Browse all San Bernardino County real estate.
Browse all San Bernardino County real estate.
Highland is a city of roughly 56,000 people in San Bernardino County, set at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains in the Inland Empire. It combines older established tracts, large homeowner-association communities, and a wave of new construction, which gives buyers a wider range of price points than most Southern California cities offer in one place.
The value proposition is straightforward. Highland delivers newer, larger homes and organized master-planned living at a fraction of coastal California pricing, with fast freeway access west toward San Bernardino and Los Angeles and east toward Redlands and the mountains. The trade-offs are real too: two different school districts split the city, and the northern and eastern edges sit close enough to the national forest that wildfire risk belongs in every buyer’s due diligence.
Browse the active Highland listings below, or contact The Knight Group to talk through which part of the city fits your budget, commute, and tolerance for HOA rules before you tour anything.
Highland sits directly east of the city of San Bernardino and northwest of Redlands. The State Route 210 freeway runs through the area and is the spine of most Highland commutes, connecting west through San Bernardino toward the 215 and 15 corridors and the greater Los Angeles basin. State Route 330 climbs north out of Highland into the San Bernardino Mountains toward Running Springs and Big Bear, which is why many buyers treat Highland as a base camp for mountain access.
Practically, this is a car-dependent city. Commuters heading to Los Angeles County jobs should test-drive the trip at rush hour before committing, because the 210 and the downstream freeways can add significant time. For buyers who work in San Bernardino, Redlands, or Loma Linda, the daily drive is short. If mountain weekends or forest access are part of the appeal, Highland’s position at the mouth of SR-330 is one of its genuine advantages.
Highland is predominantly a single-family market. The housing stock spans older tract homes, a large volume of homes built in the late 1980s and 1990s inside the homeowner-association communities, and new construction still being delivered by national and regional builders. You will also find condominiums and manufactured homes at the lower end of the price range, which is unusual for a market that also sells brand-new five-bedroom houses.
Because the inventory is so mixed, pricing is best understood by product type rather than by a single citywide number. Resale tract homes, HOA-governed homes with amenities, and new builds each carry different price bands, carrying costs, and buyer profiles. New construction from Crestwood Communities at Verano, for example, has been marketed from the low $500,000s per its Homes.com listing, while newer larger floor plans elsewhere in the city run higher. Rather than anchor to a headline figure that shifts month to month, The Knight Group can pull current comparable sales for the specific tract or community you are considering.
East Highlands Ranch is the largest master-planned community in Highland and the reason many buyers look here in the first place. The planned development was originally approved in 1981 to allow 3,189 housing units across roughly 1,776 acres, and it is governed today by the East Highlands Ranch Master Home Owners Association.
The draw is the amenity package. Residents have access to community pools and spas, tennis and pickleball courts, a basketball court, walking and biking trails, clubhouses, and a catch-and-release fishing lake. Homes sit on winding hillside streets and cul-de-sacs with mountain views, and most were built from the late 1980s into the 1990s, with newer construction added on the east side over time.
The counterweight is the HOA. An amenity-rich association means monthly dues and rules, and any serious buyer should read the governing documents, confirm the current dues, and review the reserve study before removing contingencies. The Knight Group can request those documents and walk you through what they actually commit you to.
Highland is best navigated community by community, because the name on the subdivision often tells you the era, the builder, and whether an HOA is attached. Here is how the neighborhoods we cover break down.
Mediterra in Highland is a newer-construction pocket. D.R. Horton has built its Vista Verde at Mediterra collection here, with one- and two-story plans that its listing describes as ranging from 2,319 to 3,172 square feet and offering up to five bedrooms, open-concept great rooms, and quartz kitchen counters. This is the section to look at if you want a large, current-code house with warranty coverage rather than a 30-year-old tract home.
Verano in Highland is a Crestwood Communities neighborhood of two-story homes that has been marketed from the low $500,000s. It appeals to buyers who want new construction at a more accessible entry point than the larger Mediterra plans.
East Highlands Ranch in Highland is the amenity-driven master-planned community described above, with its pools, courts, trails, and fishing lake. It is the right search if resort-style shared amenities and an established HOA structure are priorities, and if you are comfortable with the dues that fund them.
Keystone in Highland, Monterey Parque in Highland, and Pinestone in Highland are smaller named subdivisions within the city. Inventory in these pockets turns over less predictably than in the large master-planned tracts, so the practical move is to set up a listing alert for each and let availability drive the search rather than the other way around. The Knight Group can configure those alerts and flag new listings the day they hit the market.
Highland is split between two districts, and which one serves a given home depends on where in the city it sits. The San Bernardino City Unified School District covers the western portion of Highland, and the Redlands Unified School District covers the eastern half. San Bernardino City Unified is the larger of the two systems by enrollment; Redlands Unified is smaller and serves the eastern communities.
This split matters more than it sounds. Two homes a few streets apart can feed into entirely different districts, schools, and attendance boundaries. If schools are a decision factor, do not assume a district from the city name. Verify the exact assigned schools for the specific address with the district before you write an offer, and treat any third-party rating as a starting point rather than a conclusion. The Knight Group can confirm the current attendance boundaries for any property you are considering.
Wildfire is the single most important risk factor to underwrite in Highland. The city sits at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains and abuts the San Bernardino National Forest, which is historically one of the most wildfire-prone forests in the country because of its arid climate, flammable vegetation, steep slopes, and seasonal Santa Ana winds.
This is not theoretical. The Line Fire started near Baseline Road in Highland on September 5, 2024, and grew to about 3,330 acres by the following night according to Cal Fire, triggering evacuation warnings in the area. Homes on the northern and eastern edges of the city are closest to the wildland interface and the highest-hazard zones.
