We looked at the custom areas in Santaluz extensively. My (by no means exhaustive) pro/con list looks like:

Pros:
– large lots
– lots of open spaces
– large houses
– great central park/open green area
– *very good* “community” feel – there were always people at the cafe and club house and it had a great vibe.
– Fitness center was well staffed and in general everything seemed very well run/organized as far as the club went

Cons:
– tons of empty lots. This has to hurt both the club (less dues paying member opportunities) and puts downward pressure on prices until the development is fully built out.
– seems like alot of distressed sales. I’m not being scientific here – its just a “feel” based on watching it since last fall
– huge mello roos (crosby suffers this problem too). The MR does NOT get you anything as far as club access/facilities goes.
– desert landscaping. I think they consider it a plus, and others might as well, but we didn’t like the look & feel of rough dry scrub. I’m sure its easier on the water bills, but it just wasn’t the look we wanted (we’re moving Canada so desert is distinctly foreign to us!)