Elgin · Kane County · IL
Homes for sale in
Highland Woods.
- Active listings
- 6
- Median list
- $750K
- Avg time on market
- 16 days
- Sold · last year
- 31
Active listings
6 homes on the market
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About the community
Far-west Elgin's resort-style master-planned community.
Highland Woods is a Crown Community Development master-plan on the far west side of Elgin, developed from around 2006 and still building out with new homes today. It is a move-up, amenity-rich community: an Owners Club with a fitness center, a resort pool and a Splash water park, five miles of trails, seven parks, tennis and sand volleyball, and an 18-acre lake set in 196 acres of open space. Two things set it apart from a typical Elgin address: the depth of the amenities, and that it sits in the well-regarded Central District 301, not Elgin U-46.
At a glance
Owners Club + fitness
A private clubhouse with a fitness center for residents.
Resort pool + water park
A leisure pool with lap lanes and a Splash water park with a triple-loop slide.
Central District 301
On-site Country Trails Elementary, then Central Middle and Central High School.
18-acre lake, 196 acres open
A lake with a tree island, preserved wetlands, and landscaped greenways.
Parks and courts
Seven parks, tennis, basketball, and a sand volleyball court.
5 miles of trails
Walking and biking paths through the community.
Move-up single-family homes
Roughly 1,400 to 7,000+ sqft from a range of semi-custom and production builders.
Still building new homes
A long-running Crown community now in its final selling phases.
West of Randall Road
About 2.5 miles west of the Randall Road corridor, with I-90 access.
What’s close
Highland Woods sits in far-west Elgin, roughly south of Highland Avenue and west of the Randall Road retail corridor, with I-90 the main commuter route.
- Amenities on-site
- The Owners Club, resort pool and Splash water park, tennis, trails, seven parks, and the 18-acre lake.
- Shopping
- The Randall Road retail corridor (big-box, grocery, dining) about 2.5 miles east.
- Hospital
- Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin.
- Highway
- I-90 (Jane Addams Tollway) for the trip toward O'Hare and downtown Chicago.
- Schools
- Central District 301: on-site Country Trails Elementary, then Central Middle and Central High School.
- Train
- Metra service to Chicago on the Milwaukee District West line from the Elgin area.
What it’s actually like to live here
Highland Woods lives like a resort community more than a subdivision. The Owners Club, the pool and water park, the tennis and volleyball, the trails and the lake are the center of gravity, and families with kids get a lot of use out of the aquatic complex and the seven parks in the summer. It is a move-up community, so the crowd skews toward established families and professionals in larger homes, with new construction still bringing in fresh buyers as the final phases sell.
The school district is the quiet differentiator. Most Elgin addresses are in Elgin U-46, but Highland Woods sits in Central District 301, with an elementary school right inside the community. For families who specifically want District 301, this is one of the few Elgin-address communities that delivers it, and that shows up in buyer demand.
The tradeoffs are distance and taxes. This is far-west Elgin, about two and a half miles past the Randall Road corridor, so the commute and the drive to major shopping are real, and Kane County property taxes on homes at this price level are a serious line item. The amenities and the district are what buyers pay for; the drive and the tax bill are what they should verify before they commit.
Market trends
Why this market moves the way it does
Highland Woods is an upper-bracket, amenity-driven community with a broad range of home sizes, so it trades on the amenity package, the Central 301 district, and condition. New construction in the final phases sets a ceiling that resales price against, and the wide size range means price per square foot matters as much as headline price.
What holds value
The fundamentals matter more than the cosmetics here. Buyers want floor plan, lot, and basement, in that order. Cosmetics are the tiebreaker.
- The amenity base
- The Owners Club, water park, and lake are a durable draw that supports value versus plainer nearby subdivisions.
- Central District 301
- Being in District 301 rather than U-46, with an on-site elementary, is a real and repeatable demand driver for families.
- Home size and vintage
- The stock runs from roughly 1,400 to 7,000+ square feet across many builders and years, so updated, well-sized homes hold value and dated ones lag.
- New construction ceiling
- With builders still selling final-phase homes, resales compete against new and need to be priced accordingly.
- Lot position
- Homes on the lake, backing to open space, or near the Owners Club carry a premium over interior lots.
Real talk
Who shouldn’t buy here
Here is the honest version before you tour.
Kane County taxes at this price point are steep, and they surprise buyers coming from lower-tax areas. On a home in the $600,000s to $800,000s the annual bill is a serious monthly line item on top of the HOA. Pull the actual tax history for the specific home rather than estimating off a smaller house, because the range across this community is wide.
It is far-west Elgin, so location is the tradeoff for the amenities and the district. You are a couple of miles past Randall Road, so the commute and the drive to major shopping and services are longer than a closer-in community. The amenity package and the schools are the reason to be here; just make sure the daily drive works before you fall for the clubhouse.
