HOUSTON – Eight Houston communities are in the national Top 20 master-planned communities for new home sales in 2013, according to preliminary sales results released by John Burns Real Estate Consulting Co.
A thriving energy industry and advances in fracking oil and gas exploration have generated significant job growth in Houston in recent years. Major energy firms, such as Exxon Mobil are relocating thousands of employees into Houston.
Leading the nation in home starts, Houston home builders report a shortage of labor and lots. The inventory of completed homes is thin and home buyers have to wait at least six months, usually longer, for new homes to be built.
The Cinco Ranch community west of Houston was the top local community in 2013, John Burns reported. Homebuilders in Cinco Ranch sold 854 new homes in 2013, moving the 8,100-acre community up from its 4th place national ranking in 2012. New homes in Cinco Ranch are priced from the $200,000s to over $1 million.
“Ranking No.1 in Houston and Texas was an early birthday present for Cinco Ranch, which will commemorate the 23rd anniversary of its grand opening next month,†said Heather Gustafson, marketing director for Newland Communities. “In addition to home sales, 2013 was an exciting year for Cinco Ranch, with the second phase of the LaCenterra mixed-use center opening, and the Grand Parkway opening from the Katy Freeway to U.S. Highway 290 late in the year.â€
Four of those Houston communities are projects of The Johnson Development Corp., the developer of Woodforest. Woodforest recorded 457 sales during 2013, a year-over-year increase of 48 percent.
“This is the highest we've placed on a national list,†said Virgil Yoakum, general manager of Woodforest. “A prime location in south Montgomery County, a wooded landscape and an expanding array of amenities — along with a booming Houston economy — drove sales last year.â€
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