Real Estate Industry News

A waterfront Newport Beach mansion has been purchased by Qualtrics co-founder Jared Smith for a little over $35 million, placing it among the most expensive residential property sales in city and Orange County history.

The 12,710-square-foot Newport Harbor estate was listed for $44.995 million and sold in late August following a five-day escrow in an all-cash deal. The property has since been leased out for $195,000 per month, according to the Multiple Listing Service.

The sale price is about $5 million shy of the previous Newport Beach record, set two years ago when a 12.5-acre estate in Newport Coast — considered the city’s largest private home parcel — sold for $39,999,999. It’s also $8,000 more than what actor Nicolas Cage sold his Newport Harbor home for in 2008, according to the Daily Pilot.

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Designed by Robert Sinclair and completed in 2018, the five-bedroom, eight-bathroom estate sits on three lots with 90 feet of frontage and a new private dock that can accommodate at least four vessels. Inside, the multilevel house features about $1 million worth of Riviera bronze doors and windows, two bars, two chef’s kitchens, a craft room, a gym and a theater. A custom $100,000 aquarium designed by Nic Tiemens anchors the the great room.

Three Tesla batteries and solar panels keep the home powered during outages. A glass elevator services four levels.

Terraces, balconies and multiple covered patios create additional living space outdoors. A 57-foot-long swimming pool with underwater speakers sits between the home and the dock.

Tim Smith of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage was the listing agent. Tara Foster Shapiro of Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty represented the buyer. The exact sale price was $35,008,000.

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Jared Smith co-founded the enterprise software company Qualtrics with his brother, Ryan, in their parents’ basement in Utah, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. The Provo, Utah-based company was acquired last year by German software company SAP for $8 billion in cash.