Practically, wildfire risk shows up in your insurance. Buyers should get an insurance quote in writing early, before removing contingencies, because premiums and availability vary sharply by parcel and some high-hazard addresses are harder to insure through standard carriers. Check the property against the California and San Bernardino County Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps, budget for defensible-space maintenance, and factor the true carrying cost into your offer. The Knight Group builds this check into every Highland transaction rather than leaving it as a surprise at closing.
Two line items can materially change the monthly cost of a Highland home beyond the mortgage. The first is HOA dues. Amenity-heavy communities like East Highlands Ranch charge monthly assessments to fund the pools, courts, lake, and common areas, and newer builder communities frequently carry their own associations as well. Always confirm the current dues figure in writing, because it is a recurring cost for as long as you own the home.
The second is special tax financing. Many newer master-planned and builder communities across the Inland Empire are funded in part through community facilities districts, commonly called Mello-Roos, which add a special assessment to the property tax bill to pay for infrastructure. Not every Highland home carries one, but new-construction tracts are the most likely to. Ask for the specific tax bill and any Mello-Roos disclosure on a given address rather than assuming, since these assessments can run for decades and meaningfully change your effective monthly payment. The Knight Group pulls the actual assessment detail for any property before you commit.
Highland’s lifestyle leans outdoor and family-oriented. The city maintains neighborhood parks including Highland Community Park, and the San Bernardino National Forest sits at the doorstep for hiking, and mountain access up SR-330 toward Running Springs and Big Bear. The trail systems inside communities like East Highlands Ranch mean many residents can walk or bike to schools and parks without getting in the car.
Highland is also home to the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, one of the largest federally recognized tribal nations in California, whose reservation and enterprises anchor a significant part of the local economy. Nearby regional attractions include the Glen Helen Amphitheatre and Glen Helen Raceway on the San Bernardino side. For day-to-day errands, retail and dining are concentrated along the main arterials, and the University of Redlands, Cal State San Bernardino, and Loma Linda University are all a short drive away.
Highland fits buyers who want more house and organized community amenities for the money and who work in or near the Inland Empire. It is a strong match for families weighing new construction against established HOA communities, and for anyone who values proximity to the mountains and the national forest.
It is a weaker fit for buyers who need a short commute to central or coastal Los Angeles County, or who want to avoid wildfire-exposure due diligence entirely. Those are not disqualifiers, but they are trade-offs to price in with clear eyes. The honest version of this market is a good one: real value, real amenities, and two risk factors, wildfire and recurring assessments, that reward buyers who do the homework.
Highland incorporated as a California general law city on November 24, 1987, according to San Bernardino County history records. Before incorporation it developed as a citrus-growing area, with orange and lemon groves fueled by irrigation ditches and the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad in the 1880s.
Two districts split the city. The San Bernardino City Unified School District serves the western portion of Highland, and the Redlands Unified School District serves the eastern half. Because the boundary runs through the city, you should verify the exact assigned schools for a specific address rather than assuming based on location.
That depends on how much you will use the amenities. East Highlands Ranch offers pools, tennis and pickleball courts, trails, clubhouses, and a catch-and-release fishing lake funded by the association. If you will use those regularly, the value is clear; if not, you are paying for amenities you will not touch. Review the current dues and governing documents before deciding.
Yes. Builders including D.R. Horton at Vista Verde at Mediterra and Crestwood Communities at Verano have delivered new homes in Highland in recent years, with floor plans ranging from more accessible two-story designs to larger five-bedroom layouts. New construction is concentrated in specific communities rather than spread evenly across the city.
It is a genuine factor, especially on the northern and eastern edges near the San Bernardino National Forest. The Line Fire began in Highland in September 2024 and grew to roughly 3,330 acres. Buyers should obtain an insurance quote in writing before removing contingencies and check the property against current Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps.
Some do, particularly newer master-planned and builder communities that were financed in part through community facilities districts. Not every home carries one. Because these special assessments can run for decades and raise your effective monthly payment, ask for the specific property tax bill and any Mello-Roos disclosure on the exact address you are considering.
Highland is a car-dependent city, and the drive to Los Angeles County runs west on the 210 freeway through San Bernardino before joining the busier basin corridors. Commute times can be long at peak hours, so test-drive the trip at rush hour before committing. Commutes to San Bernardino, Redlands, and Loma Linda are much shorter.
Highland spans manufactured homes and condominiums at the lower end, a large volume of resale single-family homes built in the 1980s and 1990s, HOA-governed homes in master-planned communities, and brand-new builder construction. That range is unusually wide for one city, which is why pricing is best evaluated by product type and community rather than a single citywide figure.
The Knight Group treats Highland as a due-diligence market, not a drive-by one. Before you tour, we identify which communities match your budget and commute, pull current comparable sales for the specific tract, and flag whether a home carries HOA dues, Mello-Roos, or both. For any property near the wildland interface, we build the insurance and fire-zone check into the timeline so it happens before your contingencies are gone, not after.
On the ground, that means confirming school-attendance boundaries for the exact address, requesting HOA governing documents and reserve studies where they apply, and setting up listing alerts for the smaller subdivisions where inventory turns over quietly. Start by browsing the Highland listings below, then contact The Knight Group to build a search around the specific communities and trade-offs that matter to you.
The Knight Group is here to help you with all your realty needs. To get started, fill out the form below and one of our experienced agents will contact you as quickly as possible.
Copyright © 2024 The Knight Group.
All rights reserved. License: 02133297
Lucky for you we’re looking out.
Subscribe to this Custom Search to be alerted when new properties hit the market in the area.
Choose the frequency that works for you.
