Shepherd Hills
Seven hundred acres of new construction going up all at once on the northeast side.
- Typical Lot
- 0.20 acres at the median, about 8,700 sq ft. The middle half runs 0.17 to 0.25 acres.
Facts checked August 2026
A house nobody has lived in, nine minutes from downtown Rapid City and twenty one from the Ellsworth gate. If you report to the base, the northeast side is about as short as that drive gets. The streets read Old Testament: Isaac, Noah, Abraham, Solomon. There are finished houses to walk here rather than a rendering and a waiting list, and the roof, the furnace and the wiring all start their life with you. Rushmore Crossing is close enough that a gallon of milk is a five minute errand. It also still sounds like a job site on the open phases. Framing crews start early, the pavement carries tracked clay, and a street that is quiet in April can have three foundations poured on it by August. Seven hundred acres off East Anamosa, and a large share of it is ahead of you.
Why people buy here
Shepherd Hills was built almost exclusively by Hills View Homes working with Dream Design International. The county records show it: Hills View Homes holds 81 parcels in here.
Where it is
Off East Anamosa Street on the northeast side, behind Menards and Western Dakota Tech.
Who builds it, and what the base price leaves out
Hills View Homes builds nearly all of it with Dream Design International, so the plans repeat street to street and your house will have twins two blocks over.
The advertised starting price buys the smallest plan with nothing added to it: Formica counters, chrome hardware, a crawl space and a two car garage. Quartz, brushed nickel, a third stall and a basement of any kind are upgrades. That gap between the sticker and the signed number is why recorded sales land where they do.
The master plan is not all single family
An over 55 community, Tallgrass Apartments approved for 607 units at full buildout and 80 townhome apartments at Shepherd Hills Commons Phase II are all in the plan, along with a neighborhood school that is drawn and not built. Six hundred seven units will change the traffic on the collector you use every day, so ask where they sit relative to the lot you like.
Clay is the other thing to plan around. On a new house as much as a resale, look at the grade off the foundation, where water leaves the yard and any crack in a basement wall.
Do not judge it by an MLS search
The MLS shows three sales in Shepherd Hills. Pennington County recorded fifty one. Builders here sell straight to the buyer and never list the home, so an MLS count captures about six percent of what changed hands, which is why the sale figures on this page come from county records instead.
Where Shepherd Hills sits
The outlines below are reference geometry from county records, not a survey. The recorded plat and a current survey control the exact lines for any one lot.
Subdivision map
- Shepherd Hills, recorded as SHEPHERD HILLS SUBD
- Shepherd Hills South, recorded as SHEPHERD HILLS SOUTH SUBD
- Shepherd Hills West, recorded as SHEPHERD HILLS WEST SUBD
Recorded subdivision boundaries from Rapid City and Pennington County GIS. Individual parcel and service details should still be verified by address.
Recorded plat names
- Shepherd Hills: SHEPHERD HILLS SUBD
- Shepherd Hills South: SHEPHERD HILLS SOUTH SUBD
- Shepherd Hills West: SHEPHERD HILLS WEST SUBD
What homes cost here
Fifty one recorded sales in the two years to October 2025, at a $435,440 median. The range ran $317,500 to $785,836 and the middle half $380,000 to $559,995.
Hills View Homes advertises a $275,500 starting price, and the recorded sales sit well above it, because the starting price buys the smallest plan with nothing added to it and almost nobody buys it that way.
The spread is wide because it covers both new builds in the open phase and resales on the finished streets.
Pennington County recorded sales. November 2023 to October 2025. improved residential parcels. 51 sales. builder direct transfers included.
How these figures are calculated
Who builds here
Shepherd Hills is a master planned development, so who is building matters as much as where.
Published June 2026. Confirm current pricing with the builder.
The builder publishes 161 single family homesites here inside a master plan of 265 total units.
The base price buys Formica counters, chrome hardware, a crawl space and a two car garage. Granite or quartz, brushed nickel or black finishes, a three car garage, and a basement of any kind are all upgrades. That is from the builder's own features sheet, dated December 2022, and it is the difference between the advertised price and what you sign for.
- Dream Design InternationalMaster developer
Planned and platted the 700 acres. They do not build the houses.
Builder pricing and plan availability change constantly. These are starting points, not quotes.
What your budget buys here
From $275,500
The builder's starting price, which buys the smallest plan on the smallest lot before options.
See Homes for Sale $400K and UnderAround $435,000
The median of 51 recorded sales here, which is closer to what a finished house with options costs.
Want to know what your budget buys here? Ask Henry.
