You get top dollar for a Newport Beach luxury home by pricing it to the last true comparable sale, having qualified buyers lined up before it goes public, and selling it in the first days on market, when buyers pay closest to asking. In One Ford Road, where I live and sell, the 7 homes that sold with 0 days on market since January 2025 closed at a median 100.0% of list price; the 10 that sat more than 30 days closed at a median 97.7% (CRMLS).
Every number in this post comes from CRMLS closed sales in One Ford Road, the 371-home gated community off Ford Road, from Jan 1, 2025 to Nov 3, 2026: same gate, same HOA, six collections of plan homes, and every sale on the record.
Why do the first days on market decide your price?
Because the best buyers show up first. A new listing gets every active buyer's attention in its first week. After that, the question in the room changes from "how do we win this" to "what's wrong with it."
Days on market | Sales | Median sale-to-list | Closed at or above list |
|---|---|---|---|
0 days | 7 | 100.0% | 6 |
1 to 30 days | 7 | 97.1% | 0 |
More than 30 days | 10 | 97.7% | 0 |
The two weakest results in One Ford Road over this period both sat: 17 Spanish Bay Dr closed at 88.0% of list after 151 days, and 93 Old Course Dr at 90.4% after 56 days.
How should you price a luxury home in Newport Beach?
Price to the last true comparable, which in a community like One Ford Road means your own collection, not the community average. Since 2024, Balboa homes have sold at a median $1,295 per square foot and Stonybrook homes at $1,425. An owner who prices off the community median is off before the first showing.
Price at the top of what the comps support, and no higher. 6 Edgewood Dr is the example. I priced it at $4,300,000, which was above every Balboa sale on record. It sold for $4,300,000, full price, with 0 days on market, and set the Balboa price record at the time. I set that record three times: 25 Spanish Bay Dr in 2021, 33 Long Bay Dr in 2022, and 6 Edgewood Dr in 2026.
Should you sell off-market or on the MLS?
Whichever gets the highest net, and you often don't know until you call the buyers first. I call my buyers before a home goes public. If the right buyer is already there, the seller gets a clean deal with no showings. If not, the home launches with full marketing and the buyer calls become the first week's showings.
- 6 Edgewood Dr, 2026: $4,300,000, full price, 0 days on market. I already had the buyer and represented both sides.
- 20 Gleneagles Dr, 2025: $6,950,000, full price, 0 days on market, both sides. At the time, the highest One Ford Road sale on record outside the Pacific Heights custom homes.
- 8 Gleneagles Dr, 2026: $7,520,000 on a $7,550,000 list, 99.6% of asking, after full public marketing (67 days). The buyer came through another brokerage. It broke my own 20 Gleneagles record for the highest One Ford Road sale outside the Pacific Heights custom homes, and it is the second-highest One Ford Road sale of 2026.
Off-market is not a discount channel here. 6 of the 7 One Ford Road sales recorded with 0 days on market since January 2025 closed at or above list.
What is a Compass Private Exclusive?
A Compass Private Exclusive is a listing I market to Compass agents and their buyers before it appears on the MLS, Zillow, or any public site. It is Phase 1 of the Compass 3-Phased Marketing Strategy. We run the whole campaign off market first, and the home goes public only when that helps your price.
How does marketing off-market protect your price?
Every day on the MLS and every price cut becomes part of the public record on the home. Buyers, and now the AI tools they ask about a home, read that history as weakness and offer accordingly. A Private Exclusive builds no public days on market and no public price-change history.
That lets us test price privately. If the feedback from agents and their buyers says the number is high, we adjust before anyone outside Compass sees a reduction. If a buyer steps up at our number, you sell without the home ever showing a day on market.
It is a full campaign: professional photography, video, a virtual tour, and print materials, shared privately with Compass agents and their buyers, plus my calls to the buyers I already represent.
In One Ford Road since January 2025, the 7 homes that sold with 0 days on market closed at a median 100.0% of list; the 10 that sat more than 30 days closed at 97.7%. When the buyer is in place before the public clock starts, the seller never negotiates against days on market.
What happens if the home goes public later?
We go public with what we learned. Under CRMLS rules, days on market start when the listing goes active on the MLS, so the private weeks don't count, and a price tested privately is not in the public price history. We can also launch as Coming Soon first: up to 21 days on the MLS and public sites, with no showings and no days on market.
