Writers, athletes and other notable high-net-worth individuals have several reasons to select Shady Canyon as their Orange County community of choice.
For one, the neighborhood is the only one in Irvine that offers an inventory of custom homes for sale, with land lots that are larger than average and more space in between homes than other communities in the county, notes Lena Ghezel of Compass’ McKown Weinstein Associates.
“People come to Shady Canyon for the land. It’s less dense, and you get a lot more for your money than you do in other luxury markets,” Ghezel said.
That, coupled with the exclusive nature of the 1,070-acre gated community, provides a sense of privacy that’s a must-have for notable home shoppers.
The privacy, and unique batch of homes for sale, is why best-selling author Dean Koontz chose Shady Canyon as an area of personal investment, buying two homes there in the past year. He paid $11.6 million for a 13,400-square-foot home in November, and another $10.5 million in May for a 12,000-square-foot home.
“Even though he had just purchased the home off Tree Fern, he fell in love with this second home at 32 Boulder View and decided to buy it as well,” said Ghezel, who represented the seller in the May sale; Evan Corkett and Steve High of Villa Real Estate represented Koontz and his wife, Gerda.
Amenity Rich
The area’s golf course and country club are well known throughout the county; though don’t expect a membership just because you own a house in the neighborhood.
“You need two referrals from members in order to join,” Ghezel said. Membership rates can cost up to $150,000.
High-profile athletes, in particular baseball players, are drawn to Shady Canyon because of its proximity to John Wayne Airport, brokers say.
Other perks include its proximity to University High School, widely considered to be Irvine’s best public high school. It is used by children who live in Shady Canyon.
Sales Volume
Like other OC luxe residential areas, Shady Canyon is facing an inventory shortage, but isn’t suffering from it, recent deals suggest.
More than a dozen homes have traded hands there in the past six months; today, there are 18 active listings, most of which are custom. The area counts about 300 homes in total.
“Even with very little inventory, market activity has been very strong in the past year,” said Ghezel, who currently has one active listing in the neighborhood at 19 Spike Moss, a six-bedroom home on a 33,000-square-foot corner lot. It’s listed for $8.4 million.
The most affordable home for sale is a nearly 4,500-square-foot four-bedroom home that’s on the market for $4 million; the priciest is the $19 million listing of 60 Golden Eagle, a 15,000-square-foot home with seven bedrooms and 11 bathrooms.
John Stanaland of Villa Real Estate has that listing.
July, August
Brokers have pointed to signs of new market activity across Orange County’s luxe market as a hint of an already recovering residential market, a notion furthered by recent sales data.
Since the start of July, 15 homes have traded above $8 million, for a combined total of $162.5 million and an average of nearly $11 million per sale.
In the first two weeks of August alone, there were five sales for a combined volume of nearly $47 million.
The priciest home to sell in the past six weeks was in Shady Canyon. The 12,524-square-foot home, with six bedrooms and nine bathrooms, sold for $15.1 million.
The home at 11 Needle Grass was built in 2013 on a 1-acre lot. Rob Smith of Compass’ McKown Weinstein Associates had the listing for the property; John Ginn of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices represented the undisclosed buyer.
The home is Tuscan in style, one of two main product types currently receiving buyer interest, Ghezel notes.
“Buyers primarily are looking for contemporary architecture, though some still want Tuscan, as they believe it is more timeless than modern styles,” she said of the countryside design, characterized by the use of natural stone, wood, and marble.
