Episode 02
Relocating to El Paso · 7 min read
We're exploring what might be the nicest housing development on El Paso's west side: Cimarron Canyon. The homes are absolutely stunning, but it's not just the homes-the scenery is equally amazing, with the Franklin Mountains as a backdrop.
Cimarron Canyon is a beautiful area on the west side, just south of Trans Mountain, off a road called Wrestler. This isn't a huge development yet. We're talking about 100 to 200 homes, more or less, but it's rapidly expanding. Hunt, a large property development company, owns the land and is putting in all the infrastructure-water, sewer, electric, and gas lines. Once infrastructure is ready, Hunt sells prepared lots to builders, who then must build homes on them. You can't buy a lot in Cimarron Canyon; once a builder purchases one, they must develop it into a home.
The HOA is only $250 per year. That gets you access to a lovely park where they show movies for families, and the HOA maintains the landscaping and grounds. The area won't sprawl infinitely because eventually it will butt into the Franklin Mountains, which keeps the community tight and contained.
Cimarron Canyon's location is incredibly convenient for walkable amenities. Recently, the Canyons at Cimarron area has really blown up with great bars, restaurants, and higher-end services. There's even a brand new climbing gym called Sessions Banks. The best part is that all of this is an easy walk from the residential area-a real slam dunk for walkability, which isn't something you get much of in El Paso.
Residents are close to I-10 or Highway 375, so you have multiple ways to access the area and avoid traffic, which generally isn't bad around Cimarron Canyon anyway.
Let's look at some recent transactions. We've got four homes that are currently pending-under contract-that show the range of pricing:
Under Contract Homes: - 7476 Cimarron Canyon Drive: Listed at $395,000. Four bed, two bath, 1,844 square feet. That's $214 per square foot. New build by Palo Verde. - 1760 Showdown Court: Listed at $423,000. Four bed, two bath, 2,467 square feet. That's $252 per square foot. New home by Deal to Deal. - 7447 Cimarron Gap Drive: Listed at $424,000. Three bed, two bath, 2,124 square feet. That's $199 per square foot. New build by classic builder. - 1752 Mule Shoe Drive: Listed at $421,000. Four bed, two bath, 1,954 square feet. That's $215 per square foot. New build by Palo Verde.
You can see that these new homes range from about $199 to $252 per square foot.
Currently Active Listings:
There are also some stunning custom homes on the market right now. One custom home on Cimarron Canyon Drive is listed for $810,000. It's a four bed, two bath with 2,726 square feet, which comes to $297 per square foot. Built in 2020, this home showcases custom features that justify the higher price point.
Another active listing at 1763 Showdown Court is priced at $830,000. This new build by MA Builders offers four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and 2,835 square feet-just under $300 per square foot.
There are also lots available where builders intend to construct homes. For example, 7295 Bobcat Hollow Drive is essentially a lot where Palo Verde plans to build a four bed, two bath home with 2,300 square feet, listed at $214 per square foot. The home will probably take another six months to complete.
If you're curious about the investment potential, consider these examples from the last couple of years. Keep in mind that appreciation from 2020-2021 has been in double digits across the country, so this won't be typical going forward.
1754 Side Saddle Drive is currently listed at $475,000. It's a four bed, two bath with 2,118 square feet at $224 per square foot. This home sold on December 31st, 2019 for $300,000. In just two years and eight months, the price has increased by $155,000. While they did add solar, which adds some value, that's substantial equity growth in a very short time.
Another example: Mule Team Drive sold in August 2020 for $420,000, then sold again in January 2022 for $545,000. That's a $125,000 price increase in just 17 months.
So is Cimarron Canyon the best housing development on the west side of El Paso? It certainly has a lot going for it. The location is beautiful, surrounded by the Franklin Mountains. It's conveniently accessible from both I-10 and Highway 375, so you can avoid traffic. The homes are beautiful and new. The walkability to restaurants, bars, and gyms is excellent.
But "best" is subjective. Some might argue that other areas are equally or more appealing. The Upper Valley is pretty awesome. Franklin Hills is a great area. Coronado Country Club is excellent. Even Kern, though slightly more central, is very nice. What you consider the best really depends on what you're looking for.
We're curious about your thoughts. What other locations, neighborhoods, or areas do you think are the best on the west side? If you're looking to buy or sell a home in Cimarron Canyon or anywhere else in El Paso, reach out to us at Peña El Paso Realty Group.
Cimarron is a Hunt Communities master plan in northwest El Paso's 79911, set against the Franklin Mountains just south of Transmountain off Resler. In the twelve months ending July 29, 2026, 68 homes sold in Cimarron Canyon at a median of $556,950, or about $266 per square foot, and asking prices on the 38 listings active in late July ran from $450,000 upward. It is one of the few El Paso neighborhoods where shops, gyms, restaurants, and mountain trailheads are reachable on foot.
| Metric | Cimarron (all subdivisions) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Active listings | 38 | El Paso MLS, July 21, 2026 |
| List price range | $450,000 - $1,199,950 | El Paso MLS, July 21, 2026 |
| Median list price | $679,950 | El Paso MLS, July 21, 2026 |
| Under $500K | 5 of 38 actives | El Paso MLS, July 21, 2026 |
| Homes sold, past 12 months | 68 (Cimarron Canyon) | El Paso MLS, 12 months ending July 29, 2026 |
| Median sale price | $556,950 (Cimarron Canyon) | El Paso MLS, same period |
| Median price per sq ft (sold) | $266 (Cimarron Canyon) | El Paso MLS, same period |
| Submarket median (West/Upper Valley) | $415,738 | GEPAR, June 2026 |
For live listings inside the neighborhood boundary, updated hourly, see the Cimarron Canyon neighborhood page. This article covers the wider Cimarron master plan; the hub page tracks the Cimarron Canyon subdivision street by street with a real boundary map.
