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Houston No. 1 in U.S. for home sales in master-planned communities, says survey

Buyers are flocking to Bridgeland in Cypress.

Photo courtesy of Howard Hughes Corp.

By one measure, the Houston metro area reigns as the master of master-planned communities.

According to a survey by real estate consulting firm RCLCO, one-fifth of the country’s 50 top-selling master-planned communities last year are in the Houston metro area. In that category, Houston ranks first among all of the metro areas represented on the list.

Collectively, the 10 Houston-area communities in the top 50 sold 5,773 homes in 2021, according to RCLCO’s data.

“The boom in work-from-home demand drove record master-planned community sales in 2021,” according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting.

Gregg Logan, managing director of RCLCO, says the survey results indicate demand for new single-family homes in master-planned communities remains high, “with favorable demographic tailwinds suggesting this strong demand will continue in 2022.”

However, lingering supply chain woes and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have hampered the ability of master-planned communities to capitalize on that demand, Logan adds.

“As these challenges are resolved in the coming months, we are optimistic for the success of master-planned communities in 2022,” he says.

In terms of the success of communities in the Houston area last year, Howard Hughes Corp.’s Bridgeland development in Cypress tops the list. According to the survey, Bridgeland sold 713 new homes last year, down 18 percent from 2020. The 713-home tally puts Bridgeland at No. 16 nationally for the most sales at master-planned communities last year.

The top-ranked master-planned community in Texas is Hunt Communities’ Mission Ridge development in El Paso. Last year, the community sold 811 new homes, good enough for a No. 10 ranking in the U.S. The sales figure for 2020 wasn’t available.

Here are the nine other Houston-area communities in the top 50. The national ranking is followed by the community’s name, location, developer, number of home sales in 2021, and rise or fall in sales compared with 2020.

No. 17, Tamarron, Katy, D.R. Horton, 707, up 14 percent.
No. 18, Balmoral, Houston, Land Tejas, 704, down 16 percent.
No. 25, Sienna, Missouri City, Johnson Development and Toll Brothers, 646, down 16 percent.
No. 32, Sierra Vista/Sterling Lakes, Arcola, Land Tejas, 579, up 22 percent.
No. 33, Breckenridge Forest, Spring, D.R. Horton, 578 (2020 data unavailable).
No. 45 (tie), Meridiana, Rosharon, Rise Communities, 467, up 19 percent.
No. 45 (tie), Woodforest, Montgomery, 467, up 21 percent.
No. 48 (tie), Cross Creek Ranch, Fulshear, Johnson Development, 456, down 11 percent
No. 48 (tie), Elyson, Katy, Brookfield Properties, 456, down 8 percent.

Here’s how other major metros in Texas fared in the national ranking of 2021 home sales at master-planned communities.

No. 22, Magnolia Point, Royse City, D.R. Horton, 660 (2020 data unavailable).
No. 38, Santa Rita Ranch, Liberty Hill, Mariner Real Estate Development, 515, down 20 percent.
No. 40, Sunfield, Buda, Scarborough Lane, 504, down 15 percent.
No. 41, Pecan Square, Northlake, Hillwood Communities, 502, down 1 percent.
No. 42, Valley Ranch, San Antonio, D.R. Horton, 498, down 5 percent.
No. 43, Heartland, Heartland (near Forney), Huffines Communities, 482 (2020 data unavailable).
No. 47, Union Park, Little Elm, Hillwood Communities, 460, down 24 percent.

housing affordability news

This is how much Houston home prices have fallen since 2024

16403 Sheffield Run Drive, Houston home for sale

Estately.com/

This home at 16403 Sheffield Run Dr. in Houston's Berkshire Oaks neighborhood is on the market for $309,900.

A new real estate analysis has revealed housing prices across the Southern United States have seen a major large-scale decline from 2024-2025, with Houston homebuyers experiencing the 11th-steepest "price correction" in the region.

Houston-area buyers have a better chance of purchasing an affordable home this year after prices cooled 1.5 percent from 2024-2025, the study found.

Online real estate marketplace Zoocasa compared year-over-year median price changes for single-family homes across 20 cities in the South based on local real estate data. The study also looked at housing affordability in the American West, Midwest, and Northeast.

In Zoocasa's ranking of the Southern cities where affordability is improving the most, Houston ranked No. 11.

In 2024, the median price for a single-family home in Houston was nearly $340,000, which has since dropped to $335,000 in 2025. Local sellers may not be happy about cooling prices, but it does make housing more attainable for first-time homebuyers.

Better housing prices will surely attract even more new residents to the area, especially since Houston was the second-hottest destination for movers in 2025, and its suburbs are still booming in popularity.

"Affordability is on the rise across Texas, with major cities seeing significant price corrections," the report said. "Most importantly for buyers, the median home price in each of these cities remains more affordable than the national median."

The national median price of a home in the third quarter of 2025 was $426,800, according to the latest information from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Housing affordability elsewhere in Texas
Dallas was the No. 2 Southern city where housing is becoming more affordable. Dallas-Fort Worth's housing prices fell 5.71 percent from 2024-2025. The median price of a single-family home in North Texas fell from $397,700 to $375,000 during the one-year span.

In Beaumont-Port Arthur (a metro area east of Houston), housing prices have fallen 4.62 percent year-over-year, making it the metro with the No. 5 steepest price correction in the South. Median home prices dropped to $217,000 in 2025, or $10,500 lower than the year before, the report found.

Austin's housing prices fell 2.04 percent during the same time span, landing the Capital City in the No. 9 spot. The median price of a single-family home in Austin fell from $437,925 in 2024 to $429,000 last year.

Surprisingly, San Antonio ranked near the bottom of the list with housing prices increasing by five percent year-over-year. Single-family homes in the Alamo City had a median price just under $300,000 in 2024, which spiked to $315,000 in 2025.

Housing market predictions in 2026
Zoocasa predicts the 2026 U.S. housing market is "poised for a steady revival" since mortgage rates have dipped nearly a full percentage point since this time last year. Current interest rates for a a 30-year mortgage are sitting at 6.16 percent, the study said.

The NAR report additionally found that pending home sales have grown by 2.6 percent year-over-year from 2024.

"Homebuyer momentum is building," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "The data shows the strongest performance of the year after accounting for seasonal factors, and the best performance in nearly three years, dating back to February 2023."

The top 10 Southern cities where housing affordability is improving the most in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Florida
No. 2 – Dallas, Texas
No. 3 – Durham, North Carolina
No. 4 – Ocala, Florida
No. 5 – Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas
No. 6 – Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida
No. 7 – Jacksonville, Florida
No. 8 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 9 – Austin, Texas
No. 10 – Raleigh, North Carolina

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