{"id":2349,"date":"2025-11-24T23:30:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T04:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/californias-quiet-luxury-haven-draws-a-new-wave-of-high-end-buyers\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T10:28:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T14:28:25","slug":"californias-quiet-luxury-haven-draws-a-new-wave-of-high-end-buyers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/californias-quiet-luxury-haven-draws-a-new-wave-of-high-end-buyers\/","title":{"rendered":"Californias Quiet Luxury Haven: 7 Proven Orange County&#8217;s Quiet Luxury Surge: A New Wave of High-End Buyers Flock to the"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/californias-quiet-luxury-haven-draws-a-new-wave-of-high-end-buyers\/#A_Quiet_Luxury_Haven_Orange_Countys_Growing_Appeal\" >A Quiet Luxury Haven: Orange County&#039;s Growing Appeal<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/californias-quiet-luxury-haven-draws-a-new-wave-of-high-end-buyers\/#Dana_Point\" >Dana Point<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/californias-quiet-luxury-haven-draws-a-new-wave-of-high-end-buyers\/#Newport_Beach\" >Newport Beach<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/californias-quiet-luxury-haven-draws-a-new-wave-of-high-end-buyers\/#Laguna_Beach\" >Laguna Beach<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/californias-quiet-luxury-haven-draws-a-new-wave-of-high-end-buyers\/#External_Resources\" >External Resources<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/californias-quiet-luxury-haven-draws-a-new-wave-of-high-end-buyers\/#FAQ_Californias_Quiet_Luxury_Haven\" >FAQ: Californias Quiet Luxury Haven<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/californias-quiet-luxury-haven-draws-a-new-wave-of-high-end-buyers\/#What_should_be_planned_first\" >What should be planned first?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Quiet_Luxury_Haven_Orange_Countys_Growing_Appeal\"><\/span>A Quiet Luxury Haven: Orange County&#039;s Growing Appeal<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Orange County, located just southeast of Los Angeles, is experiencing a luxury surge that&#8217;s drawing affluent buyers from California and abroad.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Californias Quiet Luxury Haven<\/strong> helps improve planning, consistency, and publishing quality when teams follow a repeatable workflow.<\/p>\n<p>Located about 35 miles southeast of the bustle of downtown Los Angeles, Orange County is worlds apart from the high-octane big-city living.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Dotted with wealthy coastal enclaves, Orange County is synonymous with stunning beaches and spectacularly expensive mansions overlooking the ocean.<\/p>\n<p>Affluent buyers with a taste for quiet luxury and privacy have taken notice of OC&#8217;s well-heeled\u2014often gated\u2014communities, sending the median listing price in the region surging more than 70% over the past decade, from roughly $800,000 in October 2016 to $1.36 million last month, housing data analysis by Realtor.com\u00ae economists reveals.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of homes selling [for] $2,000 to $3,000 a square foot in the most desirable communities, and that&#8217;s rivaling prices in L.A.,&#8221; <strong>Paul Daftarian<\/strong>, Orange County\u2019s leading record-setting power broker and co-founder of The Daftarian Group, tells Realtor.com. &#8220;So this is kind of a coming of age for us. &#8230;There&#8217;s been an explosion of wealthy people.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>For context, the typical home in Orange County in October cost about $230,000 more than one in L.A. but roughly $53,000 less than a property in San Jose, CA, which is the nation&#8217;s most expensive market.  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think what COVID did was it really made people realize this is definitely a resort destination,&#8221; Daftarian says. &#8220;It&#8217;s a very great place to raise a family. It&#8217;s safe, clean, stress-free living. It&#8217;s beautiful. It&#8217;s become much more luxurious.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>And it&#8217;s not just buyers from other parts of California who have been flocking to the OC. According to Daftarian, the region is also seeing a major influx of foreign buyers, specifically from Asia.  <\/p>\n<p>However, Orange County&#8217;s market has been showing some softness lately, with the median listing price in the area ticking down 1.1% from September and 2.3% compared to October 2024.  <\/p>\n<p>Realtor.com Senior Economist <strong>Anthony Smith <\/strong>says this short-term downward trajectory reflects what he calls a &#8220;modest correction after years of steady growth.