Houston dominates national ranking for top-selling master-planned communities
As homebuyers flock to new suburban Houston construction, the region has become the U.S. leader in home sales at master-planned communities tracked by residential real estate consulting firm RCLCO.
Overall, 12 master-planned communities in the Houston area are among the national list of the 50 best-selling master-planned communities in 2023. In total these communities sold almost 8,300 homes last year, according to RCLCO.
Homebuyers in Houston are gravitating toward new homes in these master-planned communities as they struggle to find affordably priced options in the existing home sales market. Homebuilders continue to offer incentives to make new home purchases more affordable and attractive, such as buying down mortgage rates and contributing toward closing costs, said Cameron Pawelek a principal at RCLCO.
“The new housing market in Houston continues to demonstrate its resilience, fueled by robust economic growth and favorable demographic tailwinds. Unlike the existing home market, where limited inventory has constrained resale transactions, new homebuilders have housing inventory for the first time in several years,” Pawelek said.
Houston-area developers also continue to invest in amenities and other infrastructure to generate more sales, he added.
The Sunterra community in Katy was the top-selling community across the Houston region last year, and No. 3 nationally in RCLO’s ranking. Sales soared 63% in the Land Tejas/Starwood Land last year with 1,293 homes sold. Howard Hughes’ Bridgeland community in Cypress also placed among the top five nationally after selling 985, a 74% jump from the previous year.
Other communities among the top 50 include: Marvida in Cypress; Tammaron in Katy; Baytown Crossing in Baytown; Caldwell Ranch in Rosharon; Breckenridge Forest in Spring; Sienna in Missouri City; Tavola in New Caney; Meridiana in Rosharon; Elyson in Katy; and Jordan Ranch in Fulshear.
Energy firm moving
Oil and gas firm New Dawn Energy recently purchased a 103,332-square-foot office building in the Energy Corridor with plans to move its headquarters to the three-story building.
New Dawn Energy plans to move sometime after February to 1011 Texas 6 S. The company bought the 1980s-era building in October for an undisclosed price from the California firm BH Commercial. The new space is more than double what the company has at it current home, at 3100 S. Gessner in Westchase, where it’s operated for the past eight years, said Ehsan Bayat, executive vice president of New Dawn.
Bayat said the company wanted to own its real estate to give it the opportunity to grow. The move will also put it closer to its peers in the Energy Corridor. New Dawn will take up about 30,000 square feet for its own offices, with another 20,000 to lease to other companies, Bayat said.
New Dawn plans to upgrade the building’s common areas and lobbies, in addition to improving its office space with a movie theater, among other things.
“We want our staff to enjoy working and be able to take breaks from the daily grind,” Bayat said.
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