I had the pleasure of walking with a friend today in Newport Beach. What a day it was! My experiment with video continues - I brought along my flip cam on my walk in an effort to illustrate how gorgeous it was today and show you just one of the reasons it is so great to live in Newport Beach.

This first video is taken while on the walk at Castaway’s Park:

Alternatively, here is a link to the video.

This video attempts to show the sunset from Cliff Drive…didn’t come out quite as radiant on video as it did in person, but the view is great nonetheless (and it actually came out quite well in print as this photo shows): 

Here is a link to the sunset video.

And, just for fun, here is a video of me in my car on my way home (I’m still experimenting with my video ways…lesson learned from this one is be sure to put some attention into hair and makeup before recording yourself!)

I’m often asked how much does it take to get into the Newport Beach market. I created this flyer to give a summary overview of Newport Beach’s most affordable communities. It generally represents entry level purchase prices into the market and gives some summary details on each of the community, including approximate age of the community, number of units, and typical association dues.

• The locals know that people live either on the “west side of the bay” or the “east side of the bay” (see pdf map for a visual). In general (there are certainly examples that prove otherwise), property on the east side of the bay is slightly more expensive than property on the west side of the bay. This generalism holds true for the entry level communities.
• Rock bottom entry level is in the high $200,000 for a studio/1bd apartment of approximately 500 square feet (two properties have closed under $300,000 in 2008 in Newport Beach - one for $270,000 and another for $279,000).
• Average entry level pricing in Newport Beach is around $650,000-$700,000 which will give you a several options in the 1-2 bedroom category.
• The most affordable community in all of Newport Beach is the Versailles building on the west side of the bay. This is an multilevel building that has a variety of studio, 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom units. It is possible to get into a 1 bedroom in the Versaille building in the low $300,000’s. The location is close to the beach, and this is a popular location for those who want easy access to the Newport Peninsula and a Newport Beach zip code. It also is a popular place for 2nd home owners who just want a small place near the beach with low maintenance.
• One of the best kept entry level communities is Bayridge on the east side of the bay. An attractive Cape Code style community, the location is supurb. Surrounded by many high end communities, the location offers easy access to Fashion Island and Corona del Mar, the 73 freeway, UCI, and Irvine.