Written By: Katherine Feser for Houston Chronicle
Houston-area communities dominated a list of top-selling master planned communities across the United States in 2012, according to a report by real estate advisory firm RCLCO.
Eight communities made the top 20 list, which is based on total home sales reported by each community. New homes sales totaled 14,287 in the 20 communities in 2012, with nearly a third of them in the Houston area. Sales in the top 20 are up by more than 37 percent for the year.
New home sales increased by more than 25 percent overall in the Houston area, although the rate of increase was lower in some mature communities such as The Woodlands and Cinco Ranch as they approach build-out. Those communities are reducing the sales volume in many lower price points while increasing the number of homes sold in the upper price points, the report said.
Communities in states recovering from the housing bust including Nevada, Florida and California made the list. Texas saw increases in sales and pricing at many communities during a year of solid job growth and declining lot inventories at mature communities, the report said.
TOP 20
Ranking of U.S. communities by new home sales in 2012:
- The Villages (Ocala, Fla.) 2,851
- Irvine Ranch (Orange County, Calif.) 1,436
- The Woodlands (Houston) 1,007
- Cinco Ranch (Houston) 982
- Mountain’s Edge (Las Vegas) 948
- Providence (Las Vegas) 760
- Riverstone (Houston) 605
- Alamo Ranch (San Antonio) 583
- Lakewood Ranch ( Sarasota, Fla.) 573
- Nocatee (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) 508
- Stapleton (Denver) 507
- Summerlin (Las Vegas) 471
- Brambleton (Washington, D.C.) 466
- Lake Nona (Orlando) 441
- Bridgeland ( Houston) 423
- Sienna Plantation ( Houston) 387
- Shadow Creek Ranch ( Houston) 362
- FishHawk Ranch (Tampa) 362
- Woodforest (Houston) 308
- Telfair (Houston) 307
Note: Four communities reported more than 300 home sales: Power Ranch (Phoenix), Aliana (Houston), Daybreak (Salt Lake City), and Cross Creek Ranch (Houston).
Source: RCLCO national survey