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The county&#8217;s luxury tier shows similar broader resilience coupled with recent easing across all price points, offering high-net-worth buyers some breathing room.<\/p>\n<p>For example, the top 10% of listings currently begin at just under $45 million, down 8.4% year over year. The top 5% tier starts at about $72 million, representing a 7.7% decline from last year. <\/p>\n<p>At the ultraluxury level, the top 1% starts at an eye-popping $19.9 million, representing an annual drop of more than 13%.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;While all luxury tiers remain below their early-2024 peaks, the rate of decline is slowing, suggesting that pricing across the broader Orange County luxury market may be finding a floor and entering the early stages of stabilization,&#8221; says Smith. <\/p>\n<p>By comparison, national luxury housing tiers have seen more modest declines, ranging from 2.1% for the top 5% to 3.3% for the top 1%.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s important to point out that Orange County&#8217;s housing market is far from monolithic, with significant variations in pricing across some of its most sought-after cities.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In smaller, high-demand cities where active listings often number in the low hundreds, even modest shifts in the makeup of available homes can produce large swings in median prices,&#8221; says Smith.  <\/p>\n<p>Daftarian agrees, stressing that even though some of the communities are located &#8220;just minutes apart,&#8221; their housing markets &#8220;function completely differently from one another,&#8221; he says. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-dana-point\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dana_Point\"><\/span>Dana Point<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This futuristic, five-bedroom, oceanfront estate in Dana Point, CA, is priced at $22.550 million, making it one of the priciest listings on the market. <span class=\"image-credit\">(Realtor.com)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Dana Point, CA, a city of 32,000 people known as the &#8220;dolphin- and whale-watching capital of the world&#8221; for its flourishing marine life, has seen its median listing price nearly double in a decade, climbing to $2.68 million last month\u2014a level that would qualify as luxury in many markets.<\/p>\n<p>But Dana Point\u2019s own luxury benchmarks are far higher, with the entry price point into the top 10% of the local market exceeding $10 million, down nearly a third from a year ago.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Unlike the broader county, Dana Point\u2019s ultraluxury segment has not yet found a pricing bottom, with the top 1% experiencing double-digit year-over-year declines for more than a year,&#8221; says Smith, adding that prices across the coastal city&#8217;s luxury tiers peaked between late 2023 and early 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Daftarian explains that in the last three to five years, Dana Point has experienced something of a &#8220;renaissance&#8221; thanks to a flurry of new construction in neighborhoods like the Strand and Monarch Beach. He says homes in those coveted areas that sold for $1,000 to $1,500 per square foot in 2020 have since doubled in price. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-newport-beach\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Newport_Beach\"><\/span>Newport Beach <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/na.rdcpix.com\/d7f0388b1e7a20316c0d4a8b216f750bw-c707907381srd_q80.jpg\" alt=\"Newport Beach, CA\" class=\"wp-image-1092330\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">With an asking price of $12.9 million, this four-bedroom, custom-built estate in Newport Beach, CA, ranks among the top 10% of the town\u2019s luxury market. <span class=\"image-credit\">(Realtor.com)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sitting 20 miles north of Dana Point along the Pacific Coast, Newport Beach, CA, is an upscale boater&#8217;s and fisherman&#8217;s paradise, but its housing market tells a more nuanced story. <\/p>\n<p>The typical for-sale home in the charming beach town was $4.76 million in October, up 6.3% from the same period last year\u2014and nearly double compared to October 2016. <\/p>\n<p>However, the city&#8217;s higher-priced market segments remain under pressure. <\/p>\n<p>The top 10% of homes starts at nearly $13 million, down 2.7% year over year; the top 5% at $17.5 million, down 18.6%; and the ultraexpensive top 1% at $25.19 million, down more than 55% from last year.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The ultraluxury segment in Newport Beach has experienced double-digit declines for 12 consecutive months, with no clear signs of a rebound yet,&#8221; notes Smith.<\/p>\n<p>Daftarian says that Newport Beach has many teardown properties ripe for development, and he predicts that in a few years\u2019 time there will be new trophy properties going up and hitting the market there and in other nearby communities. