Look inside: A Del Mar mansion on sale for $75 million

A newly built home on San Diego County’s most exclusive strip of land has an eye-popping price tag.

A new beachfront mansion at 2920 Camino Del Mar was listed last week for $75 million. It is a few houses down from Bill Gates’ $43 million home, and a property purchased by private-equity billionaire Egon Durban for $44.1 million in October 2023 — San Diego County’s biggest ever residential sale.

Listing agent Rande Turner said the $75 million price tag is justified because of the mansion’s location and it is a newly built property, just finished in October.

“What this house has is certainty and longevity,” he said Tuesday during a tour of the property.

The property uses brick throughout, unlike many of the older wooden homes in the area. There are drainage systems throughout in case water makes it over the seawall (very rare) and plants that will thrive in the coastal climate.

The 30,491-square-foot property features a main 4,508-square-foot house, two guest houses (353 square feet and 377 square feet), a pool and 75 feet of ocean frontage — one of the biggest in San Diego County. In total, there are seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms.

The owner, Sandra Naftzger, is selling the property because, Turner said, she spends more of her time in the Los Angeles area. The property has belonged to her family since the 1930s. It took around 12 years to convert the lot, which involved various approvals for the construction of a new seawall and other improvements, as well as a challenge from a neighbor over the construction.

Designed by William Hefner, a Los Angeles-based architect, the home takes a minimalist design approach — different than the ornate Sand Castle mansion in La Jolla that went on sale for $108 million in late October.

San Diego real estate is no stranger to shocking listing prices that don’t lead to a purchase. The Sand Castle property still hasn’t sold and the average time to sell a home priced at more than $6 million in San Diego County is 425 days, said Reports on Housing. That is up from 399 last year.

Turner said the Del Mar home is different because properties in the area, which are smaller and have less ocean frontage, are easily selling for record-breaking amounts every year. He reasoned there was a less than 3% chance it would draw an international buyer, more likely a local affluent buyer that appreciates oceanfront living.

“This is the ultimate, quiet luxury home,” Turner said.

At the entrance of the home on Camino Del Mar, sounds from the road can still be heard as surfers look for parking spots and maintenance crews for many of the nearby mansions trim trees. But, just a few steps onto the property, the only thing one hears is the roar of the ocean.

The property comes with a 15- by 40-foot pool, hot tub and resting chair area in case the owner doesn’t want to risk a stingray attack in the nearby ocean. New Zealand Christmas trees, fig leaf plants and paspalum grass accent the outdoor living space.

There is plenty of space for visitors with the two guest houses, which feature TVs, artwork and bathrooms, and function as their own separate beach houses. For the owner, the primary bedroom sits on the second floor of the main house with a full view of the ocean, as well as a bathroom with a big tub and shower.

Clearly, the biggest selling point of the property is the sea wall, constructed in 2021. The deck area features a gas fireplace, plenty of space for entertaining and a large American flag flapping in the wind.

Other features of the property include two garages and space for up to nine cars, nearly 30 solar panels, furniture with tan and white colors to create a sense of calm, English white oak on the floor and ceiling over much of the property, a “sand room” for washing off after the beach, an outdoor shower and private gate to the beach.

It’s hard to imagine but the property stayed undeveloped for nearly 100 years. The Naftzger family includes generations of cattle ranchers who have sold off land purchased in the 1930s and 1940s for enormous sums across Arizona, Oregon and California.