Area’s Numbers by the Numbers

For the eighth consecutive year Atherton, California – 94027 – is America’s most expensive zip code while our rarefied enclave – 93108 – ranked Number 5 with a median property price of $5,052,000.

The Hamptons’ Sagaponack and Water Mill ranked number two and three with median property prices just shy of $6 million, according to Property Shark.

Newport Beach – 02651, 92657 and 92662 – had three consecutive rankings at 6,7 and 8 with median property prices in excess of $4,763,000 and $4,650,000.

Meanwhile L.A.’s most expensive zip codes were the $3.15 million 90272 in Pacific Palisades, the $2.81 million within 90277 – the Bel Air, Beverly Crescent and Holmby Hills neighborhoods, and the $2.35 million median in Brentwood – 90049.

Home Off the Market

Prince Harry and actress wife Meghan Markle have added another home to their collection, acquiring a house in Portugal.

The property, according to London’s Daily Mail, is near to the home of Harry’s cousin, Princess Eugenie, daughter of Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York, and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, who own a property in the Costa Terra Ocean Club, a development with 300 properties in Melides, south of the Portuguese capital Lisbon, where he works.

Brooksbank, 38, splits his time between the club and London with Eugenie, 34, and their two sons, August, 3, and Ernest, 16 months.

The Sussexes are said to have flown from Dusseldorf in Germany to Lisbon in the “mega secret” operation.

But as to how much monies exchanged hands in not known, with many saying the Riven Rock couple received the property as part of a promotional deal to bring more attention to the development.

Stay tuned…

Home On the Market

The late Santa Barbara copper heiress Huguette Clark’s New Canaan, Connecticut, estate, which she purchased in 1951, is up for sale for $25.5 million following a major renovation by its current owners, fashion director Reed Krakoff and his interior designer wife Delfine.

Clark, who died in 2011 aged 104, bought the sprawling property as a country retreat for family and friends in the event of a Soviet attack on New York City, but never lived there in 60 years.

The main residence occupies 14,300 square feet and has nine bedrooms. It also comes with a two-bedroom caretaker’s cottage and another house turned into a gym. The Krakoffs acquired the 24-acre estate in 2014 for $14.3 million and spent $10 million on renovations.

Clark’s California estate, Bellosguardo, overlooking East Beach in Santa Barbara, is now open to the public by appointment for docent-led tours.

Another impressive home that was left empty for decades.

Application Auditions

Ensemble Theatre Company is now accepting applications for the 2025 Young Playwrights Festival.

Designed for aspiring playwrights aged 14-19, the tuition-free program is a cornerstone of ETC’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of storytellers, offering a transformative creative experience that is crucial to ensuring a vibrant future for American theater.

The festival is a four-month journey where participants will craft a ten-minute play within a supportive and inspiring environment.

Under the guidance of a professional director and actor, these original works will be publicly presented, bringing young voices to the forefront of our community’s theatrical scene

Apply Yourself

The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara has begun accepting applications for financial aid during the 2025-2026 academy year. Eligibility requirements and application instructions are available online at www.sbscholarship.org.

The foundation received 3,619 applications during its recently concluded scholarship awards cycle.

In May, it awarded more than $7.1 million in scholarships to 1,787 Santa Barbara County students.

Scholarship awards for undergraduates at four-year schools averaged $3,301. Graduate student awards, excluding those for medical school, averaged $6,251.

The foundation also supports students pursuing vocational training. Eligible students may receive up to five years of undergraduate funding and four years of medical-graduate level funding.

The primary criteria for award selection are financial need, academic achievement, and motivation.

The deadline to apply for financial aid is February 19, 2025.

Sightings

Katy Perry at the Kia Forum in Inglewood… Oprah Winfrey brunching with friends at Joe’s Cafe… Actor Josh Brolin at Pierre Lafond.

Pip! Pip!