Houston Leads Home Sales in RCLCO Rankings

HOUSTON – (By Dale King, Realty News Report) – Each year, it seems, Florida and Texas battle each other for top ranking in RCLCO’s “50 Top-Selling Master-Planned Communities” report.

Texas and Florida Dominate

At the half-way point of 2022, the RCLCO report says, Florida represents about 36 percent of sales among ranked communities while Texas is just a nose behind at 34 percent.

In the overall performance department, Houston actually captured the laurels for a couple of high-ranking achievements, says the recently released report. And that’s pretty darn good, considering sales have dropped 18 percent at mid-2022 compared to the first six months of 2021.

Houston Places 13 MPCs in Top 50 – More Than Any Other City

The Top 50 analysis says Sunterra, located in the Houston suburb of Katy, entered the Top 10 ranking for the first time this year due to a strong performance in the first half of 2022 that resulted in an eighth-place finish. The report says 450 units were sold at Sunterra, built by Land Tejas/Starwood Land.

In addition, the Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area was the top performing MSA in the report for the first half of 2022 with 13 communities in the Top 50, representing 3,430 sales, or nearly 20 percent of all MPC units bought.

All 13 Space City developments are located within the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land MSA. In addition to Sunterra in eighth place, the top-ranked Houston finisher, other developments in the Top 50 include:

Number 19, Bridgeland, located in Cypress outside Houston, 321 sales, down 25 percent from mid-2021. Howard Hughes Corporation is the developer.
Number 20, Marvida, also in Cypress, sold 320 units by mid-2021. Land Tejas/Starwood Land is the developer.
Number 33, Tamarron, in Katy, 255 sold, down 37 percent; and Number 34, Fosters Ridgei n Conroe, 255 sold, up 6 percent. D.R. Horton is the developer of both.
Number 35. Elyson, also in Katy, sold 249, up 1 percent. Brookfield Properties is the developer.
Number 36, Sienna,a10,800-acre community in Missouri City, sold 236, down 31 percent. Developer is Johnson Development/Toll Brothers.
Number 37, The Highlands, in Porter, sold 236. Developer is Caldwell Communities.
Number 38, Meridiana, in Rosharon, 235, down 18 percent. Developer is Rise Communities.
Number 42, Cross Creek Ranch, in Fulshear, sold 227, down 20 percent. Developer is Johnson Development.
Number 47, Caldwell Ranch, also in Rosharon, 226 sold. Developer is D.R. Horton.
Number 47, Woodforest, in Montgomery, 223 sold, down 16 percent. Developer is Johnson Development.
Number 50, Jordan Ranch, in Fulshear, 205 units sold, up 40 percent. Johnson Development Corp. is developer.

Sales among the Top 50 communities at mid-year 2022 have declined by 18 percent compared to the pace set in the first half of 2021, with developers continuing to cite supply chain issues and a lack of inventory, along with instances of declining traffic from potential buyers in more recent months as high prices and interest rate hikes continue to impact consumers’ purchasing power.

Number One in the Nation

The Villages, an adult community in Central Florida, is once again the top-seller in the country with an estimated 1,500 sales. Sarasota, Florida’s Lakewood Ranch claims second place as well as the top spot among all-ages communities with 1,026 sales.

Texas Leaders in New Home Sales

Dallas’ Silverado has earned the third-place rank through the first half of the year with 599 sales.

In addition to Silverado, other Texas MPCs in the top 50 include:

Number 6, Mission Ridge, El Paso (Hunt Communities), sold 504, up 8 percent.
Number 15, Valley Ranch, San Antonio (D.R. Horton), 374 sold, up 56 percent.
Number 28, Wildcat Ranch, Crandall (Sessions Development and PMB Capital), 276 sold, down 3 percent.
Number 29, Santa Rita Ranch, Liberty Hill (Mariner Real Estate Development), sold 273, down 11 percent.
Number 32, Magnolia Point, Royse City (D.R. Horton), sold 255, down 15 percent.
Number 45, Union Park, Little Elm (Hillwood Communities), sold 227, down 19 percent.

Despite this potential cooling, attitudes among MPC developers remain optimistic, the RCLCO report says. “For one, while many consumers have been priced out of the new home market by rising mortgage rates and prices, pent-up demand from the remaining new home buyers is still substantial.”

In addition, “the current situation of slowing sales might be viewed as more of a ‘pause’ as consumers get used to higher rates. In some instances, builders have even been noted as viewing this ‘pause’ as more of a silver lining – using the period of slowing sales as an opportunity to catch-up on closings and build-up inventory. In 2021, some Texas builders curtailed selling activities because the waiting lists were excessively long and the supply of building materials were thin and unpredictable.

Some builders have also faced a tight supply of lots, said Tim Drone, president of J Patrick Homes in a recent podcast interview with The Ralph Bivins Project. “We don’t have a lot of lots in front of us for new home starts. We are just maintaining our pipeline, managing our business to make sure we have something to sell tomorrow. Mortgage rates are increasing. It remains to be seen if this helps slow the pace.”

Landing 13 communities on the RCLCO Top 50 list, was a strong showing for Houston, said Michael Smith, President and CEO of Johnson Development. “We are thrilled to be the top-performing developer in the nation’s top-selling metro area,” said Smith.

Photo: Sienna master planned community near Houston. Courtesy Johnson Development. JeffBrady.jpg