Blue Heron vs Taylor Morrison: Which Las Vegas Builder Is Right for You?
Blue Heron and Taylor Morrison are two names you’ll come across when looking at new construction in Las Vegas but they offer two very different home-buying experiences. One is heavily focused on architecture, customization, and luxury, while the other gives buyers access to a much broader selection of communities, floor plans, and price points.
Both of these are two of my favorite builders. I am going to talk about current developments and some fun future planned communities for both builders! So instead of asking which builder is better, the real question is: which one is right for you?
BLUE HERON — THE LUXURY / DESIGN-FOCUSED OPTION
Blue Heron is a Las Vegas builder that started in 2004 and is owned by Tyler Jones who is a fourth-generation Las Vegas native. That is not very common here. I graduated from Blue Heron University this year and really learned about their process. They developed a style they call Vegas Modern, which focuses on our desert surroundings, utilizing local materials, building homes with mountain views and capturing the natural light and the indoor-outdoor lifestyle that so many luxury buyers want here in Las Vegas.
I’ve been selling real estate in Las Vegas and Henderson for 30 years, and I’ve watched luxury home design change dramatically. Years ago, luxury often meant Tuscan architecture. Today, when a buyer walks into a contemporary home says, “This is what I want,” a lot of the time they’re really describing is the modern style Blue Heron helped make popular here. When I pull resales up in the MLS, I can easily tell when the home is Blue Heron. They often have a very distinct modern look. They are highly desirable and hold value with strong resale demand.
Right now, they’re building in places like Lake Las Vegas, with Shoreline, Velaris and Arvada on The Island, and their newest waterfront community, Liora. Which is so exciting because it will be one of the last opportunities to own a waterfront home at Lake Las Vegas.
They often build around a lifestyle such as the wellness focused Canyon Residences at Ascaya. The luxury lifestyle at MacDonald Highlands and Southern Highlands.
They also just announced Toren, a 32-home community in Green Valley South on half-acre lots with no HOA, which is very rare here in Henderson. And they were chosen as builder and architect for The New American Home 2027, the national showcase home for the builders’ show, which will be in Southern Highlands.
And here’s one to watch, especially if you’ve lived here for a while. Blue Heron has submitted plans to build on Wayne Newton’s old Casa de Shenandoah property at Sunset and Pecos. This was 40-acre landmark estate with Arabian horses, peacocks, and even his own jet. Now the Blue Heron will be building 77 homes on good size half an acre lots. The best part is that they plan to the original perimeter wall with a gated entrance on Pecos. Every time, I drive by it on Pecos I love looking at the horse statue they have at the corner. They also plan to keep Newton’s lake as the centerpiece of the shared open space. I think this will be a very unique community!
Blue Heron offers different levels of customization. You can build a fully custom home with the Design-Build program. They have several custom homes already completed for sale in Luxury communities. They also offer semi-custom track homes such as Shoreline and Velaris at Lake Las Vegas, Stonewater in Southern Highlands, and the Canyon Residences at Ascaya.
Blue Heron’s community homes currently start around $1.3 million base price plus lot premiums, with larger custom estates potentially costing several million dollars more.
For buyers who want their home to be a statement of architecture and design, Blue Heron can offer a very different experience from a traditional production builder.
TAYLOR MORRISON — MORE OPTIONS & A TRADITIONAL NEW-BUILD EXPERIENCE
Now Taylor Morrison is a very different builder. They came to Las Vegas in 2020 when they bought William Lyon Homes. If you’ve been here a while, you remember William Lyon had a strong reputation in this valley, so Taylor Morrison didn’t start from scratch here. They inherited established communities and some of the great people.
They’re a national homebuilder with a much broader selection of homes, communities, floor plans, and price points. And that’s one of their biggest advantages. They’ve also been named America’s Most Trusted Home Builder by Lifestory Research for 11 years in a row. Plus, to me Taylor Morrison is family now. They were acquired by Berkshire Hathaway earlier this year for over 8 billion dollars. So now they are under the same Berkshire Hathaway umbrella as my brokerage is. My partner Ellen Fahr has worked with the CEO of Taylor Morrison for years and she is an amazing lady. She is often asked to be on news shows to provide her opinion. We love Taylor Morrison Homes.
Currently they have 15 communities throughout the valley, plus 3 communities in Pahrump, Communities like Windsor Heights located in the historic westside of town with prices starting in the high $300,000’s. Right now, their Opus community in the master planned Cadence has standing inventory homes available in the upper $400s. Solstice in the southwest also has homes with delivery in the next couple of months
The luxury community Ashland, in Summerlin features single-story floor plans with available inventory slightly over $1,000,000. The one everyone’s talking about is Esplanade at Red Rock in Summerlin’s La Madre Peaks village. It’s their resort-lifestyle brand, with single-story homes, a wellness focus, and about 400 homes planned. It’s sold in four collections, starting from the low $600,000s for the Villas and going to over $1.5 million for the Estates.