"Cimarron" covers a family of connected subdivisions on El Paso's far Westside: Cimarron Canyon (the largest and most active), plus phases like Cimarron Sage and Cimarron Sky. The whole master plan sits in ZIP 79911, in the Franklin Mountains foothills, entered from Resler Drive just south of Transmountain Road. That puts it about 10 minutes from the Westside's I-10 corridor and puts Franklin Mountains State Park trailheads at the neighborhood's edge.
Buildout is capped by the mountain boundary rather than open-ended: Hunt Communities is still delivering phases, with Cimarron Rim as the current view-lot corridor, but the neighborhood cannot sprawl past the Franklins. That cap is a meaningful difference from the far east side, where new phases can keep opening for decades.
The honest framing: $450,000 is the floor of this market today, not the middle. Of the 38 homes listed across the Cimarron subdivisions on July 21, 2026, only 5 were under $500,000, and the median asking price was $679,950.
What buyers actually paid is the more useful number. In the twelve months ending July 29, 2026, 68 homes sold in Cimarron Canyon at a median of $556,950, or about $266 per square foot. Fifteen of those 68 sales closed under $500,000, so the entry point is more reachable than the current listings suggest. At the top, a home sold for $1,524,584, well above anything currently listed, which is worth knowing if you are looking at the view-lot corridor.
For context, the surrounding West/Upper Valley submarket median is $415,738 (GEPAR, June 2026). Cimarron sits well above its own side of town. You are paying for the newest construction in the foothills and the walkable core, and the market knows it.
One thing to plan around: a substantial share of what is listed here has not been built yet. As of late July 2026, 14 of the 37 active Cimarron Canyon listings were not started or still in permit, slab, or drywall stage, and roughly two thirds of all listings over the past year were builder listings rather than resales. A "year built" of 2026 on a listing here often means a projected completion date, not a finished house. Ask which stage a home is actually in before you plan a move-in date.
If that budget is a stretch, Enchanted Hills, a few minutes north near Transmountain, is the neighborhood we point buyers to most often. Over the same twelve months its homes sold at a median of $379,975 and $185 per square foot, which is about 44 percent more house per dollar in the same school district.
Most El Paso neighborhoods require a car for everything. Cimarron is the exception, and the Canyons at Cimarron retail village is why. From much of the neighborhood you can walk to restaurants and coffee, Sessions climbing gym, Serve pickleball club, and StudioGolf, and pick up Franklin Mountains State Park trailheads without driving. For buyers relocating from cities where walkability is normal, this is the closest El Paso gets.
Cimarron is served by Canutillo ISD, not EPISD: Congressman Silvestre & Carolina Reyes Elementary, Alderete Middle, and Canutillo High. A new Alderete Middle School campus is under construction on Resler next to the neighborhood. Buyers comparing school options across the Westside should note the district line; the Westside neighborhood guide maps which neighborhoods feed which districts.
The community is managed by Associa Canyon Gate, with a design review process for exterior changes and modest annual dues covering common-area landscaping and park programming. Nothing unusual for a master plan, but factor the dues into your monthly number and review the governing documents during the option period; we walk every buyer through them.
Cimarron fits buyers who want the newest construction on the Westside, want the mountains at the end of the street, and value being able to walk to a gym or dinner. It is also where a large share of El Paso's $600K+ new inventory currently is.
It is a harder fit if you need to move in soon, since 14 of the 37 active Cimarron Canyon listings are not finished homes. Under $500,000 it gets tight but is not impossible: only 5 of the 38 current listings sit there, though 15 of the past year's 68 sales did. If you want large established lots, Franklin Hills and the Upper Valley compete strongly at similar money. Browse every subdivision we cover on the El Paso neighborhoods index.
38 active listings across the Cimarron subdivisions as of July 21, 2026, per the El Paso MLS. Note that a meaningful share of those are homes not yet built: 14 of the 37 active Cimarron Canyon listings in late July were not started or still in permit, slab, or drywall stage. The Cimarron Canyon page shows current in-boundary listings, refreshed hourly.
Yes, relative to the city. Homes in Cimarron Canyon sold at a median of $556,950 over the twelve months ending July 29, 2026, well above the West/Upper Valley submarket median of $415,738 (GEPAR, June 2026) and roughly twice the citywide median. Asking prices run higher still, with a July 2026 median of $679,950.
Yes, heavily. Roughly two thirds of Cimarron Canyon listings over the past year were builder listings rather than resales, and Hunt Communities is still delivering phases with Cimarron Rim as the current view-lot corridor. Because many listings are sold before completion, a listed "year built" is often a projected completion date. Buildout is capped by the Franklin Mountains boundary, so the neighborhood has a defined end state.
68 homes sold in Cimarron Canyon in the twelve months ending July 29, 2026, at a median of $556,950 and about $266 per square foot. Fifteen closed under $500,000 and the highest sale was $1,524,584. Asking prices sit above that, with a median of $679,950 in July 2026.
79911, in northwest El Paso, south of Transmountain Road off Resler Drive.
Yes, unusually so for El Paso. The Canyons at Cimarron retail village, Sessions climbing gym, Serve pickleball, StudioGolf, and Franklin Mountains trailheads are reachable on foot from much of the neighborhood.
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