Eastside Costa Mesa

What Eastside Costa Mesa is

Eastside is the strip of Costa Mesa between Newport Boulevard and the Upper Newport Bay, running from 17th Street north to the Santa Ana Country Club and east to the city line at Irvine Avenue. The MLS calls it area C5. Everyone else calls it the Eastside, and in coastal Orange County that one word carries a whole set of assumptions: the oldest part of Costa Mesa, the closest to Newport, the part that feeds Newport Harbor High, the part with the 17th Street restaurants and the Back Bay trails, and the part where a 1952 cottage and a brand new 4,800 square foot house share a block without anyone finding it strange.

It is also the biggest and busiest market I cover. Three hundred twenty-one homes closed here in the last two years, more than three times any other Costa Mesa neighborhood on this site. The homes span 1890 to 2025, and that is not a typo: a 900 square foot house on Newport Boulevard built in 1890 sold for $2,172,000, and a 4,813 square foot 2025 build on Costa Mesa Street sold for $5,500,000. One hundred thirty-five years of housing, trading in the same market, on the same streets.

The build history by decade is the neighborhood's biography: one home from the 1890s, five from the 1920s, one from the 1930s, 23 from the 1940s, 89 from the 1950s, 62 from the 1960s, 25 from the 1970s, 43 from the 1980s, 21 from the 1990s, 16 from the 2000s, 18 from the 2010s and 17 already from the 2020s. A postwar core and a rebuild that never stopped. The streets are Elden, Orange, Santa Ana, Tustin, Irvine, Victoria, Cecil, Alta, Monte Vista, Walnut, Flower, Costa Mesa Street and the numbered streets from 18th through 23rd. The MLS files most of it under Eastside Heights and Eastside Central.

Who buys here, and why

Three buyers drive the Eastside, and they want three different things from the same dirt. The first is the family that wants Newport Harbor High, the Back Bay and the 17th Street life without a Newport Heights price, and will take a 1,600 square foot cottage on a 6,400 square foot lot to get it. The second is the builder, who looks at that same cottage and sees a lot, because the market here has proved over and over what it pays for a finished new house on an Eastside street. The third is the buyer of that finished house: the family from Irvine or the couple from the Peninsula who wants a new build, a yard, and a ten-minute drive to the beach, and will pay $3 million to $5.5 million for it. The first and second buyer compete head to head for the same cottages, which is why those cottages sell in ten days and over ask. The third buyer shops a different inventory and takes twice as long.

What separates the Eastside from the Westside across Newport Boulevard is not the dues and not the age of the houses, which are similar. It is the school boundary, the Back Bay, and the fact that Eastside land trades at $1,328 per square foot of house while Westside land trades at $1,001. What separates it from Mesa del Mar and Mesa Verde to the north is that those are tracts, uniform and predictable, while the Eastside is a 135-year accumulation of everything, and the buyer who wants character and is willing to pay for a view of what the block will become in ten years buys here.

The finding: the oldest, smallest houses cost the most per foot and sell the fastest

Homes built before 1960: 118 sales, median $2,212,500, median 1,625 square feet, at a median of $1,328 per square foot, median 10 days on market. Homes built 2015 or later: 31 sales, median $3,035,000, median 2,739 square feet, at a median of $1,117 per square foot, median 19 days. The old small houses trade at a 19 percent higher rate per foot than brand new construction and sell in half the time.

The reason is that an Eastside buyer at $2.2 million is buying a lot on an Eastside street, and the 1952 cottage on it is a placeholder. Detached lots run 1,295 to 24,259 square feet with a median of 6,394, and on those lots the market has repeatedly paid a median of $3,035,000 for a finished new home. So the arithmetic every builder in this neighborhood runs is simple: roughly $2.2 million buys the lot with an old house on it, roughly $3 million buys the finished new house, and the $800,000 in between is what the market pays for the build. That is the number you are bidding against when you try to buy a cottage to live in.

Half this neighborhood sells inside ten days

Days on market across 321 closings ran 0 to 216, with a median of 11. One hundred fifty-six of the 321, 49 percent, closed within ten days. Thirty-three closed at zero days. Only nine took longer than a hundred. One in ten Eastside homes never accumulates a day of public exposure, because the builders and the neighbors hear about it first. If the Eastside is where you want to be, a saved search is not a strategy. You need someone working the streets, and you need financing and inspections lined up before the listing exists.

What homes actually sell for

Across 321 closings, $699,000 to $6,470,000, median $1,900,000.

• Single family homes: 245 sales, median $2,060,000, 1,832 square feet, $1,175 per square foot, 12 days.
• Condominiums: 46 sales, median $1,112,500, 1,444 square feet, $788 per square foot, 8 days.
• Townhomes: 24 sales, median $1,209,000, 1,522 square feet, $786 per square foot, 9 days.
• Duplexes: 6 sales, median $2,000,000, 1,836 square feet, $1,044 per square foot, 51 days.

The entry point is attached. The lowest sales, $699,000 to $830,000, were units on Elden, Victoria and Alta Lane, and condos move faster than anything else here at a median of eight days, because they are the only way into the Eastside under a million and every renter on 17th Street knows it.

Duplexes are the one slow product on the Eastside

Every other product sells in eight to twelve days. Duplexes sell in 51. The sample is six sales, so it is a direction rather than a rule, but the reason is clear: a $2,000,000 Eastside duplex is an investment competing against every other yield in Orange County, not a home competing against the house next door. If you are buying income property here, that slower clock is your leverage. If you are selling one, plan for a longer marketing period than your neighbors get and price to it from the start.

