Discover Santa Clarita’s Active Adult Communities
Santa Clarita 55+ communities give buyers a way to simplify without leaving Southern California behind. Many residents are downsizing from a longtime family home in the valley, while others are relocating to be closer to children and grandchildren who already live here.
What they find is a range of communities rather than one type of retirement neighborhood. Some communities have been around for decades and come with a golf course and a full calendar of clubs and social events. Others are newer gated enclaves with resort-style clubhouses, pools, fitness centers, and pickleball courts.
Homes across the board tend to be low-maintenance, and many offer single-story floor plans or first-floor primary suites that make it easier to stay put for the long run. The right fit comes down to your budget, how much space you need, and the kind of daily life you want.
At a Glance
| Community | Area | Homes | Built | Typical Price | Single-Story |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friendly Valley | Newhall | 1,290 | 1963–2004 | $200Ks–$500Ks | Yes, nearly all |
| Belcaro | Valencia | 275 | 2003–2008 | $700Ks–$800Ks | Some plans |
| Verano at Aliento | Canyon Country | 95 | 2017-2021 | $700Ks–$900Ks | Some plans |
| Galloway at Five Knolls | Saugus | 140 | 2017–present | $600Ks–$800Ks | Few plans |
| Altis at Skyline Ranch | Canyon Country | 292 | 2021–present | $700Ks–$800Ks | Yes, all plans |
| Tesoro HighlandsSierra Bella, Toscana, Estrada, Paseo | Valencia | 4 enclaves, still building | 2023–present | $600Ks–$1M+ | Most plans |
Santa Clarita has six 55+ communities spread across Newhall, Valencia, Saugus, and Canyon Country.
They range from Friendly Valley, a 1,290-home golf community with prices starting in the mid $200Ks, to newly built single-story homes at Tesoro Highlands that reach past $1M. Beyond price, they also differ on age and occupancy rules, HOA dues and Mello-Roos, single-story availability, and where they sit in the valley.
Friendly Valley, Altis at Skyline Ranch, and most of Tesoro Highlands are built around single-story living, while Belcaro, Verano, and Galloway mix in two-story plans. Most are fully built out, but Altis and Tesoro Highlands still have new homes available from the builder.
Friendly Valley is the oldest and largest 55+ community in Santa Clarita, with 1,290 homes built between 1963 and 2004. Homes range from about 600 to just over 1,500 square feet with one to three bedrooms, in a mix of attached and detached homes. It is also the only community with golf inside the gates: a nine-hole course and a pitch-and-putt, plus lawn bowling, a pool, a ballroom, and studios for woodworking, ceramics, and sewing. More than 50 clubs keep the calendar full. Dues run roughly $325 to $625 a month, depending on which internal association a home belongs to.
Best for: buyers who want the lowest entry price, an established social scene, and golf on site.
New Urban West built Belcaro’s 275 homes between 2003 and 2008 on the I-5 side of north Valencia. Floor plans run from about 1,673 to 2,500 square feet with two or three bedrooms, in a mix of detached homes and attached residences. The centerpiece is Grove House, a 9,000-square-foot clubhouse with a 25-meter pool, spa, fitness center, performing arts studio, library, and demonstration kitchen. Tennis, bocce, and racquetball courts sit just outside. A staffed gatehouse controls the entrance, and Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital is about three miles away.
Best for: buyers who want a mature, fully built community with a large clubhouse close to Valencia shopping and medical care.
Verano is the smallest of the six. It has 95 single-family homes built from 2017 to 2021 inside the larger Aliento master plan. Plans run about 1,617 to 2,380 square feet with two to four bedrooms. Most are two-story, but the larger plans put the primary suite downstairs. Owners get two clubhouses: The Club at Verano, reserved for 55+ residents, with a pool, fitness room, and private wine lockers, and The Terrace, Aliento’s all-ages clubhouse, with a lap pool, bocce, and fire pits. The tradeoff for that extra access is two HOAs and two gates.
Best for: buyers who want newer construction in a small, quiet neighborhood and are comfortable with a two-story layout.
Lennar opened Galloway in 2017 as the 55+ neighborhood within the Five Knolls master plan in Saugus. Its 140 single-family homes range from about 1,409 to 2,458 square feet with two or three bedrooms, and each was built with Wi-Fi access points and home automation. The amenities are sized to the community: a clubhouse with a multipurpose room, a fitness center, a pool and spa, and an outdoor patio, surrounded by parks and open space. Galloway is reported to have no Mello-Roos, which helps keep carrying costs down.
Best for: buyers who want a newer home at a lower price point than the Valencia options, with quick access to SR-14.
Altis is Tri Pointe Homes’ 55+ brand. The Santa Clarita community opened in 2021 with 292 planned homes. Every plan is single-story, from about 1,511 to 2,621 square feet with two or three bedrooms. The recreation center has a fitness center, catering kitchen, library, lounge, and outdoor pool, and walking trails connect into the wider Skyline Ranch community. Dues have been about $283 to $295 a month, plus annual assessments of roughly $1,400 to $1,600. New homes are still available from the builder.
Best for: buyers who want brand-new, one-level living and don’t mind being farther out on the SR-14 side.
Tesoro Highlands is the newest option. Since 2023, Lennar has been building four 55+ enclaves in north Valencia: Sierra Bella, Toscana, Estrada, and Paseo. Homes run about 1,653 to 2,675 square feet with two or three bedrooms, and several plans add a California room, a home office, or a bonus room. Toscana, Estrada, and Paseo are single-story, while Sierra Bella mixes one- and two-story plans. Residents have access to the Oasis clubhouse, with a fitness center, a pool, pickleball, bocce, and a community garden. Buyers should plan for Mello-Roos, which local estimates put at $2,000 to $3,200 a year.
