RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE : Preview of 28 Lots at Smithcliffs Draws 250; 4 Submit Offers

Almost 250 people turned out Saturday for a private preview of the 28 lots at Smithcliffs, the coastal bluffs estate in Laguna Beach that developer Gary Brinderson has subdivided for custom homes.

No formal sales were nailed down during the five-hour fete, but a spokesman for Brinderson said that four written offers were taken.

The official opening date for sales is March 21, at which time all the finishing touches will be in--flowers along the interior roads and things like that.

Brinderson bought the 10.4-acre Smithcliffs estate for $15 million in 1985 and figures he has spent that much or more getting it ready for development. The lots, each about a quarter of an acre in size, are priced from $595,000 to $5 million. The most expensive properties sit on a bluff about 200 feet above the water. The entire property is on a peninsula overlooking Emerald Bay--and is just three miles south of the Irvine Co.’s own coastal lot development, Pelican Point, where properties are priced from $900,000 to $3 million.

Brinderson initially set his highest price at the $3-million mark to match the competition, but said he raised it to $5 million after fielding calls from interested potential buyers in Geneva, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

Judging from the sales pace at Pelican Point--18 of the 55 lots have been sold since sales began at the end of 1991--Brinderson won’t have much problem moving his lots. While it is true that the coastal lots don’t sell quite as rapidly as $80,000 condominiums might, marketing specialists say that Irvine Co.’s average of 1.2 lots a month during a recession is better than most expected.