Home Sales in Master-Planned Communities Track Rest of Market

Master-planned communities aren’t insulated from the economic uncertainty affecting consumer activity and the housing market.

As the country’s second-largest market for master-planned communities (behind Florida), Texas stands to feel the pain.

New home sales in the country’s top master-planned communities dropped nearly 7 percent in the last 12 months, from June 2024 to June 2025, according to real estate consultant RCLCO.

Of the top 50 master-planned communities in the country, Florida represents 41 percent of sales, while Texas makes up 34 percent. However, Houston ranks first, as it’s home to 11 of the top 50 communities ranked by sales volume. Sales in Houston communities make up 22 percent of sales in master-planned communities throughout the country.

Sales plunged 30 percent in that time period at Sunterra, in the Houston suburb of Katy, owned by Land Tejas and Starwood Land. At the same time, sales at D.R. Horton’s Tamarron, in Katy, rose 29 percent.

Despite the decrease in sales, Sunterra was the top-selling master-planned community in Texas, per RCLCO. Tamarron ranked second, and Friendswood Development Company’s Anniston, in Katy, ranked third.

The drop in sales for new homes in master-planned communities matches the drop in sales for new homes in the broader market, also posting a seasonally adjusted 6.6 percent decline, RCLCO reported, citing data from the Census Bureau.

The median sales price nationwide was also down in the last year, dropping 2.9 percent from $414,000 to $401,800. The median sales price of a home in Houston was $346,651 in June, unchanged from June 2024, according to a recent report from the Houston Association of Realtors.

The report points to the uncertainty caused by tariffs and persistently high interest rates as the reasoning behind cooling consumer sentiment.