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-laguna-beach\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Laguna_Beach\"><\/span>Laguna Beach<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/na.rdcpix.com\/a76eb596b87ea08c3a4d9278eec9db39w-c194098535srd_q80.jpg\" alt=\"Laguna Beach, CA listing\" class=\"wp-image-1092307\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This oceanfront mansion with direct beach access in Laguna Beach, CA, has an asking price of $32.995 million, making it one of the priciest listings on the market.  <span class=\"image-credit\">(Realtor.com)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>On the other hand, Laguna Beach, CA, a well-established playground of the wealthy\u2014renowned for its natural beauty and vibrant art scene\u2014has been on an upward trajectory.<\/p>\n<p>The median listing price in town stands at $4.13 million, up from $2.79 million nine years ago. Perhaps most tellingly, all luxury tiers in Laguna Beach saw annual increases in October, with the top 1% of the market beginning at $44.9 million after a year-over-year gain of more than 35%.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Laguna Beach stands out as a rare pocket of luxury appreciation within an otherwise cooling Orange County high-end market,&#8221; says Smith, explaining that the city&#8217;s high-end market segments are moving counter to the broader countrywide trend.<\/p>\n<p>Given its reputation as a long-established in-demand enclave, Laguna Beach continues to attract deep-pocketed homebuyers even as neighboring markets such as Dana Point and Newport Beach struggle to find their sweet spot in the post-peak years. <\/p>\n<p>According to Smith, these varying trends within one county highlight a combination of tight inventory, post-peak price easing, and differences in market maturity.<\/p>\n<p>Daftarian adds that Laguna Beach has stricter planning and building codes than some of its counterparts, making it a less hospitable environment for developers. As a result, fewer new homes are coming to market, driving up prices for existing properties. <\/p>\n<p>The agent predicts that prices across Orange County will stay firm in the future, citing one crucial factor: Demand continues to outpace supply, particularly for trophy properties.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a new era for Orange County,&#8221; says Daftarian. <\/p>\n<p>The median listing price in Orange County has surged more than 70% over the past decade, with many homes selling for $2,000 to $3,000 per square foot in desirable communities.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"External_Resources\"><\/span>External Resources<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/essentials\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Search Essentials<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/developer.wordpress.org\/plugins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WordPress Plugin Handbook<\/a> are useful references for best practices.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ_Californias_Quiet_Luxury_Haven\"><\/span>FAQ: Californias Quiet Luxury Haven<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_should_be_planned_first\"><\/span>What should be planned first?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Start with the goal, audience, and deliverables so the final content and media support the same outcome.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Need help implementing this workflow?<\/strong> Contact Miami Real Estate Insights &amp; Market Trends to plan a practical content and media process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A New Wave of High-End Buyers Flock to the: A Quiet Luxury Haven: Orange County&#039;s Growing Appeal Orange County, located just southeast of Los Angeles, i&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2350,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_title":"7 Proven Californias Quiet Luxury Haven Mistakes to Avoid","rank_math_description":"A Quiet Luxury Haven: Orange County&#039;s Growing Appeal Orange County, located just southeast of Los Angeles, is experiencing a luxury surge that's drawing","rank_math_focus_keyword":"Californias Quiet Luxury Haven","rank_math_canonical_url":"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/californias-quiet-luxury-haven-draws-a-new-wave-of-high-end-buyers\/","rank_math_robots":"noindex,follow","footnotes":""},"categories":[1719],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-miami-real-estate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2349"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3982,"href":"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2349\/revisions\/3982"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brickellsold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}