surrounding the Resort at Pelican Hill, set in January when 1 Pelican Crest Drive sold for $30.6 million. The property previously sold in 2017 for $24.1 million. 

Broker Paul Daftarian of Luxe Real Estate represented both ends of the latest deal, and co-listed the property with Abraham Lim of Circa Properties.

“National reports maintain that housing prices have dropped drastically, but that’s not the case in Orange County, specifically Newport Coast, where records are still being set,” Daftarian told the Business Journal. “However, those records are for new or renovated homes, or those with great views.”

Daftarian sold a home last month at 38 Pelican Crest for $17.8 million.

“That was a bit of a bidding war,” Daftarian said of the 9,300-square-foot home with ocean views. It last sold in 2021 for $10.7 million.

There are now five home listings in Pelican Crest, from $11 million to $29.8 million. Two half-acre lots are also available for $12.5 million each.

Beverly Hills real estate agents, with their high-flying, reality-TV lifestyles, have been muscling in on deals along the Orange County coast, The Real Deal reported.

In October, a 22,000-square-foot mansion in Newport Beach’s Crystal Cove made famous during its construction on “The Real Housewives of Orange County” sold for $55 million.

— Dana Bartholomew