Senior Transition
What is life like in Sun City Summerlin and Sun City Anthem?
By Steve Lockhart
The short answer
Life in both communities is built around activity and connection. The core of each is its recreation campus: clubhouses with fitness centers, pools, tennis and pickleball courts, classes, dining, and a calendar of clubs and events.
Full answer
Life in both communities is built around activity and connection. The core of each is its recreation campus: clubhouses with fitness centers, pools, tennis and pickleball courts, classes, dining, and a calendar of clubs and events. Sun City Summerlin sits in the northwest on roughly 2,000 acres near Red Rock Canyon. It was built by Del Webb from the late 1980s through the early 2000s and has about 7,700 homes, making it the largest 55+ community in the valley. Its three recreation centers total more than 125,000 square feet, and residents organize scores of clubs.
Sun City Anthem sits on a hillside in Henderson, built through the 2000s with roughly 7,200 homes. It has three major clubhouses, Anthem Center, Independence Center, and Liberty Center, totaling more than 130,000 square feet, with pools, fitness centers, courts, and well over a hundred clubs. Both communities have golf courses in the picture, though membership and fees are separate from the resident association dues. Both are age-restricted: at least one resident must be 55 or older. Both sell resale homes only, since the builders finished years ago.
The lifestyle is best described as structured by choice. You can be as busy as you want, and most residents are. Some people love that the calendar is always full. Others find the pace busy and the community feel, well, communal. It is worth knowing yourself before you commit: do you want neighbors organizing your social life, or do you prefer to organize your own? Both views are reasonable, and they lead to different communities.
Life also has a cost beyond the purchase price. Resident association dues at Sun City Summerlin the community itself quotes around $165 per month, plus Summerlin master-plan fees, and third-party figures vary by home. At Sun City Anthem dues vary by village and home type, and I have seen widely different numbers quoted depending on the section. The exact figure for the specific home you are considering is a question we answer before you offer, not after.
Go a little deeper
Frequently asked
Questions people often follow up on
How old do you have to be to live in Sun City Summerlin or Sun City Anthem?
At least one resident of each home must be 55 or older, consistent with the federal Housing for Older Persons Act. The communities are age-restricted, so the rule is enforced by the association, and a younger buyer cannot generally make the home a primary residence.
Are all the homes single-story?
No. Both communities have a strong share of single-story floor plans, which is why they appeal to downsizers, but certain sections include two-story homes and attached villas. If one-level living is a requirement, we filter for it, because not every resale in either community has it.
The Lockhart Method
The Lockhart Method
Your Home | My Strategy | Proven Results
My strategy: compare the two communities village by village, with your budget, your preferred floor plan, your family location, and the true dues on the table. The brochure shows the clubhouse; we get you the budget and the resale reality before you decide.
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