Griffin Ranch, La Quinta: A New Toll Brothers Home or a Resale Behind the Same Gate?

Griffin Ranch is a gated, non-golf neighborhood in La Quinta, south of Avenue 54 and east of Madison Street, built under a specific plan the city approved in 2005. In late 2026 there are two ways in: a new Toll Brothers home priced from $2,274,995, or a resale, and resales closed at a median $2,250,000 over the past 12 months, according to MLS data as of Oct 30, 2026.

Those two numbers look close, and that's where most comparisons stop. The useful comparison is house to house, lot to lot, and contract to contract.

First, the resale market. Twenty single-family homes in Griffin Ranch closed between Oct 30, 2025 and Oct 30, 2026. Prices ran from $1,699,000 to $2,950,000. The median was $570 a square foot, the median time on market was 47 days, and the median sale came in at 97.6% of the final list price. Measured against the original list price, the median was 96.1%. The year before, 25 homes sold at a median $528 a foot and 59 days. So the past year was faster and higher per foot, but not by a dramatic margin, and buyers still negotiated.

As of today, four homes are active, asking $1,850,000 to $2,950,000, and two more are under contract. Monthly association dues on the current listings are reported in the MLS at $550 to $615, and most of the recent closings show $610.

Griffin Ranch is really two neighborhoods of different ages behind one gate, and that matters more than any average. Five of the past year's sales were original homes built in 2007 and 2008. They closed at a median $2,300,000, or $439 a square foot, on a median 5,328 square feet of house and a median 24,829 square feet of land, at 94.5% of list. The other fifteen were built between 2014 and 2021. They closed at a median $2,200,000, or $573 a square foot, on smaller lots, at 97.6% of list. The three large Alysheba Drive houses sold for $379 to $439 a foot, at 88.6% to 94.5% of their list prices. That's the cheapest square footage in Griffin Ranch right now.

Then there's Toll Brothers at Griffin Ranch. This is the newest piece. The land was originally graded for 20 one-acre lots, with streets and utilities already in. In May 2022 the La Quinta Planning Commission approved Tract Map 38083, which split it into 37 lots on 24.46 acres. The lots sit on three sides of the Merv Griffin Estate. The developer's announcement puts the minimum lot at 20,000 square feet. Toll closed on the land in June 2024 and held its grand opening on May 2, 2026.

Toll's community page lists 37 single-story homes of 4,182 to 4,658 square feet, with four or five bedrooms and three- or four-car garages. There are three plans. The Farrier starts at $2,274,995 for 4,182 square feet, the Canter at $2,289,995 for 4,208, and the Sorrell at $2,319,995 for 4,319. At base, that works out to roughly $537 to $544 a square foot.

Base prices are where the conversation starts, not where it ends. Toll is currently showing two quick move-in homes on Seattle Slew Way. A Farrier on homesite 8 is listed at $2,428,000, which is $153,005 over that plan's starting price, with move-in shown for February 2027. A Sorrell on homesite 9, configured at 4,658 square feet, is listed at $2,899,000. That is $579,005 over the base Sorrell, with move-in shown for Oct 31, 2026. Toll's page doesn't break down how much of each gap is the lot, the structural options or the finishes. I want that breakdown in writing before anyone signs.

Here is the comparison I find most useful. The resales that match the new plans most closely are the 4,154-square-foot homes built from 2018 to 2021. Six of them closed in the past year, for $2,300,000 to $2,900,000, with a median near $2,600,000, or about $625 a foot. The quick move-in Farrier at $2,428,000 sits inside that range with a brand-new house. The Sorrell at $2,899,000 sits at the top of it. So new construction here is not automatically the premium option. It depends on which homesite, which options, and what the resale already includes.

My take: the Toll sales consultant works for Toll. They're professional and they know the product, but their job is to sell Toll's homes on Toll's contract. Toll says so itself. Its agent FAQ says the buyer's agent has to register the buyer on the first visit to a specific community. If a Toll sales representative registered the buyer on an earlier visit, Toll says the agent can no longer earn a commission on that sale. The same page says Toll's sales staff handle all of the agreement paperwork. So if you plan to visit the sales center at 54485 Seattle Slew Way, bring your agent on the first visit, or register before you go. Under Toll's own policy, a first visit on your own can mean your agent can't be paid by Toll on that sale.