When is a Private Exclusive the wrong call?
The tradeoff is less exposure: during the private phase, only Compass agents and their buyers see the home. If your home needs the widest pool of buyers, such as a one-of-a-kind property with no clear comparable, or you must close by a fixed date, go public sooner. I will tell you which one yours is.
For how buyers find these homes, read Off-Market, Pocket, and Private Exclusive Listings in Newport Beach and Off-Market Homes in One Ford Road.
What does an agent's track record tell you about your price?
Everything, if you ask for the right numbers. Ask for list price, sale price, and days on market for every sale they've closed in your community. Here are mine in One Ford Road since January 2025: 6 listings, a median 98.3% of list, and a median 3 days on market. Every other One Ford Road listing over the same period: 18 sales, a median 97.9% of list, and a median 32.5 days.
Address | Collection | Close date | List price | Sale price | Sale-to-list | Days on market | I also brought the buyer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
61 Old Course Dr | Balboa | May 18, 2026 | $4,095,000 | $3,975,000 | 97.1% | 21 | Yes |
6 Edgewood Dr | Balboa | Feb 23, 2026 | $4,300,000 | $4,300,000 | 100.0% | 0 | Yes |
8 Gleneagles Dr | Providence | Jan 22, 2026 | $7,550,000 | $7,520,000 | 99.6% | 67 | No |
20 Gleneagles Dr | Providence | Apr 1, 2025 | $6,950,000 | $6,950,000 | 100.0% | 0 | Yes |
15 Colonial Dr | Stonybrook | Mar 5, 2025 | $5,195,000 | $5,000,000 | 96.2% | 4 | No |
7 Jupiter Hills Dr | Stonybrook | Feb 10, 2025 | $5,195,000 | $5,000,000 | 96.2% | 2 | No |
The full sale-by-sale record for the community is on my One Ford Road sales and market data page.
Top dollar FAQ
What is the fastest way to lose money selling a luxury home in Newport Beach?
Overpricing and sitting. In One Ford Road since January 2025, homes on the market more than 30 days closed at a median 97.7% of list price, and the two weakest results, 88.0% and 90.4% of list, both sat for 56 days or more, according to CRMLS.
Do off-market sales in Newport Beach bring less money?
Not in One Ford Road. The 7 sales recorded with 0 days on market since January 2025 closed at a median 100.0% of list price, and 6 of the 7 closed at or above list, according to CRMLS.
Does a Compass Private Exclusive add days on market?
No. A Compass Private Exclusive is marketed to Compass agents and their buyers before it goes on the MLS, so it builds no public days on market or price-change history. Under CRMLS rules, which cover Orange County, days on market start when the listing goes active on the MLS.
How do I check whether an agent gets top dollar?
Ask for their CRMLS closings in your community with list price, sale price, and days on market for each. Brian Sperry's 6 One Ford Road listings since January 2025 closed at a median 98.3% of list in a median 3 days on market.
Notes on the data
All sales figures come from CRMLS closed sales in the six One Ford Road collections (Balboa, Carmel, Summer House, Stonybrook, Providence, and Pacific Heights) through Nov 3, 2026, and are deemed reliable but not guaranteed; sales never entered in CRMLS, including true off-market sales, are not included. Sale-to-list uses the list price reported in CRMLS at close, and days on market are as reported in CRMLS. One Ford Road is a single community, so read these numbers as a case study, not a Newport Beach average. A price record is the highest close price in that collection at the time of sale; 30 Long Bay Dr ($4,500,000, Sep 2026) has since passed the 6 Edgewood Dr Balboa record, and 17 Crooked Stick Dr ($8,000,000, May 2026) has since passed 8 Gleneagles Dr as the highest One Ford Road sale outside the Pacific Heights custom homes. Private Exclusive and Coming Soon rules here are CRMLS rules as of November 2026 and are changing, and CRMLS does not record whether a sale was marketed as a Private Exclusive, so the 0-day figures are not a count of Private Exclusives.
Brian Sperry
Brian Sperry Real Estate Group | Compass
CA DRE# 01478815
(949) 667-3300
1600 Newport Center Dr, Suite 250, Newport Beach, CA 92660
briansperry.com
