One Desert Mountain home on the market this fall, a remodeled four-bedroom on Old Trails Road, is listed at $3,999,000. Its broker remark opens with six words: "Golf Membership Available at increased price." The remark doesn't say how much of the price is the increase or what the membership costs. It also doesn't say whether the Club has approved anyone yet. The Club's own Membership Properties search puts a warning above every result. It says membership availability "is reported by each listing's broker in their MLS remarks and has not been independently verified," and that type, transferability, fees, waitlist status and approval requirements "vary by property and are subject to change and error."
That warning matters more than any feature in the listing. At Desert Mountain, a home with a transferable membership gives the buyer something the Club itself can't sell quickly: time. The label is the broker's report that the shortcut may exist, and the Club has to confirm it. The cost of that shortcut has to be pieced together from sources outside the listing.
A Line Most Buyers Can't Skip
The scarcity is real and well documented. First Call Golf reported in February 2026 that Desert Mountain has a one-to-two-year waiting list for club membership. The same article noted that Estancia, Desert Highlands, Silverleaf and other North Scottsdale clubs also have people waiting. The difference at Desert Mountain is how membership is tied to property. Full golf membership depends on owning a home, and it is granted only after the board approves a club application.
In its March 25, 2026 release, the Club stated plainly that applications are accepted only together with a home purchase, and that buying a home does not guarantee membership. So the market contains two kinds of homes that can look identical from the driveway. One comes with a seat at the table on closing day, provided the buyer is approved. The other comes with a place at the back of the line.
That split explains why a remark like "increased price" can exist at all. A seller holding a transferable membership has something the buyer of the house next door would have to wait a year or two to get.
Fifty-Three Homes, Three Different Products
In late October 2026, the Club's search returned 53 listings. They do not all offer the same thing. Each listing carries one of three labels:
| Label on the listing | Listings, late October 2026 | Price points in the search |
|---|---|---|
| Golf Membership | 38 | Least expensive at $1,775,000 |
| Lifestyle Membership | 11 | One Gambel Quail home at $2,695,000 |
| Seven Golf Membership | 4 | Two at $1,749,000 and $1,975,000 |
The Seven category is the one buyers most often misread. First Call Golf described Seven golf privileges as limited to the No. 7 course, with access to other club amenities, and reported that initiation and monthly dues are approximately two-thirds of a full golf membership. The $1,749,000 Seven listing is a patio home in the Apache Cottages enclave, and its remark says the membership is "available to be purchased with this property." In this snapshot it sits $26,000 below the least expensive Golf listing. Those two homes are close in price but give very different access to six of the seven courses.
Lifestyle listings sit on another rung. The Gambel Quail remark calls its offering a "RARE Lifestyle/Social Membership immediately available with club approval." Even within the Golf group, the wording varies. Some remarks say "FULL GOLF MEMBERSHIP AVAILABLE for transfer," while others just say "Golf membership available!!!" To a buyer comparing listings online, these read as one feature. In practice they describe different categories, different transfer status and different paperwork.
The count itself also moves. First Call Golf put membership-access homes at about 80 at the end of 2025, and the Club's March release said more than 100. Those figures were measured at different times and in different ways from the October search, and they track a seasonal market. Read the 53 as the size of the menu this fall, not as a trend line.
Where the Initiation Fee Goes
The most detailed public description of a transfer is in the Club's 2021 Facts and Frequently Asked Questions. It describes a Real Estate Transfer Program in which a member transfers the membership at the same time as the home sale, and the buyer "will pay 100% of the Club Initiation Fee for the category of Membership being held by the Member transferring the Membership payable to The Club."
That document is five years old, and the Club notes that its fees may be revised. Its structure still explains the remarks on today's listings. Under the 2021 description, the initiation fee goes to the Club, not the seller. Any premium a seller builds into a home "with membership" is therefore a separate cost. It reflects the value of not waiting, since the seller isn't passing along the fee. A buyer of a membership home could pay twice: once for the time saved, inside the purchase price, and once for the membership itself, to the Club.
The same FAQ shows why sellers like to transfer at closing. A member who resigns gives 12 months' notice and pays dues during that period. The period can end sooner if someone from the waitlist joins, or the member can leave early by paying the 12 months of dues and any amounts owed. Transferring alongside the sale is the cleaner exit. Both sides gain from the transfer, so membership homes keep coming to market.
The current version of these terms has to come from the Club. The 2021 wording describes how the program worked then. It is not a promise about how it works on the day you write an offer.
The Number a Listing Isn't Allowed to Show
Buyers who search remarks for fee information won't find it, and that is by design. The Club's guidance for real estate agents puts it directly:
Membership Initiation, monthly dues, offerings and availability are subject to change and should not be placed in MLS, on agent websites or published in any way other than the collateral that is created by the Club.
That is why this post states no current fee, and why a listing that names one deserves a second look. One remark in the October search claims the membership price will rise on January 1, 2027, and urges buyers to "BUY now." Neither the Club nor the press confirms that claim. With January 1 only weeks away, it is the kind of deadline that can rush a decision. The only reliable source is the Club's Membership Sales Team, at 480.595.4110 or [email protected].
So the price shown on a membership listing is always incomplete. It is the house plus whatever the seller thinks the shortcut is worth. The fee, the dues and the approval sit outside it, with the Club.
Questions That Close the Gap
Before treating a membership label as part of what you're buying, take these to the listing broker and to Membership Sales:
- Which category is it? Golf, Seven Golf and Lifestyle are different products, and remarks don't always name them precisely.
- Is it confirmed as transferable with this sale? The Club's search warns that transferability is reported by the broker and not verified.
- What does the Club currently charge for that category, in initiation and monthly dues? Only Membership Sales can tell you.
- How much of the asking price reflects the membership? That is the queue premium, and it's open to negotiation like any other part of the price.
- What is the approval timeline? The Club recommends pre-qualification before closing, because owning the home doesn't guarantee membership.
A Few Distinct Questions
What if the home I want doesn't carry a membership? You join the waitlist. The Club says eligible prospects can apply for a temporary Lifestyle membership while their full membership is in process. It lists dining, social events, fitness, trails, and select golf or racquet opportunities as available, and says its membership team shares the specifics. A home without a membership and with a lower price can make sense if a year or two on the bridge membership suits your plans.
Is there a separate charge at closing besides the Club? Yes. A Desert Mountain Master Association resolution sets a Capital Reserve Fund Fee of 0.45% of the lot purchase price for purchase agreements dated on or after March 1, 2024. It is an HOA charge, separate from Club membership. This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm the terms that apply to your purchase with the Club, the HOA and your own advisors.
Does a membership home sell for more? The asking prices suggest sellers believe it does. "Increased price" is written right into one remark. Comparable homes with and without memberships haven't been measured side by side in public, so any premium is negotiated one listing at a time.
When you find a Desert Mountain home whose remark says "membership available," Linda Salkow can help you sort out which category it is and how much of the price is the shortcut. She brings 29 years as a Desert Mountain member to that conversation. If you're a member planning to sell, request a home valuation, and we'll look at how your membership fits into a pricing strategy.
