Homes for sale in Sun Lakes, Arizona
Lakes, ninety-nine holes, and single-level streets just south of Chandler. Close enough for Sunday dinner with the family. Quiet when you fly home.
Featured listing
High $100s and up
Sun Lakes, AZ 85248
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Featured listing
High $100s and up
Sun Lakes, AZ 85248
Five active-adult communities · south of Chandler. Representative Sun Lakes homes. Price, HOA, and age rules on the live search are the ones that count.
13,924
Residents, Census 2024
73.5
Median age
99
Holes of golf
88%
Owner-occupied homes
Why Sun Lakes, Arizona
Sun Lakes is not a suburb that grew up around a golf course by accident. It is five active-adult communities — about 10,000 homes and 13,924 residents — on 5.4 square miles along Alma School Road, just south of Chandler, ZIP 85248. Ed Robson opened it in 1972. It is built out. The lakes, the fairways, and the single-story streets are the finished plan.
The median age is 73.5, nearly double the Phoenix metro. Eighty-eight percent of homes are owner-occupied. Per capita income is $54,895, about a quarter above the U.S. figure. You are not buying into a place that empties out on weekdays. You are buying into a village where the Tuesday game already has a standing time.
Out-of-state buyers use it as a specific trade. Leave the freeze, the city property-tax bill, and the two-story house. Keep grandchildren in Chandler, Gilbert, and Mesa a short drive north — without living on a street built for school traffic.
The Sun Lakes difference
01
Recent resales run from about $180,000 in Sun Lakes Country Club to about $800,000 in Oakwood. Same zip. Five front doors. The Census puts the median owner-occupied value at $455,200 — East Valley golf and water, not Scottsdale pricing.
02
The name is literal. Lakes thread the courses and the walking paths. December through March, afternoon highs in the Phoenix metro typically sit in the 60s and 70s. You are outside here on purpose, which is the point of leaving Minnesota, Illinois, or Ontario.
03
Phoenix Sky Harbor is about 30 to 40 minutes. Phoenix-Mesa Gateway — the airport Allegiant and seasonal routes actually use — is closer to 15 to 25. That is what makes a lock-and-leave winter house feel close instead of remote.
04
A flat 2.5% state income tax. Arizona does not tax Social Security at any income. No state estate tax and no inheritance tax. Sun Lakes is unincorporated, so there is no city property tax on top of the county bill. IRA and pension withdrawals are taxed at that same 2.5% — low, not zero.
05
Chandler Fashion Center, Banner Ocotillo, and downtown Chandler are minutes north. Gilbert is a short drive. Sunday dinner, then home, on streets that are not a family subdivision.
06
Single-level plans. Base HOA dues in 2026 ran about $154 to $253 a month before any townhome fee or golf membership. Age rules are federal and plain: at least 80% of homes have a resident 55 or older, every home has someone 40 or older, and no one under 19 lives here permanently.
Life on the ground
Ninety-nine holes, five temperaments.
An executive par-60 at Sun Lakes Country Club. A championship par-72 at Cottonwood. Palo Verde’s executive course behind the gate. IronOaks adds Ironwood’s par-67 and Oakwood’s 27 holes. Golf is billed apart from the HOA, so the dues stay sane if you play twice a week or never.
The walk you do not have to drive to.
Morning paths along the water, fairways on the far shore, tile roofs instead of a skyline. This is not national forest. It is better for the buyer who wants a lake at the end of the block and a grocery store before the coffee cools.
A calendar with your name on it.
Clubhouses, fitness rooms, pools, tennis, and on the order of two dozen pickleball courts across the five communities. Cards, shops, shows, and a restaurant you can walk into as a member. Cottonwood shares its campus with Palo Verde. Ironwood shares IronOaks with Oakwood.
Five neighborhoods, one zip
Sun Lakes is five associations, not one club. Ungated value, a championship course, or guard-gated IronOaks — the move changes with the street, not the airport.
1972 · Ungated
The original village. Lowest buy-in, a clubhouse of your own, and a walkable executive course. Golf is a separate membership.
1979 · Ungated
Houses, golf homes, and townhomes. Shares pools, courts, and the club calendar with Palo Verde.
1983 · Guard-gated
Single-family only, behind a gate, with the Cottonwood recreation campus next door.
1987 · Guard-gated
Larger homes and a shorter resale list. Shares IronOaks with Oakwood: 45 holes, and deep tennis and pickleball.
1994 · Guard-gated
The newest of the five. Guard-gated houses, villas, and townhomes — the top of the Sun Lakes ladder.
Sale ranges are a 90-day resale snapshot ending late September 2026, not an asking price. HOA figures are 2026 base estimates and exclude golf and any townhome sub-association. Confirm every number on the house you want.
The numbers behind the move
Sun Lakes works for out-of-state buyers because the census already describes the life: older, owner-occupied, and paid for at a price that still looks reasonable next to a coastal sale. Figures are U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024 five-year estimates for the Sun Lakes CDP unless noted.
13,924
Stable, not a boomtown. About 2,590 people per square mile.
