Your Expert Guide

Creekside Park in The Woodlands: A wooded oasis of modern living

Agent Mariela Campalans.

Photo courtesy of Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty

There are so many great places to live in Houston that it helps to have an expert on your side. The Neighborhood Guide presented by Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty gives you insider access from the agents who live and work there, providing in-the-know info about your possible new community.
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The Woodlands is recognized as one of the top master-planned communities in the nation, fostering the best in family life, career opportunities, and neighborhood involvement. And Creekside Park is in the heart of it all.

When Mariela Campalans started her real-estate business 12 years ago after leaving a busy, international corporate life, her first listing was in Creekside.

So the area is special to her — even more so because she has seen Creekside grow to what it is today.

Campalans has lived in The Woodlands herself for more than 12 years, having previously lived in Singapore, Mexico, Connecticut, and Florida.

“Creekside has so much to offer; it has highly rated schools and is surrounded by new shopping centers, a movie theater, many restaurants, hiking and biking, lakes, the Rob Fleming Aquatic Center, and the George Mitchell Nature Preserve,” says Campalans.

"What I also love about Creekside is the feeling of a fresh neighborhood, with many new developments and young families that you can see every weekend walking or biking with their children or pets. It’s a place that brings families and friends together.”

Bilingual in English and Spanish, Campalans also has formal training in graphic, interior, and industrial design, which has allowed her to develop a highly diversified network of contractors and builders to help support all her clients’ needs.

This very busy, very happy Realtor enjoys yoga, spinning, and family time with her husband of over 30 years and her two children, who attended middle school and high school in the Woodlands and are now doctors practicing in San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Campalans shared a few of her personal favorites about life in the Creekside area. Here's her guide:

Where to eat & drink
Levure Bakery and Patisserie has the croissants and Morning Buns (cinnamon rolls) of your dreams, plus a whole host of savory items, too. Campalans also likes Lovebeans Coffeeshop for a caffeine fix — or superfood smoothie — in the A.M.

Dinner is at the family-owned Avanti Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar or Fielding’s Wood Grill, a casual steakhouse with elevated American classics in addition to a solid menu of hand-spun, kid-friendly shakes and adults-only boozy versions, too.

For drinks and to wind down, Campalans heads to Refuge, which is like a fancy cocktail apartment.

Where to play
“The Rob Fleming Park is one of the largest parks in The Woodlands and includes a butterfly garden, bluebonnet meadow, fishing pond, pavilion, hike and bike trails, and much more,” says Campalans.

On the campus of the park is Texas TreeVentures, a three-level aerial adventure course to get your adrenaline pumping.

She also recommends the George Mitchell Nature Preserve as a go-to for green space; it’s an expansive 1,800 acres and is home to abundant wildlife, several miles of wooded trails, and Spring Creek.

For something more relaxing, check out the concerts and movie nights hosted at the Creekside Park Village Green, or grab a seat at Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas.

Where to live
Creekside Park offers a variety of homes with a wide range of prices starting from the $350s to more than $5 million, and that includes the gated community of Carlton Woods.

But the average price is $749,000 and the average property size is 3,331 square feet, confirms Campalans.

“The area features various designs and styles, but one of the highest selling points in Creekside is the new-construction homes with a modern, contemporary aesthetic,” adds Campalans. “These homes feature an open plan with abundant natural light, high ceilings, large bedrooms, and big lots. "

There’s also a new section coming to Creekside called The Enclave at The Woodlands, Campalans shares, which is a master-planned community with a collection of luxury homes.

A beautiful example of a Creekside home is 2 Marin Creek Place, where Campalans represented the seller. This grand Mediterranean home is perched on the shores of Lake Paloma, and in addition to its recently updated interiors it features a host of patios and loggias that graciously extend its 5,898 square feet to livable outdoor space, complete with a full outdoor kitchen.

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Mariela Campalans works and plays in Creekside. For more information on buying and selling a home in the area, click here, email mariela.campalans@sothebyshomes.com, or call 713-998-7982.

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housing news

Houston ranks among top 10 U.S. cities for mobile home living

Photo by Brian Wangenheim on Unsplash

Manufactured homes have come a long way from the "trailers" of the past, according to StorageCafe.