The housing stock spans nearly twenty years and a long list of builders, so quality and floor plans vary a lot from street to street. An early-2000s home that has never been updated competes against newer final-phase construction, and that gap shows up in price and days on market. Tour the specific home and get it inspected rather than assuming the community is uniform.
One piece of advice
“Highland Woods is one of the few Elgin-address communities that gets you Central District 301 plus a real resort amenity package, and that combination is why families pay up for it. Just confirm the fully-assessed taxes on the specific home, drive the commute from far-west Elgin, and, given the twenty-year range of construction, pick the home on its own condition rather than the community's reputation. Do that and it is a strong move-up buy.”
The questions buyers actually ask
Highland Woods FAQ
The questions I get most from buyers shopping Highland Woods. If yours isn't here, text 224-385-8779, same-day reply.
- How much is the HOA?
- Single-family homes are $126 per month.
- What does the HOA actually cover?
- Monthly HOA dues on listings run roughly $35 to $126 (some billed quarterly), funding the Owners Club, the pools and water park, the trails, parks, and common-area upkeep. Confirm the current assessment and any special assessments for the specific home.
- What are property taxes like?
- Roughly $10,000 – $18,000 per year, depending on home size and value. Kane County assessor records are the source of truth. Happy to pull a specific bill on any home you're considering.
- When was Highland Woods built?
- Crown Community Development (multiple builders) built the community between 2006 and 2026.
- What's the typical closing timeline?
- 30 to 60 days from accepted offer to keys. Cash deals can close in two weeks. Conventional financing is usually closer to 60.
- What school district is Highland Woods in?
- Central Community Unit School District 301, not Elgin U-46, which is unusual for an Elgin address. Country Trails Elementary is on-site within the community, feeding Central Middle School and Central High School. Confirm the assigned schools in writing for the specific home.
- What amenities does the community have?
- A resort-style package: the Owners Club with a fitness center, a leisure pool with lap lanes plus a Splash water park with a triple-loop slide, five miles of trails, seven parks and playgrounds, tennis, basketball, and sand volleyball courts, and an 18-acre lake set in 196 acres of open space.
- Who built Highland Woods and is it still selling new homes?
- It is a Crown Community Development master-plan begun around 2006, with homes by a range of semi-custom and production builders over the years (Silverthorne, Ryan, Pulte, D.R. Horton, M/I, and others). It is in its final selling phases, so some new construction is still available alongside resales.
- What do homes cost and how big are they?
- Single-family homes only, ranging widely from roughly 1,400 to 7,000+ square feet across builders and eras. Recent closed sales have run around the $575,000 mark, with active and new-construction listings reaching into the $800,000s and above.
- What are the HOA dues and what do they cover?
- Monthly HOA dues on listings run roughly $35 to $126 (some billed quarterly), funding the Owners Club, the pools and water park, the trails, parks, and common-area upkeep. Confirm the current assessment and any special assessments for the specific home.
- What is the tradeoff of living here?
- Distance and taxes. It is far-west Elgin, about 2.5 miles past the Randall Road corridor, so the commute and drive to major shopping are longer, and Kane County taxes on homes at this price level are a significant line item. The amenities and the Central 301 schools are what buyers pay for.
- Who is the real estate agent for Highland Woods?
- Joe Keegan is the local licensed Illinois real estate broker who covers Highland Woods in Elgin, IL through Subdiview, a neighborhood-first home search for the Chicago suburbs and collar counties. Joe prices and negotiates from the live MRED sold comps for Highland Woods specifically, not national averages, and can help you buy or sell here. Reach Joe at 224-385-8779 or joe@joekeeganhomes.com.
Your local agent
Joe knows Highland Woods
Most agents will list anything. I focus on the places I actually know, and the things that move value here don't show up in the MLS write-up: which streets and buildings hold demand, what the HOA or assessments really cover, how the comps read once you account for condition and location, and where buyers consistently want to be.
When you're ready to tour or list, you want someone who has read the last 50 closed comps in this specific market, not a national average, and can tell you what they actually mean for your price. That's how I work. Text or call any time, and I'll give you a real take, not a brochure.
- Licensed Illinois broker
- Comp-driven pricing
- Elgin specialist
- Honest local market take
- Brokerocity
Market snapshot
Highland Woods, by the numbers
Live MRED data, refreshed daily. The numbers below tell you what this market is doing today, not what Zillow's algorithm thinks it might be doing six weeks from now.
Typical list price
$749,900
Typical sale price · last 90 days
$707,450
Homes for sale right now
6
Avg time on market
16 days
Sold in the last year
31
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC for the period August 29, 2025 through August 29, 2026. Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC does not guarantee nor is it in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by Midwest Real Estate Data LLC may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.
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Schools serving Highland Woods
Where Highland Woods homes go to school
Homes in Highland Woods are most often zoned to Central HS. Open a school to see its area, the district, and every home for sale that feeds it.
School assignment is derived from the school the MRED listing agent entered and is not a guarantee. Always verify current attendance boundaries with the district before writing an offer.
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