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Dallas-Fort Worth among top markets for home sales in master-planned communities

There were 584 homes sold in the Silverado development in Aubrey last year.

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Dallas-Fort Worth is a master when it comes to master-planned communities. A report released January 5 by RCLCO Real Estate Advisors shows the DFW metro area is home to four of the 50 top-selling master-planned communities in 2020.

The four DFW communities on the list are:

SouthStar Communities’ WoodCreek in Fate, ranked 23rd with 623 homes sold (up 55 percent from 2019).
Hillwood Communities’ Union Park in Little Elm, ranked 24th with 607 homes sold (up 71 percent from 2019).
D.R. Horton’s Silverado in Aubrey, ranked 27th with 584 homes sold (no comparable figure for 2019).
Hillwood Communities’ Pecan Square in Northlake, ranked 37th with 509 homes sold (no comparable figure for 2019).

"The 50 Top-Selling Master-Planned Communities in 2020 experienced total sales about 20 percent higher than in 2019, and communities in this year’s Top-50 report for which sales data was available in 2019 had an average increase in sales of 40 percent in 2020," the report says.

And while COVID-19 drove some buyers away from dense urban centers, into communities in the suburbs, that's not the entire picture.

“COVID-19 has increased the desire for newer, better, and bigger spaces," the report says. "However, it is the low interest rates that have provided the opportunity for many buyers, and the historically low levels of resale inventory which has accelerated urgency, and increased demand for new homes.”

According to the study, Texas and Florida accounted for nearly two-thirds of total sales among the 50 top-selling communities last year. DFW isn't the only Texas metro to pop up on the list.

In fact, Houston has the highest total for any city in the U.S. In all, eight communities there sold more than 5,000 homes last year, which also was the highest total for any metro area.

Leading the Houston pack is Bridgeland, a master-planned community in Cypress developed by The Woodlands-based Howard Hughes Corp. The report says 873 homes were sold there last year, up 19 percent from 2019. That total put Bridgeland at No. 9 among the top 50. It is the highest-ranked community in Texas for the number of homes sold.

The seven other master-planned communities there were:

Balmoral, ranked 12th with 841 homes sold last year (up 80 percent from 2019).
Sienna in Missouri City, ranked 15th with 773 homes sold last year (up 50 percent from 2019).
Tamarron in Katy, ranked 25th with 604 homes sold last year (up 84 percent from 2019).
Cross Creek Ranch in Fulshear, ranked 36th with 510 sold homes last year (up 5 percent from 2019).
Elyson in Katy, ranked 40th with 497 homes sold last year (up 43 percent from 2019).
Harvest Green in Richmond, ranked 43rd with 481 homes last year (up 35 percent from 2019).
Sierra Vista/Sterling Lakes in Arcola, ranked 45th with 474 homes sold last year (up 37 percent from 2019).

Communities in Austin and San Antonio also showed up in the RCLCO ranking. Austin gained three spots in the top 50, and San Antonio picked up one spot.

On a percentage basis, two communities in the Austin area — Brookfield Residential’s 29th-ranked Easton Park project in Austin (577 homes sold, up 90 percent) and Scarborough Lane’s 26th-ranked Sunfield project in Buda (595 homes sold, up 89 percent) — notched the biggest gains in home sales among the Texas communities on the list. The other Austin area community in the ranking is Santa Rita Ranch in Liberty Hill, appearing at No. 21 with 641 homes sold (up 72 percent from 2019). The developer of Santa Rita Ranch is Fairway, Kansas-based Mariner Real Estate Management.

Representing San Antonio on the list is Valley Ranch, ranked No. 34 with 542 homes sold, up 64 percent from 2019.

home-for-sale rankings

rent report

2 Dallas suburbs have the highest rents in DFW right now, report finds

Photo courtesy of Simpson Property Group

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After American shoppers spent $11.5 billion on Black Friday this year, it's safe to say many people are watching their wallets this holiday season, including renters. And a new report is shedding light on the North Texas cities that are shelling out the most for their rent.

Zumper's newest monthly rent report, released December 2, analyzed active listings from the previous month across all cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. It tracked the most and least expensive rent prices for one- and two-bedroom apartments, and determines the cities with the fastest growing rents. Listings were aggregated by city to calculate median asking rents.

Frisco and The Colony tied for having the highest rent prices in Dallas-Fort Worth in November. According to the study's findings, the median rent price for a single-bedroom apartment came out to $1,620 last month in both cities. In Frisco, that's $10 lower than what it cost for the same apartment in June.

Frisco residents are expected to budget $3,491 for their holiday presents this year, WalletHub says, which means they might be watching their spending a lot more than other North Texas residents.

For two-bedroom units, median rent prices in Frisco rose 3.3 percent from October to $2,200. A two-bedroom apartment in The Colony rose 0.9 percent month-over-month to $2,130.

Grapevine's median rent prices were the third-priciest out of all cities in Dallas-Fort Worth. Zumper found that the median price for a one-bedroom apartment came out to $1,470, and two-bedroom units cost $1,840 in November.

Dallas tied with Plano for the fourth-highest rents in the metro area, the report said. Single-bedroom units cost the same amount between both cities ($1,470) while two-bedroom units were more expensive in Dallas ($2,060) than in Plano ($2,030).

For comparison, the price of one bedroom unit in Dallas was $30 cheaper in October, while two bedroom units cost $20 less than November's asking price. In September, asking rent for single-bedroom apartments added up to $1,480, while two bedroom units cost $2,100 per month.

These are the median rent prices for one- and two-bedroom apartments across Dallas-Fort Worth:

Richardson – $1,420 for one-bedroom units; $1,750 for two-bedroom units
McKinney – $1,400 for one-bedroom units; $1,850 for two-bedroom units
Carrollton – $1,360 for one-bedroom units; $1,730 for two-bedroom units
Lewisville – $1,300 for one-bedroom units; $1,700 for two-bedroom units
Burleson – $1,250 for one-bedroom units; $1,620 for two-bedroom units
Weatherford – $1,240 for one-bedroom units; $1,370 for two-bedroom units
Irving – $1,220 for one-bedroom units; $1,650 for two-bedroom units
Fort Worth – $1,190 for one-bedroom units; $1,450 for two-bedroom units
Grand Prairie – $1,170 for one-bedroom units; $1,560 for two-bedroom units
North Richland Hills – $1,160 for one-bedroom units; $1,460 for two-bedroom units
Haltom City – $1,150 for one-bedroom units; $1,430 for two-bedroom units

DFW cities with affordable rent compared to the statewide median
Zumper found the statewide median rent for a one bedroom apartment came out to $1,126 last month.

Cleburne had the most affordable rent for a one-bedroom unit in all of Dallas-Fort Worth, with median prices adding up to an even $1,000. The report also found that Cleburne's single-bedroom rent costs are 10.7 percent lower than they were a year ago. The median cost for a two-bedroom unit in Cleburne ($1,190) is 8.5 percent lower than it was in November 2024.

Six more Dallas-Fort Worth cities had more affordable single-bedroom rent prices than the statewide median: Bedford ($1,110), Mesquite ($1,110), Hurst ($1,100), Denton ($1,090), Arlington ($1,080), and Benbrook ($1,020).

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