Price per square foot in this neighborhood is a trap

The reported price per square foot across recent Eastside sales runs from $484.48 to $5,833.33. The top number comes from 286 Virginia Place, where the square footage is recorded as 300 on a home that sold for $1,750,000. Three hundred square feet is a shed. It is a data entry error, and it poisons every automated Eastside average that includes it. I have excluded it from the comparisons on this page. When you see an Eastside per-foot figure quoted anywhere else, ask what it includes.

No HOA on the detached side

The detached homes carry no association, no dues, no gate and no land lease. The condominium and townhome communities carry dues that vary by community, so get the number from the association rather than the listing.

What is available right now

As of November 1, 2026, Eastside Costa Mesa has 28 active listings and 11 homes under contract or pending, with actives from $874,900 to $4,695,000 at a median of $2,197,000. Thirty-nine homes in play is among the deepest inventory of any neighborhood in these guides, which is what a market producing 321 sales in two years looks like. Ten recent sales carried a cumulative days count more than sixty days above their current listing, so ask for the full history on anything that looks fresh.

What I check before writing an offer on the Eastside

• The teardown math, even if you plan to keep the house. Old small homes here trade as land. Knowing what a builder would pay tells you what you are bidding against.
• The recorded square footage. At least one recent sale carries a plainly wrong figure. Measure or confirm from permits.
• Permit history on anything with an addition. A neighborhood rebuilt continuously since the 1940s accumulates unpermitted work.
• Systems, on anything pre-1960. That is 118 of the recent 321 sales. Panel, sewer line, roof.
• Zoning, if income matters. Duplexes trade here, so confirm what the specific parcel allows before assuming you can add a unit.
• Cumulative days. Ten recent sales had a listing history the current listing did not show.
• School boundary. The Eastside splits between elementary schools inside Newport-Mesa Unified. Confirm the address with the district, not the listing.
• Readiness. Half of this neighborhood is gone in ten days. Tour with financing and inspectors already arranged.

Frequently asked questions about Eastside Costa Mesa

Where is Eastside Costa Mesa?
Between Newport Boulevard and the Upper Newport Bay, from 17th Street north toward the Santa Ana Country Club, bordered by Newport Beach at Irvine Avenue. The MLS calls it area C5.

Does Eastside Costa Mesa have an HOA?
Not on the detached homes. The condominium and townhome communities carry dues, which vary by community.

Is Eastside Costa Mesa gated?
No.

What do homes in Eastside Costa Mesa sell for?
Across 321 recent closings, $699,000 to $6,470,000 with a median of $1,900,000. Single family homes alone had a median of $2,060,000.

What is the cheapest way to buy on the Eastside?
The attached homes. Recent condominium sales had a median of $1,112,500 and the lowest recent sales were $699,000 to $830,000 on Elden, Victoria and Alta Lane.

How old are the homes?
Recent sales span 1890 to 2025, median year 1964. The largest single group is the 1950s, with 89 of the 321 sales.

Why do the older homes cost more per square foot than new construction?
Because buyers are paying for the lot. Pre-1960 homes closed at a median $1,328 per square foot on a median 1,625 square feet, while homes built 2015 or later closed at $1,117 per square foot on a median 2,739 square feet. The old houses are small and the land underneath is the asset.

What does it cost to buy the lot versus the finished new house?
Roughly $2.2 million for a pre-1960 home on an Eastside lot, against roughly $3 million for a home built 2015 or later. The $800,000 gap is what the market has paid for the build.

How fast do homes sell?
Median 11 days. One hundred fifty-six of 321 sales, 49 percent, closed within ten days, and 33 closed at zero days on market.

Which product type sells fastest?
Condominiums, at a median of eight days, then townhomes at nine and single family homes at twelve.

Which sells slowest?
Duplexes, at a median of 51 days, four times slower than everything else. The sample is six sales.

How big are the lots?
Detached lots run 1,295 to 24,259 square feet, median 6,394.

Why do some sites show a very high price per square foot for the Eastside?
Because one recent sale has its square footage recorded as 300 on a home that sold for $1,750,000, producing $5,833 per square foot. It is a data entry error, and any average that includes it is distorted.

What was the highest recent sale?
$6,470,000 for a 5,300 square foot 2007 home on 22nd Street. Recent new construction on Costa Mesa Street, Walnut and Flower has traded from roughly $4.2 million to $5.5 million.

How much inventory is there right now?
As of November 1, 2026, 28 active listings from $874,900 to $4,695,000 and 11 homes under contract or pending.

Is Eastside Costa Mesa on a land lease?
No.

Which high school serves the Eastside?
Newport Harbor High in Newport-Mesa Unified for most of the neighborhood, with elementary assignments that split between schools. Confirm your address with the district before relying on an assignment.

How does the Eastside compare to the Westside?
Eastside closed at a median of $1,900,000 against $1,250,000 on the Westside, and Eastside pre-1960 stock trades at $1,328 per square foot against $1,001. The Westside has its own guide.

Where does the data on this page come from?
The California Regional MLS, filtered to area C5, using recorded closed sales rather than list prices or estimates, with the one miscoded square footage excluded from the size and rate comparisons. Figures are current as of the last update to this page and should be verified for any specific property.