Newport Beach, California Housing Market

What stands out in Newport Beach?

• The median asking price is $4,860,771: one of the priciest of 765 tracked cities. Entry costs are high, so cash flow is harder. Price growth has to do more of the work.
• The median household earns $156,360 a year: among the highest incomes of 765 tracked cities. Tenants can carry higher rents.
• Asking price per square foot has moved +8.2% a year over five years: among the strongest five-year price growth of 765 tracked cities. Long-run appreciation has been strong here.

What does a shrinking population mean for Newport Beach landlords?

The population in Newport Beach's ZIP codes fell 2.7% over five years. 15.8% of homes are vacant, higher than 90% of tracked cities. Households still grew 2.7% while the housing stock grew 1.5%. Fewer people living in more households means rental demand has held up better than the population suggests. Check vacancy by ZIP before you buy.

What is the fair market rent in Newport Beach?

HUD sets one fair market rent for Orange County. For fiscal year 2026:

• 1 bedroom: $2,746 a month. Up 12% on last year, up 107% since FY2016.
• 2 bedrooms: $3,236 a month. Up 11% on last year, up 94% since FY2016.
• 3 bedrooms: $4,393 a month. Up 12% on last year, up 89% since FY2016.
• 4 bedrooms: $5,246 a month. Up 12% on last year, up 107% since FY2016.

The figures include tenant-paid utilities and apply to all of Orange County, so one home's rent can sit well above or below them. See fair market rent by city.

Who will rent from you in Newport Beach?

Most Newport Beach households rent. 52 out of every 100 households are renters. The renter share is growing. Five years ago it was 49 in 100. Newport Beach added about 1,000 renter households in five years. Renter households average 2.0 people. Singles and couples rent here. Two bedrooms beat four.

The median Newport Beach household earns $156,360 a year. Incomes here have grown 5.9% a year since 2019. Home prices have outrun incomes. Locals are being priced out. A typical home costs 31.1 times the median income. Most locals cannot buy. That keeps rental demand deep. It also caps the rent they can pay. At 30% of income, a tenant on the median income can pay about $3,909 a month.

To see what one Newport Beach address would rent for and cash flow, run it through the app.

How does Newport Beach compare with other California markets?

Ranked among the 141 California markets we track:

• Asking price: 2nd priciest of 141. Newport Beach is at $4,860,771. Closest: Santa Barbara and Malibu.
• Buyer competition: 15th least competitive of 138. Newport Beach is at 0.26 buyers per home. Closest: Santa Monica and Irvine.
• Time on market: 4th longest time on market of 141. Newport Beach is at a median of 76 days on market. Closest: Palm Springs and Indio.
• Price cuts: 37th fewest price cuts of 141. Newport Beach is at 16% of sellers cutting. Closest: Beaumont and Hemet.

How much can you negotiate in Newport Beach?

For every 100 homes still for sale, 26 are under contract. In 2017–2019 at this time of year it was 22. The rest are still waiting for a buyer. Few sellers are dropping their price. Your discount will come from one stale listing.

Newport Beach listings spend a median 76 days on the market. That is 9% longer than a year ago. There are 222 homes for sale in Newport Beach. That is 3.8 times the tightest month on record, but below the peak of 440. Supply is shrinking against last year.

What to do about it

• Get your financing approved before you look.
• Decide your maximum price before you bid.
• Bid the day a good home lists, or hunt the few that have sat 90+ days.
• Walk away when the price passes your number. Another buyer will overpay. Let them.

What numbers should you underwrite a Newport Beach deal with?

• Price growth to assume — +6.7%/yr. Newport Beach has grown about 8.2% a year for five years and for ten. That pace held before and after the 2020–2021 boom, so it is a fair long-run input. Prices fell 3.4% over the last year. Use it for timing. The five-year rate is the better guide.
• Months of carrying cost — 3. Budget at least 76 days of holding costs, the current median time on market, when you exit or refinance. That is 9% longer than a year ago.
• Odds you cut your price to sell — 1 in 6. 16% of Newport Beach listings have cut their asking price. Underwrite your exit below asking.
• Competition when you exit — -6%. Homes for sale in Newport Beach are down 6% on last year, so your resale faces less competition than today's comps did.

Read how population change affects rentals and how we read these numbers, then run the numbers on a deal.

What is the median home price in Newport Beach?

The median asking price in Newport Beach is about $4,861,000 as of Sep 2026, up 2.6% from a year ago. The typical listing is 4% larger than a year ago, and asking price per square foot is down 3.4%. So the size of homes on the market explains much of the rise. This is the asking price on homes listed for sale. Sites that report sold prices or estimated home values will show a different number. Our Newport Beach figures cover the 6 ZIP codes with a Newport Beach mailing address, which can reach past city limits.

Is Newport Beach a buyer's or seller's market in 2026?

Sellers have more pull in Newport Beach than usual. We compare Newport Beach with 2017–2019 at this time of year: there are 39% fewer homes for sale; 16% of sellers have cut their price, against 20% then; there are 26 pending sales per 100 listings, against 22 then.

Are Newport Beach home prices going up or down?

The median asking price is 6.1% below its Aug 2025 peak. You are not buying at the top. Prices are still falling. Waiting has paid off so far. Let listings age, then come back lower.

What is the best month to buy a house in Newport Beach?

Across 9 full years, Newport Beach asking prices ran lowest in January, about 6.4% below the year's average. They peaked in September. The most homes for sale show up in July, about 16% above the yearly average.

What price growth should I assume for Newport Beach?

Assume +6.7% a year. Newport Beach has grown about 8.2% a year for five years and for ten. That pace held before and after the 2020–2021 boom, so it is a fair long-run input. Prices fell 3.4% over the last year. Use it for timing. The five-year rate is the better guide.

What is the fair market rent in Newport Beach?

HUD's fiscal year 2026 fair market rent for Orange County is $3,236 a month for 2 bedrooms and $4,393 for 3 bedrooms. The figures include tenant-paid utilities and cover the whole county.