Master-planned communities tops in Houston

Greater Houston comprises 24 percent of most-active communities.

Houston Ranks As Top-Selling Master-Planned Community Metro Area

Land Tejas' Al Brende, Starwood Capital Group's Barry Sternlicht and Starwood Land's Mike Moser with Sunterra in Katy (Sunterra, Land Tejas, Starwood, Getty)

Brandon Sams

Aug 3, 2023, 6:35 PM

Master-planned communities are all the rage in Houston, and the numbers prove it.

Texas’ largest city dominated RCLCO’s list of the nation’s 50 top-selling master-planned communities for the second year in a row. Thirteen communities made the list, totaling 4,800 year-to-date transactions.

Three of the top 10 most active communities are in Greater Houston, more than any other metro in the country.

Sunterra in Katy topped all other Greater Houston master-planned communities, coming in third with nearly 670 sales so far this year, a 49 percent increase over midyear 2022.

Land Tejas and Starwood Land began construction in 2021 on that 2000-acre planned buildout with homebuilders like Chesmar Homes, DR Horton and Perry Homes Homes leading construction. Phase one is currently underway with 870 acres expected to be added upon completion.

One of the city’s most talked about communities, Bridgeland, came in sixth, jumping 13 spots with 511 sales. The Howard Hughes Corporation project began selling homes in its newly developed residential village, Creekland Village, in December, likely leading to the increase in home sales. Creekland Village will be the community’s fourth and final residential village and is set to open in October.

“Bridgeland is on pace to have a record-breaking sales year, and we believe Bridgeland Central has been instrumental in driving home sales,” said Stephen Sams of Howard Hughes.

Preleasing is expected to begin soon for Wingspan, the development’s first build-to-rent neighborhood, he said.

Marvida ranked ninth, another Land Tejas/Starwood Land original. Located in the western part of Cypress near the Grand Parkway and Highway 290, it first opened 20 model homes last year.

Cypress has become a hotbed as Houstonians continue to set their sights on the northwest with estimates suggesting hundreds of new homes could be coming to the suburb by the end of 2023. Clay Residential is currently constructing a build-to-rent community at Marvida, set to attract Houston’s growing rental market.

Houston