Community Size — Does It Matter?

This is the most tangible size effect for golfers. Sun City West has 27,000 homes sharing 4 courses (72 holes). At peak season (December–March), morning tee times are competitive. Encanterra has 2,600 homes sharing 1 course (18 holes) — but the ratio of homes-to-holes is more favorable, and tee times are genuinely easier to get. The math: SCW has 375 homes per hole; Encanterra has 144. The semi-private model at Trilogy communities adds outside competition. Private smaller communities offer the best tee time access.

Sun City West has 100+ chartered clubs because 27,000 residents support the critical mass for niche interests. A community of 2,500 homes supports 20–30 clubs at most. If you want competitive duplicate bridge, a woodcarving club, a genealogy group, and a Scandinavian heritage society, you need a large community. Small communities have great social cultures — but limited club variety. Buyers who prioritize niche activity access should choose large.

In a 2,500-home community you will recognize faces at the pool, remember names from the pickleball courts, and feel genuinely known. In a 27,000-home community you will encounter strangers constantly — which some buyers love (endless new people to meet) and others find alienating. There is no wrong answer, but the experience is genuinely different. Buyers who moved from small towns consistently prefer smaller communities; buyers who loved city living often prefer large.

A 27,000-home community has hundreds of homes for sale at any time — buyers can be specific about floor plan, section, lot, and condition. Sellers have a large buyer pool. In a 2,500-home community, inventory can be thin — 20–40 homes at a given time. When you need to sell, the smaller buyer pool is a risk in a slow market. Sun City West and PebbleCreek have some of the most liquid 55+ resale markets in the US.

In a 27,000-home community spanning several square miles, buyers on the perimeter may be 3–5 miles from the main clubhouse. Sun City West addresses this with 7 recreation centers distributed across the community. Encanterra (2,600 homes) has one Algarve Club — but at 2,600 homes the community footprint is small enough that most residents are within reasonable distance. Community layout matters as much as size for this metric.