Firm foundation

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.

in demand

Houston leads the U.S. with the biggest surge in millionaire renters

IdeasLaboratory.com

undefined

The number of millionaire renters and homeowners in the U.S. has surged over the last five years, and Houston has soared ahead of the rest of the country with the largest growth rate among these affluent renter households.

Houston leads the nation with the No. 1 increase in millionaire renters from 2020 to 2024, a new RentCafe study found. The number of these wealthy households increased from 18 to 232 over the last five years, representing an impressive 1,189 percent growth rate.

"The pandemic accelerated the shift as remote work pushed the wealthy to relocate to lower-tax metros like Houston, where millionaire renters grew 13-fold, versus 3.9-fold for owners," the report said. "Granted, 232 households is still a tiny fraction of the Houston metro’s roughly 2.7 million households, but the growth rate far outpaces any other major metro."

Nationwide, the number of millionaire renter households grew 229 percent from 2020 to 2024, far outpacing the 193 percent growth rate among millionaire homeowners.

Dallas was the only other Texas metro to crack the top 10. The number of millionaire renter households in North Texas has more than quintupled, from just 30 in 2020 to 165 in 2024. That represents a renter growth rate of 450 percent, which — surprisingly — is only the 8th highest nationwide.

But when it comes to the largest populations of millionaire renters, New York City and San Francisco still lead the way. New York claimed the No. 1 spot with nearly 7,300 millionaire renters living in the city in 2024. Houston ranked 12th on that list.

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin and Dallas ranked as the 16th and 17th, respectively, for the largest population of millionaire renters. There were 206 millionaire renters living in Austin in 2024, and 165 in Dallas.

This is who the typical millionaire renter is
The report also revealed a surprising statistic about the typical millionaire renter in the U.S. — a lot of them are millennials working in "white-collar, high-earning fields."

"Nearly half (49 percent) of millionaire renters are Millennials, and the number of affluent Millennial renter households surged 392 percent during the five-year period," the report said. "Gen X follows with 33 percent of millionaire Gen X households renting after increasing by 147 percent."

The report continued, "Although Gen Z still represents a small share of millionaire renters (just 2 percent of the total), no generation has expanded faster: Gen Z millionaire renter households leaped from fewer than a dozen to more than 400 — a tiny cohort today, but one that was virtually nonexistent five years ago."

The top three most common professions for millionaire renters are chief executives, software developers, and managers, the report additionally found. In Houston, the surge of wealthy newcomers are mostly executives, professional athletes, and entertainers.

"These roles tend to generate steady, substantial income without necessarily tying workers to one location, making renting a practical fit, rather than a financial necessity," the report said.

Hotspots for millionaire homeowners
In RentCafe's separate list comparing the top 10 most popular U.S. metros for millionaire homeowners, Houston ranked 12th nationally with 4,374 millioniare homeowners living in the metro as of 2024. These wealthy Houstonians are most likely working as chief executives, physicians, managers, and lawyers and judges.

Houston has already proven to be a hotspot for millennial homebuyers, and the latest RentCafe data says millennials make up 19 percent of all millionaire homeowners in the U.S. Gen Xers and Baby Boomers still maintain the largest shares of millionaire homeowners nationwide, at 45 and 33 percent, respectively.

Dallas (No. 10) and Austin (No. 20) also appeared among the hottest metros for millionaire homeowners.

Only one Texas city appeared among RentCafe's list of the 20 fastest-growing metros for millionaire homeowners: College Station ranked 13th nationwide with a growth rate of 1,329 percent. From 2020-2024, the number of millionaire homeowners residing in College Station grew from 14 to 200.

millionaire renters millionaires rentcafe study rent anderson