73.5
Nearly double Phoenix metro (37.9) and the U.S. (38.9).
88%
Against about 65% nationally. Owners stay. The streets show it.
$455,200
Owner-occupied. A little above metro Phoenix, far below many coastal sales.
$67,853
Comfortable retiree income, not a speculative zip code.
$54,895
About 25% above the U.S. figure of $44,673.
2.5%
Flat rate. Social Security is fully exempt from Arizona tax.
None
No Sun Lakes city property tax either. County and school levies still apply.
From out of state & Canada
Sun Lakes was built for the season you want to keep. Mild days, a tee time if you want one, and a single-level house that does not ask anything of you while you are back home. Phoenix is close. The street is not.
Second homes and full-time moves from the Midwest, California, the Northwest, and everywhere winter overstays. Video walkthroughs on your time zone. Inspection day on the ground. HOA and age rules in writing before you offer.
Canadians can buy a residence in Arizona, and many winter visitors pay cash. Use a U.S. title company. Plan for FIRPTA withholding if you later sell, and for the 183-day substantial-presence test if you stay deep into spring. We run the local side. We do not replace your Canadian advisors.
Search the live list, then call +1 480-757-8117 or write jason@thecaliberteam.com. Arizona stays on Mountain Standard Time all year — winter lines up with Alberta, summer with the Pacific. We return calls across U.S. and Canadian time zones.
Buying from away
Yes. Out-of-state buyers close here every season — second homes, lock-and-leave houses, and full-time retirement moves. The Caliber Team handles video walkthroughs, inspections, HOA documents, and closing so you can buy from Chicago, Minneapolis, Seattle, or anywhere else without living in Arizona first.
Yes. There is no ban on Canadians purchasing residential real estate in Arizona. You will want a U.S. title company. Plan for FIRPTA withholding if you later sell, and for the 183-day substantial-presence rule if you winter here. The Caliber Team coordinates the Arizona side and works alongside your Canadian tax and legal advisors. We do not replace them.
It was built for that calendar. Daytime winter highs typically in the 60s and 70s, golf and pickleball from fall through spring, and HOA communities that make lock-and-leave ordinary. Sky Harbor is about 30 to 40 minutes. Phoenix-Mesa Gateway is closer, with the seasonal flights many visitors actually book.
Sky Harbor (PHX) is about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on traffic, via the East Valley freeways. Phoenix-Mesa Gateway (AZA) is about 15 to 25 minutes east. Chandler and Gilbert errands are much closer than either airport. That is why seasonal owners treat Sun Lakes as a second home, not a destination you have to commit a day to reach.
Yes. All five follow federal housing-for-older-persons rules. At least 80% of homes must have a resident 55 or older, every home must have a resident who is at least 40, and no one under 19 may live there permanently. Proof of age is part of the purchase. We confirm occupancy rules on the specific listing before you write.
Winters are the reason people come. December through March, afternoon highs usually sit in the 60s and 70s °F, nights are cool, and snow is not a factor. Summers are Sonoran Desert hot, which is why early tee times, pools, and a lock-and-leave season exist. Pack a layer for January evenings, not a shovel.
Lowest buy-in: Sun Lakes Country Club, the 1972 original, with an executive course. Championship golf at a lower HOA: Cottonwood. A gate without the top price: Palo Verde. IronOaks golf, courts, and larger or newer homes: Ironwood and Oakwood. Tell us how you want to live and we will narrow it before you fly.
In a 90-day resale window ending late September 2026, sales across the five communities ran from about $180,000 to about $800,000. Averages sat near $288,000 at Sun Lakes Country Club, $421,000 at Cottonwood, and the mid-$500,000s at Palo Verde, Ironwood, and Oakwood. Base 2026 HOA dues were about $154 to $253 a month. Golf, and a second association on many townhomes, are extra. These are snapshots. Search for the live book.
Arizona’s individual income tax is a flat 2.5%. Social Security benefits are fully exempt from Arizona income tax. There is no state estate tax and no inheritance tax. Sun Lakes is unincorporated Maricopa County, so you do not pay a separate city property tax — county, school, and district taxes still apply, and they are generally lower than Illinois, New Jersey, or coastal California. IRA withdrawals and private pensions are taxed at 2.5%. This is general information, not tax advice.
Use the Search button on this page for live Sun Lakes listings, then call or email The Caliber Team at 480-757-8117 or jason@thecaliberteam.com. We set up video tours on your time zone, send HOA and age-restriction summaries, and walk the property when you cannot.
Census figures are American Community Survey 2020–2024 five-year estimates for Sun Lakes, Arizona. Sale ranges and HOA dues are a late-summer 2026 snapshot, not a quote. Tax notes are general 2026 information, not advice for your return. Age, occupancy, and association rules are confirmed on the specific home before you offer.
Or write The Caliber Team at jason@thecaliberteam.com. We return calls across U.S. and Canadian time zones.
Presented by The Caliber Team
Search live listings across Sun Lakes Country Club, Cottonwood, Palo Verde, Ironwood, and Oakwood — whether you are buying from another state or from Canada.
