24750 S Stoney Path Drive, Sun Lakes
Courtesy of Realty ONE Group. 480-777-4500
+16232069936
Loving Phoenix Team | Real Broker
Copyright 2026 Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service, All rights reserved. The data relating to real estate for sale on this website comes in part from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service. All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. All properties are subject to prior sale, change or withdrawal. Neither listing broker(s) nor Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service shall be responsible for any typographical errors, misinformation, misprints and shall be held totally harmless.
The data relating to real estate listings on this website comes in part from the Internet Data Exchange (IDX) program of Multiple Listing Service of Southern Arizona. IDX information is provided exclusively for consumers' personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing. Listings provided by brokerages other than Loving Phoenix Team | Real Broker are identified with the MLSSAZ IDX Logo. All Information Is Deemed Reliable But Is Not Guaranteed Accurate. Listing information Copyright 2026 MLS of Southern Arizona. All Rights Reserved.
Sun Lakes, AZ · Five Country Clubs · Three Associations
Sun Lakes is not one community. It is five country club communities governed by three separate homeowner associations, and which one you buy in decides which amenities you can actually use.
The single most useful thing to understand before you tour: the clubhouse you fall in love with may not be the one you get to use.
Robson Communities broke ground on Sun Lakes Country Club in 1972 and kept building for the next three decades, adding a new country club community every few years until Oakwood finished in 2006. Each section grew around its own golf course and took that course's name. The result is five distinct communities that share a name, a developer, and a mailing address, but not a homeowner association.
Sun Lakes is a census designated place in Maricopa County, bordered by Chandler to the north and east and by Pinal County to the south. The 2020 census counted 14,868 residents across roughly 5.4 square miles at about 1,194 feet of elevation. It sits around 25 miles southwest of downtown Phoenix and two and a half miles east of Interstate 10.
If you are relocating from out of state, our 55+ Phoenix relocation guide covers climate, property taxes, healthcare networks, and how the metro fits together. Read it before you book flights, because touring Sun Lakes properly means touring inside a specific association rather than driving the whole six square miles.
Important note. Sun Lakes is often described as a 55+ community and sometimes as 40+. Both are accurate, and the reason is a rule almost nobody explains. It is covered below, and it matters if anyone in your household is under 55.
This is the structure nobody explains, and it drives dues, gating, and amenity access.
The original, started in 1972, and not gated. Its association, SLHOA1, covers only itself, which makes it the simplest structure of the three.
Two communities under one association. Cottonwood was built from 1979 to 1995 around a regulation course and is not gated. Palo Verde followed from 1983 to 1996 around an executive course and was the first gated section in Sun Lakes. Together they hold roughly 3,809 homes, and residents of either can use both sets of facilities.
Ironwood and Oakwood, both gated, both north of Riggs Road, sharing one association. Ironwood was built from 1987 to 2001 around a shorter par 67 course. Oakwood ran from 1994 to 2006 and is the largest of the five sections. Their association is branded IronOaks at Sun Lakes.
Buy in Oakwood and you get everything IronOaks offers across Ironwood and Oakwood, but not Cottonwood's tennis complex or Palo Verde's clubhouse unless you are a guest. Buy in Palo Verde and Cottonwood comes with it. Restaurants are the exception: the dining rooms at all five are open to everyone.
The mistake I watch buyers make. They tour one clubhouse, fall for the fitness center or the pickleball courts, then buy a house in a different section because the floor plan was better. The house is fine. The amenities they toured are not included. Tour inside the association you are actually buying into, and confirm what your dues cover before you write.
You will see Sun Lakes described as 55+ on one site and 40+ on another. Neither is wrong.
Federal fair housing law lets an age restricted community reserve up to 20 percent of its homes for residents under 55, so long as at least 80 percent have someone aged 55 or older. Whether an individual association uses that allowance is its own decision, which is exactly why the language varies from site to site.
That distinction matters here, because Sun Lakes has three associations rather than one. Cottonwood Palo Verde states on its own site that it is an age 55 and older community under the Arizona and federal Fair Housing Acts. Other sources describe Sun Lakes broadly as 40 plus. Both statements can coexist when three associations set their own policies.
If everyone in your household is 55 or older, this is academic. If someone is between 40 and 55, it is not, and a general answer about Sun Lakes will not protect you. Get it in writing from the association covering the specific section you want, before you write an offer rather than during your inspection period.
A few questions that narrow six square miles down to a manageable search.
Gated or not. Palo Verde, Ironwood, and Oakwood are gated. Sun Lakes Country Club and Cottonwood are not. If a guarded entry is a requirement rather than a nice to have, you are looking at three of the five, and two of those sit under IronOaks.
Detached or attached. Townhomes and villas carry a monthly fee on top of the community dues, and that second fee varies by unit group. If you want lock and leave, get the full carrying cost on the specific property rather than the community average.
Which golf, and how you want to pay for it. Five sections, five courses, and they are not the same product. A regulation course, an executive course, and a shorter par 67 layout are different games and different price points. Sort out how often you actually play before you let a course view drive the decision.
Dues, billing cadence, and pending assessments. The three associations do not bill the same way. Some are annual, some semi annual. Ask specifically about pending special assessments, because clubhouse and golf course renovations get funded through them and a seller may not know one is under discussion.
Age eligibility, if anyone is under 55. Covered above. Confirm in writing with the association.
Current MLS listings, updated daily, filtered by the features buyers ask about most.
Is Sun Lakes a 55+ community or a 40+ community?
