Big Canyon

 

The Big Canyon area of Newport Beach, which is located on the Big Canyon Country Club Golf Course, is the neighborhood of choice for many Newport Beach executives. Big Canyon is the area sandwiched between Ford, MacArthur, San Joaquin and Jamboree Roads, just to the northeast of Newport Beach’s most central shopping district, Fashion Island.

 

 

Chosen often for its country club atmosphere, the 24 hour guard gate, and close proximity to both Newport Town Center office space and the dining and shopping options at Fashion Island, many of the homes in Big Canyon are considered to be some of the most luxurious and prestigious of what Newport Beach has to offer, and there are wonderful townhouses and condos in the area as well.

 

If you are thinking about purchasing a home keep reading about Big Canyon Real Estate or browse all available homes for sale in Big Canyon.

 

 

With many homes offering golf course frontage, Big Canyon Country Club plays a major role in many residents’ decisions for living in Big Canyon. The Country Club, which was established in 1971, is a private, member-owned club, accessible by invitation only, and any candidate for membership must be sponsored by two members.  The golf course can only be described as immaculate, with service provided by the club often proclaimed to be “impeccable.” (With this high level of exclusivity, however, comes a price, if you need to ask what the price of a membership to the club is, you’re not likely to be a good candidate for membership).

 

Also within short walking distance are the beautiful trails of the Newport Beach Back Bay.  As one would expect with most golfing communities, the population in Big Canyon skews a little older than that of most of the neighborhoods in Newport Beach, with an median resident age of 56 – 9 years older than the average Newport Beach resident.  As such, Big Canyon is often not the first area considered by families looking to reside in an area with lots of children, as less than 25% of households in the neighborhood have children living in them.

 

 

Homes in Big Canyon range from very reasonably priced (relative to Newport Beach) condominiums to larger palatial estates.  Lower end properties in the area run from the high $600,000s for a 2-3 bedroom condo or townhouse of 1,500-1,800 square feet, but can rise to the million dollar range depending on views and distance to the golf course. Association fees for condos and townhomes in Big Canyon can range from $500 to $700 monthly.  At the other end of the spectrum are some very large and beautiful homes, ranging from 5,000 to 8,000 square feet on quarter acre lots – these are the type of homes with more bathrooms than bedrooms – which evokes the word “mansion” and which often means you are including the bathrooms by your pool house or the tennis courts. These homes range from $4,000,000 to $6,000,000 or so.  In between are also what some of what one might call “just a normal house” – 2,500 to 3,000 square feet on a 6,000 foot lot with 3-5 bedrooms, and these will typically range from around $1.5 to $2.5 million depending on distance to golf.

 

There are also some Big Canyon homes that represent the very highest end of the spectrum – in 2010 a home in the area named “The Manor” was sold for $21.5 million, making it the 14th most expensive Newport Beach home ever sold and just the 16th home ever to be sold in Orange County at a price point above $20 million.

 

Like most of Newport Beach, you will find that living in Big Canyon will teach you the fine art of not even noticing when an airplane flies over your head due to the fact that you are in the flight path of planes coming out of John Wayne Airport. The other negative to living in Big Canyon for some could be that you won’t be able to get to the ocean without first getting into your car (or on your bicycle) as the trek from Big Canyon to the beach would be considered quite a hike.  Another con for some: families with young children might be more comfortable heading just west to Eastbluff or Dover shores where there are considerably more younger folk. (Depending on your perspective, however, this could easily be construed as a positive aspect of the area as well).

 

One of the largest positives to living in Big Canyon for those who might be commuting to work or meeting others for business is that the centralized location of the neighborhood provides faster accessibility to major roadways such as the 405 or the 73 toll road than most other parts of Newport Beach – one can shoot up MacArthur Blvd from Big Canyon and hit the 73 in less than 5 minutes.  Big Canyon also is a larger neighborhood in terms of population than most found in the area, which means that if this is where you choose to shop for Newport Beach real estate, you will have considerably more to choose from than in a lot of other neighborhoods, which can make it easier sometimes as a buyer, as you’ll not only have more selection to help you find the property you like the best, but sellers have a little bit less power.  With that being said, Big Canyon is a lively real estate market with 20 or so properties typically on the market at any one time.

 

 

If golf course living in a gated community with quick access to major road, including the freeways, the finest dining and shopping areas in Newport Beach just a quick stroll away sounds like your cup of tea, Big Canyon just may be the area for you.