Top-Price Laguna Beach Homes on the Rise

A home in Laguna Beach worth $31.5 million was listed last week, joining five other homes in Orange County in the $30-million price range. The growing number of high-priced Laguna Beach homes up for sale is a strong suggestion that the slow economy has not significantly affected values in the upscale market.

Of the six Orange County properties commanding $30 million or more, three are from Laguna Beach: one in Emerald Bay, one on Circle Drive, and the most recent one on Riviera Drive. The other three are located in Newport Beach, notably the famously scenic Corona del Mar neighborhood.

The Riviera Drive home is the least expensive of the three, having just barely passed the $30-million mark, but is the biggest at 10,800 square feet. The Emerald Bay and Circle Drive homes are each valued at $35 million, but offer a mere 3,602 and 2,029 square feet respectively.

Real estate experts give different reasons for the homes' sky-high values, ranging from location and added features to mere prestige and "token home" status. It is also widely noted that the two cities dominating the list--Newport and Laguna Beach--have always drawn high-end crowds and have some of the most expensive average values in O.C.

Beachfront homes have always been highly valued throughout the U.S., but Laguna Beach has a unique reputation for appealing to crowds for whom price is no object. With the price of the three homes mentioned above, one can buy 61 homes in Orange County for the already above-average median of around $490,000.

 

Earlier in Laguna Beach Real Estate News:
Charge Your Electric Car in Laguna Beach
More Luxury Homes Hit Laguna Beach Real Estate Market
Oldest House In Laguna Beach To Be Rehabbed