2 O.C. Cities in Top 15 Markets

Almost 700 homes in California sold for $1 million or more in the first three months of this year, and two Orange County communities ranked among the top 15 housing markets.

Newport Beach and Laguna Beach ranked fifth and 12th, respectively, in a survey of home sales by Dataquick Information Systems of San Diego. In Newport Beach, there were 23 million-dollar home sales, while Laguna Beach recorded 12. The highest-priced home in both cities sold for $3.4 million.

The most expensive house of all sold during the quarter was a 13,423-square-foot mansion built in 1935 in the Bel Air area, a 15-bedroom, 10-bath number that went for $9.25 million in January.

The 685 sales for $1 million or more statewide represented about a 40% increase over the same quarter a year ago. In more than 30% of the deals, buyers paid cash, contrasted with just 7% of middle-of-the-road home markets.

But $1 million won’t go as far in Beverly Hills as it does in, say, Boise. A late-1989 Coldwell Banker price survey found that a similar-sized, middle-management executive home cost $916,666 in the wealthy Los Angeles suburb but just $82,667 in the Idaho capital.

TOP 15 MARKETS FOR MILLION-DOLLAR HOMES Here are the number of million-dollar homes sold in each of the top 15 California markets and the highest price paid in each market during the first quarter of 1990. Malibu: 19 Pacific Palisades: 23 Santa Monica: 22 Beverly Hills: 41 Los Angeles: 67 Palos Verdes: 14 Pasadena: 11 Newport Beach: 23 Laguna Beach: 12 MOST EXPENSIVE HOME PURCHASED IN EACH MARKET In millions of dollars: Los Angeles : $9.25 Beverly Hills: $6.25 San Diego: $4.70 Pacific Palisades: $4.30 Santa Barbara: $4.20 Malibu: $3.66 Hillsborough: $3.60 Newport Beach: $3.40 Laguna Beach: $3.40 San Francisco: $3.30 Indian Wells: $2.90 Santa Monica: $2.85 San Rafael: $2.65 Palos Verdes: $2.63 Pasadena: $1.95