Overview
About Balboa Peninsula
The Balboa Peninsula runs about three miles from the numbered streets near the Newport Pier to the harbor entrance at Peninsula Point, enclosing Newport Harbor like an arm, and the community traditionally takes in all the contiguous land east of 45th Street. Ocean and bay sit within a few blocks of each other its whole length. There is no master association: the city maps five association polygons here, the Central Newport Beach Community Association at 1,920 residential units, the Balboa Peninsula Point Association at 954, the Balboa Village Merchant Association, and two gated ones, the Bay Island Club at 25 units and Rendezvous Condominium Association at 27.
Both of the city's piers stand on this ground: the Balboa Pier, built in 1906 and 920 feet long, and the Newport Pier, built in 1940 and 1,032 feet long, with the city's own Pier to Pier walking trail measuring 1.74 miles one way between them. The Balboa Pavilion, the Fun Zone and its Ferris wheel, and the Balboa Island Ferry all sit at the harbor's edge, and six city parks fall on the peninsula, the largest Marina Park at 7.22 acres and Peninsula Park at 4.44 acres beside the Balboa Pier. Newport Elementary stands on the oceanfront at 1327 W. Balboa Blvd. and names the peninsula in its own attendance boundary, feeding Ensign Intermediate and then Newport Harbor High.
View available homes in Balboa PeninsulaHistory
How Balboa Peninsula was built
The peninsula was a working waterfront before it was a resort. In 1888 the McFadden family moved their shipping operation out to the oceanfront and built McFadden Wharf where the Newport Pier stands now, and two years later they ran their own railroad inland to move the cargo. When the federal government put its harbor money into San Pedro in 1899, the commercial trade drained away and the peninsula had to find something else to be. In 1902 James McFadden sold his holdings to William Collins, who brought in Henry E. Huntington of the Pacific Electric, and in 1905 the Balboa Line brought the red cars down to Newport.
The town of Balboa was founded that same year by the Newport Bay Investment Company and named after Vasco Nunez de Balboa, the first European to sight the Pacific from the Americas. The name stuck to everything within reach of it: the Pavilion of 1906, an adjacent island, a hotel, and the peninsula itself. In 1906 Balboa, Newport Beach, West Newport and East Newport incorporated together as the City of Newport Beach.
By the Numbers
Balboa Peninsula by the numbers
Real Estate
Market snapshot
Real estate snapshot
37 closed sales · 01/01/26 – 08/17/26
| Median sale price | $6,600,000 |
| Median price per sq ft | $2345 |
| Median home size | 2,724 sq ft |
| Median days on market | 40 |
| Sale-to-list ratio | 94.7% |
| Price range | $2,237,500 – $27,500,000 |
| Year built | 1915 – 2025 |
Price range distribution
Share of closed sales by price band
Our Sales
Our recent sales in Balboa Peninsula
No transaction of ours in this neighborhood yet. The section renders only real transactions.
Lifestyle
The Balboa Peninsula lifestyle
Schools
Schools serving Balboa Peninsula
One Newport-Mesa Unified campus sits on the peninsula itself: Newport Elementary, built in 1936 on the oceanfront at 1327 W. Balboa Blvd., whose own report card names the Balboa Peninsula in its boundaries. Its 344 students continue to Ensign Intermediate, with 878 students on Cliff Drive, and then to Newport Harbor High, with 2,044 students and the district's only International Baccalaureate diploma program. Confirm the assignment for a specific address on the district's locator at web.nmusd.us before it matters to an offer.
TK-6 · 344 students
7-8 · 878 students
9-12 · 2,044 students
FAQs
Common questions about Balboa Peninsula
What does a home on the Balboa Peninsula sell for?
Thirty-seven homes closed between January 1 and August 17 of 2026, at a median of $6,600,000, or $2,345 a square foot on a median size of 2,724 square feet. The range ran from $2,237,500 to $27,500,000, and 22 of the 37 closed above $5,000,000. Half of the group took 40 days or longer to reach escrow and the closings landed at 94.7% of asking, so prices here are negotiated rather than bid up. Thirty-three homes stood active alongside them.
What is Peninsula Point?
Peninsula Point is the residential community at the very tip, where the peninsula meets the harbor entrance, and it holds some of the most expensive bayfront and oceanfront addresses in Newport Beach along with the bodysurfing break known as The Wedge. Its own association, incorporated as a 501(c)(4) in 1949, has 954 residential units on the city's record, leases a private bay beach from the city at 2100 Channel Road whose boat ramp takes boats up to 23 feet, and runs the Fourth of July parade. A separate community foundation funds a neighborhood security patrol with a published dispatch line.
What are the peninsula's landmarks?
The Balboa Pavilion, California Historical Landmark No. 959, was built in 1905 and reaches 120 years since its grand opening in 2026; it now holds the harbor cruise terminal, restaurants, event space and the Catalina Flyer. The Balboa Fun Zone has run beside it since 1936, Ferris wheel included, at 600 E Bay Ave. Both city piers are here, the Balboa Pier of 1906 at 920 feet and the Newport Pier of 1940 at 1,032 feet, with 1.74 miles of oceanfront walk between them. The Balboa Island Ferry has crossed the 800 feet to Balboa Island continuously since 1919.
Is there a homeowners association?
No single association covers the peninsula. The city maps five: the Central Newport Beach Community Association, which calls itself Pier-to-Pier and is one of the oldest in the city, at 1,920 residential units; the Balboa Peninsula Point Association at 954; the Balboa Village Merchant Association; and two gated ones, the Bay Island Club at 25 units and the Rendezvous Condominium Association at 27. None of them publishes an assessment amount, so the monthly cost comes from that address's own documents.
Which schools serve the peninsula?
Newport Elementary, built in 1936 on the oceanfront at 1327 W. Balboa Blvd., names the Balboa Peninsula in the attendance boundary printed on its own report card. It enrolls 344 students in grades TK through 6, with 74% meeting or exceeding standard in English and 66% in math. Its students continue to Horace Ensign Intermediate on Cliff Drive, 878 students in grades 7 and 8, and then to Newport Harbor High, 2,044 students with a 96.8% graduation rate and the district's only International Baccalaureate Diploma Program.