North Scottsdale vs. Silverleaf: one community inside a larger area

This covers places and housing. Boundaries are approximate, and rules change: check the parcel, its CC&Rs and the current code for any specific home.

The two aren’t the same kind of place

Silverleaf sits within the wider North Scottsdale area, so this comparison is between one community and the larger area around it. On this site’s map, North Scottsdale’s outline leaves Silverleaf out so that the two don’t overlap.

Municipality

Silverleaf is in the City of Scottsdale. This site’s North Scottsdale follows ZIP codes 85255, 85262 and 85266, and a ZIP code is a postal area, not a city limit, so check a parcel’s jurisdiction before relying on city rules there.

Lots

• North Scottsdale: varies, with many smaller lots within HOAs.
• Silverleaf: custom estate lots and villa parcels.

Much of this part of the city falls under Scottsdale’s Environmentally Sensitive Lands overlay, which covers 134 square miles of desert and mountain areas. It sets aside part of each property as permanently preserved natural open space, with a minimum share that depends on the land’s slope and setting: at least 15% in the lower desert, 20% in the upper desert and 40% on hillsides after reductions. This can limit where and how much you can build, so check whether a specific lot is in the overlay, and its site plan.

Homes and when they were built

• North Scottsdale: mostly built from the 1990s onward.
• Silverleaf: custom estates, mostly from the 2000s onward, and villas.

HOAs and gates

• North Scottsdale: common, often gated. Each community has its own rules and assessments.
• Silverleaf: guard-gated, with club membership separate from owning a home.

Ask which associations a Silverleaf home belongs to, what each charges, and what any club membership would involve, because those are separate questions. Arizona’s resale disclosure package includes the assessments and, since 2026, a statement when a property is subject to more than one association’s report and fee (A.R.S. § 33-1806).

Setting

• North Scottsdale: high desert, golf and trails, with mountain and city-light views.
• Silverleaf: mountain foothills at the base of the McDowell Mountains, with golf and trails.

Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve covers more than 30,500 acres, and the City lists trailheads with addresses in ZIP codes including 85255 and 85262.

Getting around

• North Scottsdale: low walkability. You drive for most errands.
• Silverleaf: low walkability, with internal paths.

Drive times depend on the address, because this is a large area. Try the routes you’d actually use.

ZIP codes: why the figures match

Silverleaf and North Scottsdale share 85255. The RentCast market figures in the table above come from that one ZIP code, so they’re identical for both, and the same goes for Aaron’s listings shown by ZIP code on each area page. They reflect single-family listings across all of 85255, not Silverleaf alone and not North Scottsdale as a whole, and they’re list prices, not closed sales.

North Scottsdale also includes 85262 and 85266, which aren’t in these figures. For a price comparison between Silverleaf and the rest of the area, look at comparable sales for the specific homes.

See them side by side

The table above comes from the same records as each area page. The compare tool shows this pair, or any other two areas. More detail is on the North Scottsdale and Silverleaf pages. To talk through specific streets and homes, book a consultation.