How far to things
- Ellsworth AFB main gate
- 21 min, 10.1 mi
- Downtown Rapid City
- 9 min, 3.4 mi
- Nearest hospital
- 14 min, 5.4 mi
- Rapid City Regional Airport
- 20 min, 9.4 mi
Monument Health Rapid City Hospital
Typical driving time with clear roads. The Ellsworth gate can back up at shift change.
Why buyers choose Shepherd Hills
- A house nobody has lived in, on city water, city sewer and paved streets that are already in the ground.
- Nine minutes to downtown Rapid City and 21 to the Ellsworth gate.
- The builder holds finished inventory here rather than a waiting list, so there are houses to walk.
At a glance
- Median Sold Price
- $435,440
Pennington County recorded sales, 51 closed sales
- Typical Lot
- 0.20 acres at the median, about 8,700 sq ft. The middle half runs 0.17 to 0.25 acres.
- New Construction
- Active
Last verified August 2026. How these figures are calculated
What to check at this address
- Jurisdiction
- City of Rapid City
- Water
- City of Rapid City municipal water.
- Sewer
- City of Rapid City sewer.
- Streets and snow
- City plows. Mostly Level A on the collectors, Level C inside the loops.
- School district
- Rapid City Area Schools 51-4
- Fire district
- Rapid City Fire Department
- Hills View Homes builds nearly all of it, so the same plans repeat street to street.
- Lots run about 0.20 acres at the median, with the middle half from 0.17 to 0.25 acres.
- Recorded sales run a $435,440 median, well above the advertised starting price, because that price buys the smallest plan.
- This is clay country, so look hard at grading, drainage away from the foundation and any foundation cracks.
- Much of the seven hundred acres is still ahead of it, so expect construction traffic on your street for years.
Open the ones that apply to the address you are looking at.
Covenants and HOA documents
Read the covenants before you write, especially on outbuildings, RV and trailer parking, fencing, rentals and exterior materials.
Radon
The Black Hills sit on granite and radon levels here run high, so test during the inspection period and price mitigation into your offer if the number comes back elevated.
Read the full guideHail and roof age
Hail season here runs from late May through August, so ask for the roof age, the last claim history and any impact-resistant rating before you write.
Property taxes
Look up the actual assessed value and the current levy for the parcel instead of trusting the listing figure, which is often a year or more behind.
Read the full guideExpansive soils
Parts of this region sit on clay that swells and shrinks with moisture, so look closely at foundation cracks, door alignment and drainage away from the house.
Where the water goes
Walk the lot and look at how the ground falls away from the foundation, where the downspouts end and whether the low corner of the yard holds water. Ask a neighbor what the street does in a hard August rain.
What the base price leaves out
Get the builder's included list in writing and compare it to the model you walked. Landscaping, sod, fencing, a finished basement, appliances and window coverings are the usual gaps, and they add up fast.
What is still to be built nearby
Ask the city or county what is platted on the ground next to you and how many phases are left. A view over open dirt is a construction site first and something else later, so find out which lots are already sold.
Homes for sale in Shepherd Hills
Nothing of mine is listed in Shepherd Hills today. This search is set for Shepherd Hills and shows whatever is active there right now. The recorded sales further down the page are the honest read on a price point here.
EvidenceThe county record, in detailParcel counts, recorded prices and what each figure comes from for Shepherd Hills.
What has sold here
The county recorded 51 home sales in Shepherd Hills over the two years to October 2025, at a median of $435,440.
- Recorded Sales
- 51
- Median Sale Price
- $435,440
- Range
- $317,500 to $785,836
- Middle Half Of Sales
- $380,000 to $559,995
Fifty one sales in two years, and the middle half from $380,000 to $559,995. The spread is wide because it covers both new builds in the open phase and resales on the finished streets.
Hills View Homes holds 81 parcels here on title, so the builder still controls most of what is left to build.
Pennington County recorded sales, November 2023 to October 2025. Ask me for anything more current.
How far along it is
182 of the 280 platted parcels in Shepherd Hills carry a house. Twenty one are bare lots, sixty are slivers, drainage and common ground, eight are assessed like improved property, and nine are multi-family parcels.
- Platted Parcels
- 280
- Parcels With A House
- 182 (65%)
- Bare Lots
- 21
- Slivers And Common Ground
- 60
- Assessed As Improved
- 8
- Multi-Family Parcels
- 9
A bare lot is a lot with no house on it. It is not a listing. Most are owned by somebody who is not selling.
Parcels assessed like improved property but not yet flagged as built. Treat the built count as a floor.
Slivers, drainage and common ground under a twentieth of an acre. Counted because the county plats them, but nothing can be built there.
