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    live like royalty

    Fairytale castle just 3.5 hours from Houston returns to market for $5.5 million

    Amber Heckler
    Nov 15, 2023 | 9:00 pm

    A grand fairytale castle less than 140 miles from Austin has re-entered the housing market for $5.5 million.

    Parsons Castle Austin

    Photo courtesy of Hackers Property Group

    The five-story Parsons Castle is back on the market.

    The Parsons Castle in Clifton (near Waco) is a glorious cliffside escape with a very apt nickname: The Getaway Capital of Texas.

    As CultureMap previously reported, the castle was listed for sale in 2021 for $6.5 million. It didn't sell at the time, so it was taken off the market. Eric Hacker of Hacker Property Group now holds the listing.

    "With the price adjustment and with the time lapse in our market, we felt that [$5.5 million] was going to be a much more appealing price for the public and for what this venue has the possibilities of [accomplishing]," Hacker explained to CultureMap.

    The castle and event venue, which overlooks Lake Whitney, features 10 bedrooms and 15 bathrooms across 11,500 square feet of space that's destined to make every guest feel like a real royal.

    There are balconies on every floor of the five-story castle, a private pool and hot tub, a 3,000-square-foot ballroom, a bridal suite and groom's dressing room, gazebos galore, and much more. Like every good castle, it has a drawbridge and a moat.

    Parsons CastleThe 3,000-square-foot ballroom can do more than host large formal dances, like setting the stage for a beautiful Photo courtesy of Hacker Property Group

    The property was bought by its sole owners – Stuart and Rebecca Parsons – in 2005, and the slab that would become the genesis for the castle was poured in 2009. By 2017, the magnificent structure had been fully constructed, and has since lived an illustrious life as a venue for weddings, reunions, and many other special occasions.

    Hacker expects his primary audience to be those who already have a business plan lined up to keep the property as an event venue, but he's not counting out potential buyers who fall in love with the castle.

    "There could always be an individual who comes in and just falls in love with how special it is and find it appealing for themselves," he says. "But it's really highly accommodating for someone who sees it as an event venue that can hold large events and parties."

    Back in 2021, the castle caught the attention of Zillow Gone Wild's Facebook page, with one commenter dubbing it "Taj Ma Y’all."

    If $5.5 million seems, well, almost affordable, consider this: The Parsons Castle is cheaper than this other urban palace outside Houston that was the most expensive home in Texas for two years in a row, with a hefty price tag of $65 million.

    More information about the Parsons Castle can be found at theparsonscastle.com.

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    housing news

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

    Amber Heckler
    Dec 24, 2025 | 11:30 am
    Interior of a manufactured home
    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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