Best for: buyers who want new construction on the Valencia side and the widest choice of floor plans.
Santa Clarita’s 55+ communities look similar on a listing sheet: gated, a clubhouse, a pool, homes built for easier living. The differences that decide whether a community fits show up in three places: whether the home is new or established, what the HOA actually pays for, and where it sits relative to the hospital, the freeways and family.
Newer communities (Altis, Galloway, Verano, Tesoro Highlands) offer modern layouts, energy efficiency and builder warranty coverage. California’s Right to Repair Act gives owners of newer homes up to 10 years to bring most construction defect claims, and each builder’s own limited warranty adds its own terms. The tradeoffs are young landscaping, small resale pools and extra property taxes in some cases.
Established communities (Friendly Valley, Belcaro) trade those unknowns for mature trees, a track record and deeper resale data. Friendly Valley’s 1,290 homes produce steady sales, which makes pricing easier to judge. Verano, with 95 homes, may see only a handful of sales a year. The thing to check on older communities is reserve health. California associations must complete a reserve study every three years, and the annual budget report shows how well funded the reserves are. A low percentage can signal a special assessment ahead.
Monthly HOA dues across these communities range from under $300 to over $600, and the number means very little on its own. The question is what it replaces in the owner’s budget.
A $500 monthly fee that includes the roof, exterior paint and cable can cost less over ten years than a $250 fee that does not. Ask for the association’s maintenance responsibility chart along with the budget.
Santa Clarita splits into two freeway sides. Belcaro and Tesoro Highlands sit on the I-5 side in north Valencia. Galloway, Verano and Altis sit on the SR-14 side in Saugus and Canyon Country. Friendly Valley in Newhall is the closest to where the two freeways meet. Both sides share the same merge into the Valley, so the SR-14 side mainly helps if residents are regularly traveling to Palmdale or Lancaster.
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital on McBean Parkway is the valley’s only hospital and trauma center. Providence Holy Cross in Mission Hills is the nearest major hospital over the pass.
| Community | Henry Mayo Hospital | Nearest Freeway | Sherman Oaks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belcaro | ~3 mi / 8 min | I-5, ~4 mi | ~35 min |
| Friendly Valley | ~5 mi / 12 min | SR-14, ~1 mi | ~30 min |
| Galloway at Five Knolls | ~6 mi / 14 min | SR-14, ~2 mi | ~35 min |
| Tesoro Highlands | ~7 mi / 15 min | I-5, ~6 mi | ~40 min |
| Verano at Aliento | ~9 mi / 18 min | SR-14, ~2 mi | ~35 min |
| Altis at Skyline Ranch | ~11 mi / 22 min | SR-14, ~3.5 mi | ~40 min |
All six Santa Clarita 55+ communities use 55 as the threshold rather than 62. The restriction applies to who lives in the home, not who owns it, so a younger buyer can hold title while a qualifying resident occupies the home. In most cases at least one resident in each home must be 55 or older.
In defined cases, yes. Under California Civil Code Section 51.3, a spouse, cohabitant or person providing primary support can live with the 55+ resident at any age. Other permanent residents generally must be 45 or older. A live-in caregiver is allowed, and a disabled child or grandchild who needs to live there is an exception.
Altis at Skyline Ranch is entirely single-story, and nearly all Friendly Valley homes are one level. At Tesoro Highlands, the Toscana, Estrada and Paseo enclaves are single-story while Sierra Bella mixes one- and two-story plans. Belcaro, Galloway and Verano are mostly two-story, though their larger plans place the primary suite downstairs.
Friendly Valley in Newhall, where homes typically sell from the $200Ks to the $500Ks. The homes are older and smaller, many are attached, and dues run roughly $325 to $625 a month but cover more of the maintenance. Every other 55+ community in Santa Clarita starts in the $600Ks or above.
All six. Friendly Valley has a staffed main gate plus card-access interior gates, and Belcaro has a staffed gatehouse on Grove House Drive. Verano sits behind two sets of gates, the Aliento master gate and Verano’s own. Galloway, Altis at Skyline Ranch and the Tesoro Highlands 55+ enclaves each have gated entrances.
Only Friendly Valley, which has a nine-hole course and a pitch-and-putt course inside the gates, along with lawn bowling. The other five communities build their amenities around clubhouses, pools, fitness centers, pickleball and bocce instead. Golfers in those communities play the valley’s public courses nearby.
Some do and some do not, which surprises buyers. Tesoro Highlands sits in a community facilities district, with local estimates of $2,000 to $3,200 a year. Altis and Verano are reported to be excluded from the Skyline Ranch and Aliento districts, and Galloway is reported to have none. Altis still carries annual assessments of roughly $1,400 to $1,600. Always read the actual tax bill.
Often, yes. Under Proposition 19, a homeowner 55 or older can transfer the taxable value of a primary residence to a replacement primary residence anywhere in California, up to three times. The purchase and sale must happen within two years of each other, and if the new home costs more, the difference in market value is added to the transferred base. The claim is filed with the Los Angeles County Assessor.
I care where you live. In a 55+ community, the right fit is about more than the house. It is the age rules and whether they work for your spouse or family, what the HOA actually covers, how close you are to life’s essentials, and whether you can bring your property tax base with you.
Our team loves helping buyers find that fit and will walk you through it patiently and efficiently. Many of our 55+ clients also have a home to sell, so we plan both sides together and time them in your favor.
Holly Thompson has lived in the Santa Clarita Valley since 1992 and has helped buyers and sellers here for nearly 20 years. With 500+ transactions and 110+ five-star reviews, Holly Thompson Homes is the team Santa Clarita 55+ buyers trust. Contact Holly today to get started.
