Centennial Hills Rural Preservation Homes for Sale

What "rural preservation" actually means

When the City of Las Vegas wrote the Centennial Hills Sector Plan in 1999 (revised in 2006), it drew a line around the big-lot neighborhoods that were already there and said, in effect, keep these the way they are. The plan calls them Rural Neighborhood Preservation areas, or RNP, and describes them as large lots, "many including equestrian facilities," at no more than two homes per acre. The city's newer 2050 Master Plan keeps the same limit and spells out what's allowed on the land: large-lot estates and ranches, with non-commercial farming and animal keeping.

In plain English: you can have horses, chickens and a big shop. Your neighbor can too. The whole point of the zoning is to keep dense subdivisions off these streets.

Marc has lived in the northwest since 1994. He keeps five horses. He keeps five horses on a mini ranch near Kyle Canyon, and Michelle lives on a half acre in the northwest. We live on land like this ourselves, so when we walk a rural property with you, we check the fencing, the arena footing and the water before we ever get to the kitchen.

Rural Preservation real estate market

Because the RNP areas aren't one subdivision, nobody publishes a single median price for them. Prices depend on the lot size, the house and, a lot of the time, the horse setup: a pipe-corral arena, a covered barn and a tack room can add real value, and a tired barn can cost you. For context, the table shows the market around them.

A half-acre with a barn doesn't price like a tract house on a 6,000-square-foot lot, so those medians only get you so far. When we price a rural home, we pull sales of similar lots and similar setups, not the tract house down the road.

What to check before you buy rural

This is the part most buyers don't know to ask about. We walk every one of these with you.

1. City or county zoning. We look up the parcel before you write an offer. The zoning decides how many horses the lot can hold and where a barn or shop can go. Both the city and county codes we read in September 2026 allow no more than one horse per 7,500 square feet of lot on horse-zoned parcels, which works out to two on a half-acre on paper. The real answer is on the parcel's zoning and any deed restrictions, not in the listing. More on this in our horse property guide.
2. Is the barn permitted? Plenty of older barns, casitas and covered arenas went up without permits. That can matter at resale or if you want to add on.
3. Well or city water. Some rural homes run on a private well. Michelle's does. Out here, locals will tell you: if you have a well, hang on to it. Ask for the well's records and any paperwork that comes with it, and get it inspected.
4. Septic. Many rural homes are on septic rather than city sewer. A septic inspection is cheap compared to a surprise.
5. Who maintains the road. Some roads in the rural areas are private and maintained by the owners who live on them. Ask before you fall in love with the gravel.
6. No HOA cuts both ways. Many rural lots have no HOA, which means no dues and no one telling you what color to paint the gate. It also means no one telling your neighbor either.
7. RV parking. Rural lots are the easiest place in the valley to park a big rig (more in our RV garage homes guide), but check the gate width, the turning room and whether the approach is paved.

Schools serving the rural areas

The rural areas are in the Clark County School District (CCSD), and which school serves a lot depends on the exact address. Check it with CCSD's zoning search. Nevada star ratings for 2024-25 (5 is the top) for schools buyers in these areas ask about:

The 2025-26 ratings were announced September 15, 2026, and we'll update this table once the full list is out.

Life out here

The rural areas sit close to the best open space in the northwest.

• Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs has horse trails, fishing ponds, the old ranch buildings and a resident flock of peacocks. Entry is $6 per vehicle.
• Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument starts at the north end of Durango and covers 22,650 acres of open desert.
• Lone Mountain itself has a trail to the top, and the view from up there shows you exactly where the big lots are.
• Gilcrease Orchard on Tenaya Way does apples and a pumpkin patch in the fall.
• Centennial Hills Park on Buffalo has an amphitheater, a dog park and pickleball courts when you want neighbors.
• Mount Charleston is about 40 minutes up Kyle Canyon Road, and Lee Canyon's ski runs are a little farther.

At night it's dark. That's the point. With no streetlights, you can see stars from your backyard, which is not something most of Las Vegas can say.

Why buyers pick the rural areas

People come out here for horses, for a big shop or RV setup, or just for room between them and the neighbors. It's country living without leaving Las Vegas. Some are coming from California, where the statewide median home price was $901,420 in August 2026 (California Association of REALTORS), before anyone adds land for horses.

It's not for everyone. You'll drive a little farther to the grocery store. Some roads are rough. If you'd rather have a regular lot and an HOA, look at Iron Mountain Ranch instead. But if you've been scrolling listings trying to find a place for your horses and your trailer, this is where they are.