Moving up and out

North Texas among top U.S. markets for home sales in master-planned communities

Buyers are flocking to Pecan Square in Northlake.

Dallas-Fort Worth is mastering the art of the master-planned community.

A report released January 4 by RCLCO Real Estate Advisors shows the DFW metro area was home to four of the 50 top-selling master-planned communities last year.

The four DFW communities on the list are:

Magnolia Point, Royse City, from D.R. Horton, ranked 20th (tied) with 660 homes sold (2020 data unavailable).
Pecan Square, Northlake, from Hillwood Communities, ranked No. 41 with 502 homes sold, (down 1 percent from 2020).
Heartland, Heartland (near Forney), from Huffines Communities, ranked No. 42 with 482 homes sold (2020 data unavailable).
Union Park, Little Elm, from Hillwood Communities, ranked No. 47 with 460 homes sold, (down 24 percent from 2020).

“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.

Houston ranks first among all of the metro areas represented on the list. According to the survey, one-fifth of the country’s 50 top-selling master-planned communities last year are in the Houston metro area. Collectively, the 10 Houston-area communities in the top 50 sold 5,773 homes in 2021, according to RCLCO’s data.

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.

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living single

Dallas lands among 10 most affordable U.S. metros for living alone

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In DFW, renters can afford to live solo.

Not everyone is cut out for living with roommates, but finding an affordable place to live alone can be tricky. Luckily, Dallas-Fort Worth sits among the top 10 most affordable U.S. metros for living by yourself, according to a new report.

Analysts at Apartments.com discovered North Texas renters spend the seventh lowest share of their monthly income on single-bedroom rent out of the 50 biggest metros in the U.S.

The study used a 30 percent "common budgeting guideline" to calculate the share of median renter household income spent on one-bedroom asking rents across the 50 largest U.S. metros, and determined renters can only afford to live alone in 24 of the 50 metros without crossing the 30 percent threshold.

The median annual income of a DFW renter household is $63,172, and the findings show the typical asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment comes out to $1,348 per month. The study determined single renters spend 25.6 percent of their monthly income on rent based on the budgeting suggestion.

Texas' favorable rental market also extends outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex: Austin surprised as the No. 1 most affordable metro for living alone, and San Antonio appeared among the top 10.

Austin renters spend the smallest share of their income on single-bedroom apartment rent, at 23.1 percent. That's based on a median renter household income of $70,008 and a $1,348 monthly one-bedroom asking rent price.

Dwindling rent prices and the prevalence of major tech employers are also attracting new renters, and the city has an 11.6 percent apartment vacancy rate.

"The average rent in Austin has decreased year over year, and construction of new housing increased by 30 percent over the past decade," the report's author wrote. "Tax incentives in Texas draw large tech corporations, like Google and Apple, to the Austin area, which has increased average wages, added more jobs to the local economy, and attracted renters in the process."

San Antonio ranked right above DFW in sixth place nationwide with solo renters spending 25.4 percent of their monthly income on single-bedroom rent, coincidentally the same share as single renters living in Raleigh, North Carolina and Salt Lake City, Utah.

This is the income and one-bedroom rent data in San Antonio:

$51,029 – median renter household income
$1,082 – one-bedroom monthly asking rent

A separate Apartments.com survey found 39 percent of U.S. adults would never feel comfortable living with a roommate, and 16 percent of renters would rather pay more in rent to live alone than consider living with a roommate.

"Factors contributing to lower rents may include recent high levels of construction, rising vacancy rates as renter demand catches up to supply, and fewer regulations, such as flexible zoning and lower development costs compared to other parts of the country," the report said. "Living alone has become a non-negotiable for many renters, and some renters are willing to make tradeoffs to afford this lifestyle."

The top 10 most affordable U.S. metros for living alone are:

No. 1 – Austin
No. 2 – Oklahoma City
No. 3 – Phoenix
No. 4 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 5 – Salt Lake City, Utah
No. 6 – San Antonio
No. 7 – Dallas-Fort Worth
No. 8 – Denver
No. 9 – Portland, Oregon
No. 10 – Columbus, Ohio

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