Las Vegas · NV
Southern Highlands neighborhoods: living, buying and selling
Southern Highlands sits south of the Strip and often gives you more house for the money than a comparable Summerlin address.
Living in Southern Highlands
Southern Highlands sits at the south end of the Las Vegas valley, off the 15 and south of the Strip, and Southern Highlands neighborhoods are the answer I raise most often to people who framed their search as Summerlin or Henderson. It is a master-planned community, like Summerlin, and it often gets you more house for the money than a comparable Summerlin address. For a buyer who wants the master-planned feel and is stretching on price, that is a real trade, and most people have not considered it because it was not one of the two brand names they started with.
The people who choose Southern Highlands are usually move-up families comparing it against Summerlin on price, and buyers who work south or near the airport, where the drive from the west side would cost them an hour a day. It is inside the Las Vegas valley rather than a city of its own, and like every master-planned community here it comes with HOA dues and rules about what you can do with your own house.
Against Summerlin, the trade is this: you give up Red Rock on your doorstep and Downtown Summerlin, and you get more square footage at the same price and a shorter run to the airport. Against Henderson, you give up some of Henderson's range in home age and lot size, and you get a single master-planned community with a newer feel. Which of those matters is a question about your commute and your number, not about the brand.
Talk to me about Southern Highlands
How I work in Southern Highlands
I am John Arendt, a Realtor with Compass Realty & Management, and I have sold homes across the Las Vegas valley for 20 years, Southern Highlands among them. Because I also work Summerlin and Henderson, the two places Southern Highlands is always being compared against, I can tell you plainly when Southern Highlands is the better answer for your number and when it is not.
Selling in Southern Highlands usually means selling to a move-up family, often one selling a starter home in the southwest or North Las Vegas to get here, and to south-side and airport-area commuters. Those buyers are comparing you against Summerlin listings at the same price, and the presentation has to make the extra house obvious. The Week One Launch runs the same as everywhere: the real number before the signature, photography and the Matterport walkthrough finished before day one, paid advertising and syndication running within the first 7 days, and a status call from me every Friday or Saturday.
Buying in Southern Highlands starts with the commute test and the payment, including HOA dues, and then with the comparison most buyers came here to make: for this number, this house here or that house in Summerlin? I will show you both and tell you which one I would buy for what you said the house has to do. Trading up into Southern Highlands and buying a home in Southern Highlands each have their own page.
Southern Highlands housing and home types
Southern Highlands is a master-planned community, so most of the housing is single-family homes in planned neighborhoods with HOA dues, and newer than much of the valley. The reason it comes up in almost every Summerlin conversation I have is square footage: at a comparable price, a Southern Highlands home is often larger than the Summerlin house it is being weighed against. Whether that extra room is worth the trade depends on where you work and how much the west side matters to you.
I have not written a village-by-village guide here yet, because the one thing worse than a thin page is a wrong one, and neighborhood detail on a community's own page has to be right. What I can tell you on the phone is what is actually on the market in Southern Highlands right now, what has sold recently, and how it compares with Summerlin and Henderson at your number. Market figures change month to month and I will not print one here that goes stale.
Getting around, and what is nearby
Southern Highlands sits off the 15 at the south end of the valley, which puts the airport closer than it is from Summerlin and makes the Strip a straight shot north. If you work south, near the airport, or along the 15, the commute is the reason to look here. If you work on the west side, drive the route at 5pm on a weekday before you decide, because the 15 and the 215 at rush hour are different roads than they are at noon.
Anthem and the rest of Henderson are east along the 215, and Anthem is the other place I send people who want newer construction and single-story options at the south end of the valley. If you are still deciding between the big two, start with the commute, and read why the answer might be neither. If you already know it is Southern Highlands, selling your home in Southern Highlands has its own page, or call or text 702-881-6562 and tell me where you work and what you are hoping to spend.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Southern Highlands?
At the south end of the Las Vegas valley, off the 15 and south of the Strip, inside the valley rather than a separate city. The airport is closer than it is from Summerlin.
Is Southern Highlands cheaper than Summerlin?
At a comparable price, Southern Highlands often gets you more house than a Summerlin address. Whether that trade is worth giving up Red Rock and the west side depends on your commute, and I will show you both for your number.
Does Southern Highlands have an HOA?
Yes. It is a master-planned community, and HOA dues and rules about what you can do with your house come with it, the same as Summerlin and the master-planned parts of Henderson. Put the dues in your monthly number from the start.
Buying in Southern Highlands
The method
How I do it in Southern Highlands
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