They also have several coming-soon communities worth watching: Wild Sage Estates in the northwest with half-acre lots and casita options, and Skyline Ridge, a small 20-lot community with RV garages and multigenerational layout.
Taylor Morrison is offering some terrific incentives on their standing inventory homes. I have clients that just purchased a home at Portofino in Lake Las Vegas. They purchased a large 2,000 sqft home with a 3 car garages for less than $700,000. My clients got 5.5% interest rate through Taylor Morrison Home funding. This is almost 2% less than they could get anywhere else and they got over $60,000 off the price of the home. They are very happy.
“Hi, my name is Leslie Carver, and I’m a real estate professional here in the Las Vegas and Henderson area. If you’re thinking about moving, buying, or selling here, make sure you subscribe because I share community tours, market updates, and everything you need to know about living in Las Vegas and Henderson.”
“Now let’s get into where these two builders really start to separate themselves.”
CUSTOMIZATION VS CONVENIENCE
With Blue Heron:
Blue Heron doesn’t build a lot of “spec” homes. When you come to Blue Heron, you choose the model you want and the lot. You have greater control over the architecture and layout. You can look at how the home will sit on a particular lot and maybe you the home best positioned to capture the Strip views. These design decisions become part of creating a home specifically around how you live.
With Taylor Morrison:
With Taylor Morrison, the lot and floorplan are often already predetermined. They currently offer many standing inventory homes where some of the selections have already been chosen. These homes offer less flexibility when it comes to personalizing finishes and upgrades, but they can be a great opportunity for buyers who want to move in sooner and potentially take advantage of some terrific builder incentives, including price reductions, closing cost assistance, or mortgage rate buydowns.
The question becomes: do you want to create something very personalized, or do you want a more streamlined path into a new home?
Blue Heron may make more sense if:
You want a certain lifestyle such as the wellness focused Canyons Residences in Ascaya. Luxury architecture and lifestyle is a priority. I find the buyers who love Blue Heron really like the modern appeal. Blue Heron works is great if you want a highly personalized home, views and a luxury lifestyle and of course if you have both the budget and the time for a more involved build.
Taylor Morrison may make more sense if:
You want more community options and price points. Whether you’re a first-time buyer, a growing family, or downsizing into single-story resort living, they likely have something in your range.
You prefer to choose from existing floor plans. You’d rather walk a model and say, “That one.”. You want a more predictable new-construction process. Clear plans, set option pricing, and a defined schedule mean fewer surprises for most buyers. You’d like something that could be ready sooner. Between quick move-ins and homes already under construction, you could be in a new home in a couple of months.
WHAT SHOULD YOU COMPARE BEFORE CHOOSING?
Start with the total price after upgrades and options. Ask about lot premiums. Lots with views or a corner and larger lots can add a lot to the price. Some of the Blue Heron homes have lot premiums at $500,000 more. Check the HOA and other community costs, including master and sub-associations, and any special assessments, or whether there’s no HOA at all, like at Taylor Morrison Toren community.
Walk the model and ask, “Is this included?” I had buyers recently that loved the model home but when we started asking about what was standard and what was included, we were surprised. We knew that the furniture was a decorator item but some of the items like the built-ins desk and chandler were also decorator items and not available as an upgrade with the builder. Ask about the construction timeline, especially if you’re wanting to lock in an interest rate.
Think about location, from your commute to which direction the backyard faces. A west-facing yard in July here is a very different experience. Consider resale potential too, because a very personal custom home or a community where the builder is still selling new homes can affect your future sale. Finally, be honest about how much customization you want. A lot of people say they want custom when what they really want is good options.
And one tip: bring your agent on your very first visit to any builder. If you sign in alone, you may lose the ability to have your own representation.
Don’t choose the builder first and then force yourself into one of their homes. Start with the lifestyle and budget you want and then figure out which builder fits that.
“So, Blue Heron or Taylor Morrison? They really serving two different types of buyers, which is why I wouldn’t automatically say one is better than the other. If you want something highly customized and architecturally distinctive, Blue Heron may make more sense. If you want more communities, floor plans, and a traditional new-construction experience, Taylor Morrison may be the better fit. If you’re looking at new construction anywhere in Las Vegas or Henderson and you want help comparing builders, communities, and the actual costs involved, reach out and I’d be happy to help.”
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