Newport Shores | A boater's paradise in Bellevue

The idyllic setting of Newport Shores in Bellevue looks like it could grace the front of a postcard. With homes on the waterfront and on private canals plus a newly remodeled yacht club, this is the stuff of dreams to the average American.

On the eastern shore of Lake Washington in southwest Bellevue, the first houses in the community were built in the early 1960s.

Three canals run through the community. Houses there have backyards that open onto the canal with protected moorage for boats.

The community also has the Newport Yacht Club, and membership is required for residents. The club has boat moorage, a pool, tennis courts, sand volleyball and a building available for rental.

There is a steep variance in home styles — from recently built mansions on the shores of Lake Washington to the original houses built in the 1960s — although even the smallest are spacious, typically about 2,400 square feet on an 1/3-acre lot.

Prices range from about $900,000 to $7 million.

Demand for homes in Newport Shores has remained strong, says Tony Marrese, a Windermere real-estate agent who has lived in the neighborhood for six years.

Kristin and Damon Nasman moved to the area 6 ½ years ago and chose it primarily because it's where Damon grew up and where he wanted to raise his kids.

"There is a sense that people know they are going to live in this neighborhood a long time. It is a second family in a way, with a strong sense of belonging," says Kristin Nasman. "Unless you have a reason to move, people don't really move out," she adds.

There are a number of residents with roots in the neighborhood like Damon's.

Owning a boat is not a prerequisite to living in Newport Shores, but many residents do and some share.

Some years, there is even Christmas caroling by boats on the canals.

The tight-knit aspect of the neighborhood is evident in its numerous holiday activities.

The Fourth of July is one of the largest events, and activities include a fun run, tennis tournament, pet parade, pie-baking contest, chili cook-off and live and silent auctions.

It is a neighborhood where people know one another. Cathy Springman says neighbors joke that if they want to get any yard work done, they have to build in social time because of all the people who stop by to chat. Neighbors also joke that to get a good workout running or jogging, you have to leave the neighborhood because of the friendly social nature of the residents.

Sharalyn Ferrel, who has lived in Newport Shores for 25 years and also is a real-estate agent, calls it a "legacy community," a kind of neighborhood people want to stay in or come back to.

That may help explain why out of the approximately 20 homes sold there a year, Marrese said, about 25 percent of them never go on the market. In a social neighborhood like this, word-of-mouth is enough.