As Houston residents navigate the city's fluctuating real estate market, manufactured homes – also known as mobile homes – are gaining traction among potential buyers seeking an affordable path to homeownership.

A recent housing study found Houston ranks among the top 10 U.S. cities with the largest mobile home inventory. Texas, as a whole, has the second-highest share of manufactured housing in the nation.

StorageCafe's housing insights report analyzed the supply of manufactured housing inventory, average sales prices of new manufactured homes, and compared pricing trends against the median value of all housing units (regardless of construction date) across all 50 states and 100 U.S. cities.

The report's author hails manufactured housing as "a cornerstone of affordability" in the country, with just under 8 million mobile homes representing about 5.4 percent of the U.S. housing supply.

There are 776,232 manufactured homes in Texas, the report found, which is 6.2 percent of the state's entire housing stock. Houston is home to the 8th highest number of mobile homes in the nation, at 10,953 units.

Here's how the rest of the top 10 shakes out:

No. 1 – Mesa, Arizona (29,335 units)
No. 2 – Phoenix, Arizona (20,564 units)
No. 3 – Jacksonville, Florida (15,393 units)
No. 4 – Largo, Florida (14,131 units)
No. 5 – Tuscon, Arizona (14,128 units)
No. 6 – San Jose, California (11,668 units)
No. 7 – San Antonio, Texas (11,208 units)
No. 8 – Houston, Texas (10,953 units)
No. 9 – Los Angeles, California (10,622 units)
No. 10 – Sunrise Manor, Nevada (9,952 units)

Why manufactured home living is gaining popularity
Affordability is of the main reasons Texas residents are turning to manufactured home living. The average sale price for a mobile home in Texas was $112,500 in 2024, or less than half of the median sale price for all Texas homes ($313,200).

The report specifies that the cost for a manufactured home does not include the cost of land in the same way that a conventional home does. Depending on zoning and local laws, residents who own a mobile home either lease the lot their home sits on, or they have to purchase a lot outright.

"Most manufactured homes sit either in parks (land rent, higher exposure to rent hikes or park closures) or subdivisions (you own the land)," the report said. "In some communities, resident-owned cooperatives (co-ops) allow homeowners to collectively purchase the land beneath their homes. This setup provides stability and protection against rising lot rents, which can otherwise affect those living in privately owned parks."

Nevertheless, StorageCafe maintains that the generally lower cost of a manufactured home still makes it a viable path to homeownership. Affordability is especially crucial for younger adults like Gen Zers and Millennials who also don't want to "compromise on quality or independence."

"Today’s younger buyers value flexibility, efficiency, and minimal maintenance, and many are drawn to simpler lifestyles that align with financial freedom and mobility," the report said. "With the rise of remote work, more Millennials and Gen Zers are exploring the idea of living affordably in smaller, well-designed spaces, often in communities with shared amenities or scenic settings that were once thought to appeal only to retirees."

Manufactured homes have also experienced a "glow up" in recent years, the report added. Most manufactured homes have open floor plans, "stylish interiors," and come equipped with modern amenities like smart-home technology and energy efficient features.

"As a result, they’re no longer viewed as a fallback option, but rather as a savvy, forward-thinking path to homeownership for cost-conscious Americans of all ages," the report said.

Mobile home living elsewhere in Texas
Other than San Antonio in Houston in the top 10, there were 12 more Texas cities that ranked among the top 100. El Paso came in at No. 16 with 7,089 mobile homes in the city, and Laredo ranked two spots behind with 6,785 units.

Here's how other Texas cities fared in the report:

No. 20 – Dallas (6,195 units)
No. 21 – Austin (6,184 units)
No. 22 – Fort Worth (6,069 units)
No. 29 – Corpus Christi (4,823 units)
No. 34 – Pharr (4,409 units)
No. 48 – Arlington (3,818 units)
No. 60 – Mission (3,207 units)
No. 65 – Bryan (3,063 units)
No. 67 – Edinburg (3,407 units)
No. 98 – Denton (2,441 units)

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