August has proven to be a busy month for luxury home sales, with a trio of homes  trading above the $10 million mark as of last week.
In the most recent deal, a four-bedroom, six-bath home sold for $11.8 million in Emerald Bay.
The 509 home high-end enclave in Laguna Beach is home to some of Orange County’s wealthiest full-time and part-time residents; at least five billionaires count homes there, according to Business Journal research. A few of those billionaires own multiple properties there.
The community’s also a frequent home to top-dollar deals, and has seen six homes sell above the $8 million mark so far this year.
The recent deal is for 81 Emerald Bay, a 6,492-sqaure-foot home on the ocean side of the community that underwent an extensive redesign in 2015.
Compass’ Maura Short represented both the buyer and seller in the deal.
The home was first built in 1994 and last traded in 2013 for about $6.7 million.
Top EB DealÂ
Emerald Bay was established in 1929 and is situated south of neighboring luxury development Irvine Cove, which counts 109 homes.
Buyers in Emerald Bay benefit from several amenities, including a private half-mile beach, six tennis courts, beach volleyball courts, a swim center, community parks and a 24-hour guard gate.
In the top reported deal for the neighborhood this year, 33 Emerald Bay traded for $12.7 million.
The deal for the seven-bedroom, seven-bath home on the ocean side of the community closed in June. The 6,000-square-foot home was first built in 1990, but was recently remodeled.
Short was also involved in this deal, representing the undisclosed buyer. The seller was repped by Harold Noriega, also of Compass.
Almost two dozen homes have traded hands there in the past six months; today, there are six active listings, ranging from a $4.5 million three-bedroom home on the inland side to a nearly $16 million ocean side  home at 71 Emerald Bay.
Newport Deals
The other two top August deals in OC were in Crystal Cove, with the largest being a six-bedroom home at 19 South Sur that traded for $13.6 million.
The 7,028-square-foot home sits on a 25,000-square-foot homesite, among the largest in the community, which counts 700-plus homes and was developed by Irvine Co.
Andy Stavros and Joshua Altman of Douglas Elliman represented the seller; Grant Bixby of Compas represented the buyer.
In the other Crystal Cove deal, 30 Tide Watch sold for $12 million.
The five-bedroom, six-bathroom custom home wrapped construction last year.
John Cain of Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty had the listing; Meital Taub of First Team Real Estate represented the buyer.
2020, 2021 Â
Last year, seven homes sold above the $10 million mark for the month of August, according to data from Zillow.
That month was particularly strong, as buyers came off the sidelines and showed a resurgence in demand following the onset of the pandemic.
That demand has yet to let up, with local brokers expecting another record year for Orange County luxury home sales. Â
