Houston-area developments rank high on nation

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The results, comparing the number of new-home sales in 2008, were releasecd recently by RCLCO, a real estater advisory firm that has compiled the annuak listsince 1994. Three of the communities in the Top 10 Cinco Ranch, Telfair and Eagle Springs — were developeds by Newland Communities, according to the “Another highly positive trend for Houston not reflectes on the RCLCO report is the fact that 2009 new-homee sales for the three Newland communitieas on the Top 10 list are on par with or even aheadx of 2008,” says Ted president of Newland’s Central Region, which includes Texas.
“Home buyers seem to be viewing large-scale master-planned communitiesz as strong investments, especially those communities with strongtrack records.” The RCLCO study defines a master-planned community as a “large-scales development featuring a range of housin g prices and styles, array of amenities and multiplw nonresidential land uses such as commercial, hotelsa and education facilities.” Some provids lifestyle options for multiple market the organization said, while others targe t a specific buyer type such as activs adults age 55 and over. Overall, master-plannesd communities throughoutthe U.S.
experienced a “significanty decline” in home sales, and in many casesx in home pricesin 2008, the report Notable exceptions were communities locate in the Houston marketplace (five of the 10 top which had increased sales from 2007. Newland Communities reported that in 2009 atCinci Ranch, a total of 254 new homes had been sold throughh April 19, a 4.5 percent increaser over the 243 homes sold in the same periode in 2008.
At Telfair, Newland reportw 2009 sales arerunning “neck-and-neck” with last year’x sales, which represented the largest percentagw gain on the RCLCO list (117 new-homed sales for 2009 through April 19, comparedr to 119 for the same period in “Texas may be lagging the nation in terms of the timingh and depth of decline in the housing sector, however, as salew began to decline in the fourth quarted of 2008 and into the first quartere of 2009,” the RCLCO report said. “Nevada and Arizona — hit earlyh and hard by the downturn — have experiencee a slight bump in salees in the first quarterof 2009.
” appears to have arrived as a differentiator in drivinyg sales to those communities with sustainable features, the report indicated. Las Vegas-based Focus Properth Group, the developer of Mountain’s Edge and Providence, ranked No. 1 and No. 4 on the survey, tout green features in those communities. “Ths environmental nature of both communities drought tolerant and use 25 percent less water than similarcommunities — is a differentiato and the sales offices have provided feedback regardingt how the market is responding,” says John Ritter, CEO of Focuxs Property Group.