HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – Houston again led the nation as the metro area with the most master planned communities in the Top 50 as buyers flocked to the suburbs from Cypress to Manvel, according to a new Mid-2026 sales report by RCLCO.
Nine Houston area communities made it into the Top 50 with Tamarron, Bridgeland, and Sunterra cracking the Top 10. Local communities posting the biggest sales gains at midyear were Jordan Ranch, Tamarron, and Bridgeland.
Central Florida’s The Villages, the nation’s largest active adult community, held its position as the top-selling community with 1,800 sales at midyear. Rounding out the top five are Lakewood Ranch in Sarasota, Fla. with 1,064 sales, Wellen Park in Venice, Fla. with 727 sales, Babcock Ranch in Punta Gorda, Fla. with 659 sales, and Cadence in Henderson, Nev. with 657 sales.
The nation’s 50 top-selling communities outperformed the broader new home market, according to RCLCO. New home sales among the Top 50 totaled 18,513 up 2.9% compared to midyear 2025.
By comparison, new home sales nationally declined by 5.6% year over year in June, according to RCLCO. The overall new-home market was dragged down by economic uncertainty, weak consumer sentiment, and affordability challenges.
Buyers often seek thoughtfully planned communities that have consistently demonstrated resilience during downturns, according to RCLCO. The communities come with amenities such trails, parks, town centers, schools, and social programming.
The Houston region’s top-selling communities turned in a mixed performance at midyear, with four showing increases compared to the same period last year, four showing declines, and one nearly unchanged.
The Houston metro made up 3,049 or 16% of all sales among the ranked master planned communities. Texas represents 31% of the sales, second to Florida, which represents 44% of the sales.
The nine Houston MPCs with their midyear 2026 RCLCO national rankings are:
No. 6: Tamarron, a D.R. Horton community in the Katy/Fulshear area, logged 594 sales at midyear 2026, up 16% from 510 in the first half of 2025.
No. 9: Bridgeland, a development of Howard Hughes Communities in Cypress, posted 500 sales in first half of 2026, up 14% from 438 sales in the first half of 2025.
No. 10: Sunterra, a development of Land Tejas/Starwood Land in Katy, reported 450 new home sales in the first half of 2026. That was down 17% from 543 sales in the first half of 2025.
No. 18: Anniston, a project of Friendswood Development Co. near Katy Hockley Road and Freeman Road in Katy, reported 313 sales in the first half of 2026. That was down 34% from the 476 sales in the first half of 2025.
No. 24: Meridiana, a Rise Communities development in the Manvel area along Highway 288 south of Houston, sold 276 homes in the first half of 2026. That was nearly unchanged from the 277 sales in the first half of last year.
No. 35: The Grand Prairie, a development of Ember in Hockley northwest of Houston, reported 259 sales in the first half of 2026. That was down 13% from the 299 sales in the first half of 2025.
No. 43: Elyson, a project of Brookfield Properties off the Grand Parkway in the north Katy area, registered 227 sales in the first half of 2026. Sales were up 5% from 217 in the first half of 2025.
No. 46: Sienna, a development of Johnson Development/Toll Brothers/GTIS in Missouri City, reported 223 sales in the first half of 2026. That was down 2% from the 227 sales in the first half of last year.
No. 49: Jordan Ranch, a Johnson Development community in Fulshear, registered 207 sales in the first half of 2026. That was up 19% from the 174 sales at midyear 2025.
RCLCO, a market research and consulting firm, has produced top selling communities reports for more than 30 years.
July 31, 2026, Realty News Report Copyright 2026
Feature image: Bridgeland. Courtesy Howard Hughes.
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File: Houston Tops Master Planned Communities Rankings