A home in Big Canyon traded last month for $17.05 million, setting a record for the guard-gated neighborhood across the street from Newport Center.
The home, 12 Burning Tree Road, topped the community’s prior record of $12.5 million, set last year by 15 Deerwood Lane.
The four-bedroom, five-bathroom property, completed in 2022, spans 8,340 square feet on a nearly 0.4-acre lot.
The property’s latest valuation surpassed its asking price of $16.5 million; the home received multiple offers, according to listing agent Heather Kidder of Arbor Real Estate.
“This house was built with no expense spared,” Kidder told the Business Journal, noting that its steel doors and windows were flown in from Italy.
The home’s new owner, who was represented by Compass’ Pamela Spruce, is local. Kidder’s client, the seller, is moving out of state.
Expansive Property
The 12 Burning Tree home is Big Canyon’s fourth-largest property.
The neighborhood’s biggest home, just a few houses down, is 3 Burning Tree Road, which spans 10,279 square feet.
That property, built in 1999, traded two years ago for $8.6 million.
Record-breaking 12 Burning Tree is also among the newest properties in Big Canyon—many of whose homes were built in the 1970s.
The neighborhood, however, is seeing a bout of new construction, including a home which may soon surpass the record set by 12 Burning Tree.
That newer and larger property, located at 76 Hillcrest Lane, is currently under construction and is set to list early next year for nearly $20 million, according to listing agent John Cain of Pacific Sotheby’s.
The home, built this year, sits on a cul-de-sac and touts views of the golf course at OC’s most exclusive private club, Big Canyon Country Club.
Big Canyon has become “increasingly sought after” as buyers look for alternatives to Newport Beach’s relatively pricier Newport Coast neighborhood, Cain told the Business Journal. “High demand and low supply have really driven up values in Newport Coast,” he added.
Price History
The latest valuation for 12 Burning Tree marks a sizable jump from the home’s prior sale prices.
Five years ago, the property traded for $3.3 million. The price then reflected the value of land rather than the 1970s ranch-style home on it, which was a teardown, according to Coldwell Banker’s Georgina Jacobson, who represented the seller at the time.
In 2003, when the property first sold, it traded for $1.5 million.
Patterson Custom Homes completed the rebuild of 12 Burning Tree in 2022; Corona del Mar-based Eric Olsen Architects handled the home’s design and Chris Fenmore’s Garden Studio Design, also based in CdM, did the landscaping.
“It was a collaboration of the best and brightest,” Kidder said.
Features of the home include 30-foot cathedral ceilings, custom European light fixtures and mature landscaping.
Among its notable amenities are the home gym, sauna, home theater and saltwater pool with underwater speakers.
Big Canyon
The 12 Burning Tree property sits across the street from one of Big Canyon’s private parks.
The more than 100-home community is nestled between Jamboree Road, Ford Road, MacArthur Boulevard and San Joaquin Hills Road, and is home to Big Canyon Country Club, a popular destination among Orange County executives and golfers.
Buyers are drawn to the community’s high level of privacy, mature trees and “beautiful landscaping,” which draws it apart from nearby neighborhoods such as CdM, Balboa Peninsula and Linda Isle, according to Jacobson.
“Some people call it the Bel-Air of Newport Beach,” she said.
Notable execs who call the area home include Chapman University President Daniele Struppa, Sares Regis co-founder John Hagestad, and Tony Moiso, chief executive and chairman of Rancho Mission Viejo.
The community is also adjacent to Fashion Island, Orange County’s second largest shopping center with $783.7 million in taxable sales last year, according to Business Journal data.
