Orange County's ultra-luxury housing market has a new ceiling: $110 million.

An oceanfront home in Laguna Beach's gate-guarded Emerald Bay enclave sold for that sum on Monday, June 9, in an all-cash, off-market deal that obliterated the county's previous residential price record of $70 million, set in November 2021. The sale caps a run of record-breaking transactions along the Orange County coast that has pushed Newport Beach and Newport Coast into the nation's most expensive ZIP codes.

John Stanaland of The Agency, who represented both buyer and seller, told the Los Angeles Times on June 24 that the property occupies a singular position on one of California's few truly private beaches. "It's a one-of-one location," he said.

The contemporary home was built in 2021 and had never previously sold. Property records list it at 6,068 square feet with four bedrooms and 4½ bathrooms, though The Real Deal reported the total living area at approximately 10,000 square feet. At the lower figure, the price works out to roughly $18,000 per square foot. At the higher, about $11,000.

Both parties shielded their identities behind LLCs. The seller is listed as Faith 5 LLC; the buyer registered under Dlareme LLC, a Delaware entity whose name spells "emerald" backward.

Six years of broken records

The county's price ceiling has climbed steeply since 2020. Kind Lending founder Glenn Stearns set the mark at $50 million in April 2020 when he purchased author Dean Koontz's 2.5-acre Newport Coast compound, "Amazing Grace," in an off-market deal, according to OC Register property records. LoanDepot CEO Anthony Hsieh topped that later in 2020 with a $61 million Crystal Cove purchase. A hedge fund billionaire then paid $70 million for an Abalone Point estate in November 2021.

The jump from $70 million to $110 million represents a 57% leap at the very top of the market in less than five years.

Newport Beach in the same orbit

The record sale happened in Laguna Beach, but the forces behind it are landing squarely in Newport Beach. Newport Coast's ZIP code 92657 ranked as the most expensive in the United States in January 2026, with a median list price of $12.5 million, according to Realtor.com data published that month. Newport Beach's 92663 broke into the national top 10 at $5.995 million.

Active listings reflect seller ambition at new heights. A newly completed waterfront estate at 87 Linda Isle listed in early July 2026 for just under $70 million. The five-bedroom, 9,179-square-foot home sits behind the gate with 104 feet of bay frontage and a private dock that can accommodate a 130-foot superyacht. Listing agent Paul Daftarian of Luxe Real Estate is handling the sale. A Newport Coast mansion is also listed at $68 million, according to the LA Times.

These are asking prices, not closed sales. But the appetite is real. In 2025, Orange County recorded 2,185 sales of homes priced at $2.5 million or more, a 9% increase over 2024, according to the OC Register.

What's driving the surge

Stanaland told the New York Post on June 20 that he expects more nine-figure transactions along the coast. He cited the pandemic, the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, and LA's mansion tax as factors driving wealthy buyers from Los Angeles to Orange County's gate-guarded communities.

The Real Deal reported that lots alone in Emerald Bay and Irvine Cove are reaching the $70 million mark, suggesting more properties in those enclaves could cross the $100 million threshold.

Orange County's 57% price leap in five years at the top of the market now puts it in the same conversation as Malibu and Montecito. The Linda Isle and Newport Coast listings will show whether local sellers can convert that ambition into closed deals.