If I'm sitting next to you at that table, here's what I'm asking about. What's the premium on this homesite, and what's the total? What does the base price include outside: pool, hardscape, landscaping, walls? I couldn't find that answered on Toll's page. Toll advertises hundreds of personalization options at its Design Studio, so which upgrades are structural, and which could you do later for less? What does the agreement say about deposits, completion dates and what happens if the date moves? None of these questions are adversarial. They're how you avoid an expensive surprise late in the build.

A resale gives you something different: a finished yard you can see, a price you can test against recent closings, and more room to negotiate. The original 2007 homes closed at 94.5% of list over the past year, and the newer resales at 97.6%. My negotiation post covers how I use numbers like that. With a builder, the base price usually isn't the place to push. The homesite, the options and the timing are.

On taxes, two things apply whichever way you buy. Riverside County reassesses the property when you take ownership, and when new construction is completed. It then sends a supplemental tax bill separate from the annual one. The Treasurer-Tax Collector notes that lenders don't receive that bill, so it lands on you even if your taxes are impounded. Budget for it. On special taxes, I couldn't find a published community facilities district specific to Griffin Ranch, so I won't guess at a number. On a resale, ask for the current tax bill and read the Direct Assessments section. With Toll, ask for the projected tax rate and any special assessments on the homesite, in writing.

The dues cover a gated community built around the Griffin Club, which Toll describes as a 10,000-square-foot clubhouse with a pool, spa, tennis, pickleball, bocce, a putting green, a fitness center, a fire pit and cabanas. There's no golf course and no club membership tied to the house. If a full country club is more than you want to carry, Griffin Ranch is the La Quinta version of the idea from my post on gated communities in Palm Desert without a club.

The ranch name is more than marketing. In 2006 the City of La Quinta approved a conditional use permit and site plan for a Griffin Ranch Saddle Club. Most of the streets are named for racehorses, and the 2024 land announcement still describes an equestrian-themed community with multi-use trails that connect toward PGA West. What I'd verify before you buy: whether horses can be kept on a specific lot today. The governing documents decide that, not the street names.

If short-term rental income is part of your plan, look closely. La Quinta has a permanent ban on new short-term rental permits outside listed exempt areas. Griffin Ranch is not on the city's August 2026 exempt list. The Merv Griffin Estate is listed, but it's a separate property under its own specific plan, and Griffin Ranch doesn't share that exemption. The city also lets single parcels of 25,000 square feet or more apply for a large-lot exemption, if certain criteria are met, and the request goes to a City Council public hearing. Toll's published minimum is 20,000 square feet. Two original lots that sold this year are reported in the MLS at 25,700. Any rental would also need to be allowed by the community's own rules. My short-term rental rules post covers the city process in detail.

For schools, Toll's community page lists the Coachella Valley Unified School District. The one recent Griffin Ranch MLS record that fills in the field lists Desert Sands Unified. Agents fill that field in by hand, so confirm the district for the exact address with the district itself.

How I'd decide: if you want the most house and land for the money and don't mind updating a 2007 home, start with the original section. Those homes have the lowest price per foot and the most room to negotiate. If you want something newer without waiting, the 2018 to 2021 resales at about 4,154 square feet are the closest match to Toll's plans, and you can see what you're getting. If you want to choose the finishes and you're comfortable with the timeline, Toll makes sense once you know the all-in number for a specific homesite. My post on what a luxury buyer's agent should do before you write an offer walks through the comparable-sales work I'd do on either path.

Data: CDAR/FlexMLS closed single-family sales in the Griffin Ranch subdivision of La Quinta, Oct 30, 2025 through Oct 30, 2026 (20 sales), with the prior 12 months for comparison (25 sales), pulled Oct 30, 2026. Active and under-contract counts are as of the same date. Price per square foot is close price divided by living area. Days on market exclude one record entered at zero. Association dues are as reported in the MLS. Toll Brothers prices and quick move-in homes are from Toll's community page as of Oct 30, 2026 and can change.

Facts checked Oct 30, 2026 on tollbrothers.com, laquintaca.gov, ceqanet.lci.ca.gov, capstoneadvisors.com, rivcoacr.org and countytreasurer.org.

Norman Williams, Compass. DRE 02051057.