Riverstone still resides at the top
Riverstone maintained its top position in the Chronicle’s list of most active master-planned communities based on 2016 housing starts, outperforming other residential developments across the Houston area by a relatively high margin.
Though starts fell in the Missouri City community compared with the previous year, Riverstone’s resilience continues, even among higher-priced homes.
Riverstone and the nearby Sienna Plantation, both Johnson Development communities, haven’t seen a slowdown in the high end of the market, while other neighborhoods have seen a significant drop.
“You can still sell homes with premium pricing. There’s not a lot of incentive activity in that market,” said Lawrence Dean, regional director in Houston for Metrostudy, which compiled the list.
In part, that’s because they are in areas with relatively easy commutes to major job centers — the Energy Corridor, the Texas Medical Center and downtown — via the Fort Bend Toll Road.
They also offer parks, good schools and plenty of services.
“When people are going to invest $500,000 or $600,000 in a new home in suburban Houston, they want to feel very secure in that investment,” Dean said.
Beyond Riverstone on the communities list, there have been incremental changes in the performance of Houston’s other top communities in recent months.
Aliana, which ranked No. 3 in the 2016 list, moved up one spot in an updated Metrostudy list based on annual starts through the year’s first quarter. Bridgeland and Cross Creek Ranch also gained market share for the year ending in March.
The increases in volume, Dean said, are directly related to new product offerings, including patio homes as builders turn their focus to entry-level buyers.
Yet in Aliana, higherend homes with floor plans and features designed for multicultural buyers are also in demand.
“They’ve done phenomenally because of that — and at a high price too,” Dean said.
In Bridgeland, which ranks no. 7 on the 2016 list and saw an increase of starts last year, builders are developing more competitively priced homes.
New product types are also fueling sales in the Cypress community.
David Weekley Homes is building in a so-called traditional neighborhood design where the homes are more densely placed and the area is developed to be walkable.
“It’s intended to evoke a Houston Heights-type character,” Dean said.
Generally speaking, communities with homes priced in the $200,000 to $400,000 range are seeing strength.
Near Tomball, Wildwood offers homes almost exclusively in that range. It ranked 10 on the Chronicle’s list. Jasmine Heights, in Katy, No. 16 on the list, is a DR Horton community also offering high-value homes.
The developer of Valley Ranch, a new planned community north of Kingwood, said sales have been stronger than ever.
DR Horton has just taken a sizable lot position in the community, where other builders are active.
Danny Signorelli, whose company is developing Valley Ranch, also has home building operations. The company’s moderately priced homes range from the $180,000s to the low $300,000s.
“Currently we’re in the north half of Houston,” he said. “We’re looking at positions in southeast, east and southwest Houston.”