Which half of Shepherd Hills you buy in decides what your next few years look like. Shepherd Hills South is done, and the original plat still has bare lots on it, so a house there can sit near ground that will still be building.
Most of what looks open on a map of the original plat is drainage and common ground rather than buildable lots. Shepherd Hills South is essentially finished.
Pennington County parcel records via Rapid City and Pennington County RapidMap GIS, August 2026.
Sale figures on this page come from Pennington County records rather than the MLS, and lot availability and pricing in a development this size change faster than any page can keep up with. Ask me for a current list.
What the county assessment shows
The county carries 182 standing homes at a $411,400 median, with the middle half between $355,300 and $485,900.
These are county assessed values used for property tax purposes. They are not sale prices and not asking prices.
The sale figures higher on this page are the transaction evidence for Shepherd Hills. The numbers here are the tax basis the county uses.
County assessment roll for Shepherd Hills. South Dakota aims to equalize assessments at 85 percent of market value. That is a statewide target rather than a promise about any one property, and it does not turn an assessment into a comparable sale. Assessments are set in November for the following year, so recent sales are not in them. Current comparable closings on the specific street are the honest read here.
Common questions about Shepherd Hills
Is there a school in Shepherd Hills?
A neighborhood school is in the master plan, but it is planned and not built. Attendance boundaries are set by the district, so confirm assignment with Rapid City Area Schools for a specific address.
How big is the development?
The plan covers roughly 700 acres, and the developer projects about seven years to complete it.
What does new construction start at?
Hills View Homes publishes pricing from $275,500. Builder price sheets move with plan, lot premium and finish level, so the number you sign will be specific to the home you pick.
Is there an HOA, and what does it cost?
The builder does not publish HOA information for this community, so treat it as unanswered rather than as no. Dues and what they cover can move a monthly payment by a hundred dollars or more, and the recorded covenants for the plat settle it. Request the recorded covenants for the plat and the current dues in writing from the builder.
What warranty comes with the home?
The siding carries a 30 year James Hardie warranty with 10 years of full coverage. Everything else lives in the purchase agreement rather than on a public page, so I ask the builder for the written warranty document and the structural term in writing before you sign anything, not after.
What to check before you write an offer
On any address you are serious about, buyer due diligence should include the school assignment from the district, the water quality report from the utility that serves it, and the assessed value and levy from the county. Here are the sources for each one.
The sources, by category
Schools
Confirm the assigned school for a specific address with the district, because boundaries change and they change more often than people expect. Rapid City Area Schools boundary maps · School and district profiles on GreatSchools · Preschools and private schools in the Black Hills
Drinking water
Every public water system publishes an annual water quality report. Read the one for the system that serves the address you are considering, not the one for the town next door. Rapid City water quality reports · City of Box Elder Water Division · City of Spearfish water · EPA drinking water lookup
Property taxes and assessed value
Pennington County Equalization · Meade County Equalization · Lawrence County Equalization
The county record, the plat and the recorded covenants are the three documents to read on any address here. I do not rate schools and I do not characterize neighborhoods as safe or unsafe. Those readings are yours to make from the sources above.
Also compare
See what's for sale now
These open my search site, where the listings update from the MLS through the day. This page is the background; that one is the inventory.
Keep reading on Rapid City
The region's hub for jobs, medicine, dining and flights, within an easy commute of Ellsworth Air Force Base.
An actively building Rapid Valley subdivision where the school district line runs through the middle.
A newer established subdivision on the north side, finished building, ten minutes from downtown.
An established west Rapid City neighborhood around Summerset Drive and Winterset Drive, with grown in yards and rolling streets.
Older homes on the west side with the Hills standing up in every direction.
My free buyer's guide, written for wells, septic, hail history and PCS timelines in this region.
Price, down payment, rate, taxes, insurance and HOA in one number.
New to the Black Hills? Start with the questions people ask.
Shepherd Hills also turns up in Closest to Ellsworth Air Force Base and New construction.
Which phase you buy in decides what your next three years sound like. What is platted behind a specific lot, and how far off the multifamily sits, is worth checking against the current plats before you commit.
Considering a home here?
Send the address and we can talk it through. The details that change from one property to the next are jurisdiction, water and sewer, the school the district assigns, covenants, road maintenance and the rest of what never shows up on a listing.
Talk to Henry
Call or text 605-490-2040 and we can talk through what is realistic in Shepherd Hills right now, including what has closed nearby.
Last updated August 2026
This guide is general information, not legal, tax, lending or financial advice. Facts and figures are cited from public sources as of August 2026 and change over time. Henry Roy is a licensed real estate professional with Ascend Realty in South Dakota. Equal Housing Opportunity.