Downsizing in Las Vegas: Boulder City or Henderson?

If you are selling the family house and looking for something smaller, you have probably narrowed it to two kinds of places. Somewhere in Henderson, often around Anthem. Or Boulder City.

They are both good answers. They are not the same answer, and people who pick the wrong one for them usually figure it out about six months after moving.

I work both, along with the rest of the valley. Here is how I would think about it.

In my experience it comes down to a short list. One story, or close to it. Less yard. A payment and an HOA that don’t need thinking about. Doctors within a reasonable drive. And a decision you only have to make once.

That last one matters more than people say out loud. Nobody downsizing wants to do it twice.

For most downsizers, this is where the options are.

Henderson has a lot of single-story homes, which in parts of the valley are harder to find than you would expect. It also has several established age-restricted communities. Sun City Anthem and Solera are the best known, and they are built around exactly the list above: single-level living, maintained common areas, and a social calendar if you want one and privacy if you don’t.

A few things that make Henderson easy to live in at this stage:

• Choice. More inventory means you can be particular about the floor plan instead of taking what comes up.
• Medical access. You are closer to the valley’s hospitals and specialists, and that tends to matter more with every year.
• The airport. If family is out of state, Henderson keeps you a short drive from getting to them.

The tradeoffs are the ones that come with any master-planned community. HOA dues, and rules about what you can do with your own house. Some people love the structure. Some find it confining. Know which one you are before you buy.

On age-restricted communities specifically: they typically require at least one resident to be 55 or older, and they have their own rules about younger residents and long visits from family. If grandkids stay for weeks at a time, read those rules before you fall for the house, not after.

Boulder City is a different decision entirely, and I mean that as a compliment.

It is a small town about half an hour from the rest of the valley, out by Lake Mead and Hoover Dam. It was built in the 1930s to house the dam’s workers, and the historic downtown still feels like that era in a good way. It is quieter and slower than anywhere else near Las Vegas.

Two things make it genuinely different from the rest of the valley:

Gaming is not allowed in Boulder City. It is one of the only cities in Nevada without casinos. For a lot of people that is exactly the point.

It controls its own growth. Boulder City has limited new residential construction for decades by ordinance. That is why it still feels like a small town when so much of the valley has filled in. It is also why the housing is mostly older and why the choice is thinner.

That second point is the one that matters most for a downsizer.

In Henderson, if you want a single-story, three-bedroom house with a small yard, there will usually be several to look at.

In Boulder City, there may be one. Or none this month.

That changes how you have to buy. If Boulder City is where you want to be, you need to be ready to move when the right house comes up, which usually means knowing in advance how the sale of your current house is going to work. People who wait until they find the house to start thinking about selling tend to lose it.

It also means Boulder City homes are more likely to be older, and more likely to need something. Plan for that in your number.

None of that is a reason not to go. It is a reason to go in prepared.

If you want choice, medical access, and single-level living without compromise, Henderson. Anthem especially, and one of the 55-plus communities if the rules suit you.

If you want a small town and you are willing to wait for the right house, Boulder City. It is not for everybody. For the right person nothing else near this valley comes close.

If you are torn, drive both on a weekday. Have lunch in downtown Boulder City, then drive back through Anthem. You will usually know by the time you get home.

Almost every downsizer I work with is also a seller, usually of a house they have owned a long time and have real equity in. Which means you have the same question every move-up family has: sell first, or buy first?

For downsizers the answer is usually easier, because you often don’t need to borrow much, or anything, for the next place. But the timing still matters, especially if you are chasing a house in Boulder City where you may only get one shot at it.

I wrote about exactly how to sequence that separately.

Tell me two things. What you are selling, and what you want the next house to do for you.

Call 702-881-6562 or email JArendt658@gmail.com. I will tell you what I think your current house is actually worth, which side of this decision I would put you on, and how I would time the move so you only have to make it once.

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John Arendt, Realtor, has sold homes across the Las Vegas valley for 20 years, in Henderson, Summerlin, Southern Highlands, Anthem, Boulder City and North Las Vegas.

Community rules, HOA requirements and local ordinances change. Confirm current details with the community or city before making a decision.