Both descriptions get used, and the reason is a rule most buyers have never heard of. Federal fair housing law lets an age restricted community reserve up to 20 percent of its homes for residents under 55, provided at least 80 percent have someone aged 55 or older. Whether a given Sun Lakes association actually uses that allowance, and how, is set by that association rather than by Sun Lakes as a whole. Cottonwood Palo Verde states plainly on its own site that it is an age 55 and older community under the Arizona and federal Fair Housing Acts. Elsewhere you will see Sun Lakes described as 40 plus. If everyone in your household is 55 or older this is academic. If someone is between 40 and 55, get the answer in writing from the specific association covering the section you want, before you write an offer rather than during your inspection period.
What are the five Sun Lakes communities and how do they differ?
Sun Lakes Country Club came first and is not gated. Cottonwood was built from 1979 to 1995 around a regulation golf course and is also not gated. Palo Verde followed from 1983 to 1996 around an executive course and was the first gated section in Sun Lakes. Ironwood was built from 1987 to 2001 around a shorter par 67 course and is gated. Oakwood came last, from 1994 to 2006, and is the largest of the five. Cottonwood and Palo Verde together hold roughly 3,809 homes. Ironwood and Oakwood sit north of Riggs Road and are both gated. Each of the five is named for the golf club it grew around.
How many homeowner associations does Sun Lakes have?
Three, not five. This trips up almost every buyer. Sun Lakes Country Club has its own association, known as SLHOA1. Cottonwood and Palo Verde share one association, SLHOA2, branded as Cottonwood Palo Verde. Ironwood and Oakwood share a third, SLHOA3, branded as IronOaks. So five country club communities are governed by three separate associations, each with its own dues, its own reserves, and its own rules. When you buy here, you are joining one of those three, not a single Sun Lakes association.
Can I use the amenities in the other Sun Lakes communities?
Generally no, and this is the most expensive misunderstanding in Sun Lakes. Your amenity access follows your association. Buy in Oakwood and you get the full IronOaks package across Ironwood and Oakwood, but you cannot use the Cottonwood or Palo Verde facilities unless you are the guest of an owner there. Buy in Palo Verde and you get Cottonwood too, because they share SLHOA2. Restaurants are the exception. The dining rooms at all five communities are open to everyone. I have watched buyers tour one clubhouse, fall for the tennis complex, and then buy in a different section that does not include it. Tour the amenities of the association you are actually buying into.
Is Sun Lakes part of Chandler?
No, though almost everyone assumes it is. Sun Lakes is a census designated place in Maricopa County, not part of the city of Chandler. Chandler borders it to the north and east, and Pinal County sits to the south. It got its own place name and address because the development grew large enough to warrant one. Practically, this means county services rather than city services, and it is worth understanding what that covers before you buy. The 2020 census counted 14,868 residents across roughly 5.4 square miles.
Which Sun Lakes communities are gated?
Palo Verde, Ironwood, and Oakwood are gated. Sun Lakes Country Club and Cottonwood are not. If a guarded entry is a requirement rather than a preference, that narrows your search to three of the five immediately, and two of those three sit north of Riggs Road under the IronOaks association. Buyers who want gated plus a lock and leave attached home have an even narrower set, so it is worth sorting this out before you start touring rather than falling for a house in the wrong section.
Who built Sun Lakes?
Robson Communities, starting with Sun Lakes Country Club in 1972 and continuing through Oakwood's completion in 2006. If the name sounds familiar, Robson also built PebbleCreek in Goodyear and Robson Ranch in Eloy. Buyers comparing the two often notice the family resemblance in how the communities are laid out around golf and clubhouses. The main differences are geography and age. Sun Lakes is southeast Valley and older, with five sections built across three decades. PebbleCreek is west Valley and newer.
What do Sun Lakes HOA dues cover, and how are they billed?
It depends on which of the three associations you join, and they are not billed the same way. Some bill annually, some semi annually, and attached homes such as townhomes and villas carry an additional monthly fee on top of the community dues. There are also one time costs at closing, which vary by association and can include a transfer fee and a capital contribution. Because each association sets its own figures and revises them, confirm the current numbers for the specific section and the specific property with that association before you commit. Ask about pending special assessments too, since golf course and clubhouse renovations get funded that way.
How far is Sun Lakes from Phoenix and Sky Harbor?
Sun Lakes sits about 25 miles southwest of downtown Phoenix and roughly two and a half miles east of Interstate 10, which is the main reason the location works as well as it does. Loop 202 is close, Chandler shopping and medical are a short drive north, and Sky Harbor is reachable without a long haul. For anyone flying family in and out or keeping appointments across the Valley, the freeway access here is genuinely better than in much of the far West Valley.
Values here vary widely by section, association, golf frontage, and whether the home is detached or attached, which makes Sun Lakes harder to price from a website estimate than most communities. Get a no-obligation estimate based on recent comparable sales in your specific section.
Get My Home ValueEvery community out here offers something a little different, so the real question is which one fits the way you want to live. Most buyers touring Sun Lakes are looking at the rest of the East Valley too, so those come first.
If you like what Robson built at Sun Lakes, PebbleCreek in Goodyear is the same developer on the other side of the Valley, newer and laid out on a similar country club model. It is the one West Valley community worth a look even if you have decided on the East Valley.
Four guides that map directly onto what makes Sun Lakes different: three associations, an age rule with an exception, five golf courses, and homes built between 1972 and 2006.
Tell me whether gating matters, whether you want detached or lock and leave, and how much golf you actually play. That narrows five communities down to one or two, and then we tour the right clubhouses instead of all of them.
Call or Text 623-206-9936