19 August . 2024
Elyson has biggest sales increase among Houston MPCs in midyear report
Houston leads the nation for home sales in master-planned communities (MPCs), and Elyson has the biggest sales increase among Houston MPCs for the first half of 2024.
A total of 272 new homes were sold in Elyson during the first six months of 2024, according to the Top 50 Master-Planned Communities midyear report from RCLCO, a national real estate advisory firm.
That’s a 22% increase over the number of homes sold during the same period in 2023, and the largest percentage increase among the 13 Houston MPCs that made the Top 50.
New model homes, new recreational amenities and new schools added to Elyson’s sales momentum in the first half of 2024:
- Elyson has opened 21 model homes since the beginning of the year, showcasing a greater variety of new homes priced from the low $300Ks to high $900Ks.
- Along with traditional single-family homes, Elyson has expanded its new home styles to include low-maintenance offerings from Beazer and Chesmar.
- Elyson also introduced its largest homesites for its most expensive homes to date, featuring Highland Homes on 80-foot-wide homesites.
- Lakeside Landing, Elyson’s second major community center, opened in early 2024.
- Elyson Courts, offering tennis and pickleball courts, also opened, along with Kaleidoscope Park and Union Park.
- The Katy Independent School District worked to finish construction of two new schools at Elyson, Nelson Junior High and Freeman High. Both schools opened in August 2024, joining two existing Katy ISD elementary schools at Elyson.
- Katy ISD has broken ground on a third Katy ISD elementary school at Elyson, planned to open in August 2025.
- Harmony School of Excellence – Katy, a STEM-focused charter school, completed a junior high and high school building at its 26-acre campus in Elyson. It opened in August 2024, joining Harmony’s elementary school.
- Elyson added more retail space, with a number of businesses such as Salata and Cork It Katy opening in several new shopping centers. A major new retail development with a focus on dining is planned for the northwest corner of Grand Parkway and FM 529 inside Elyson; more details will be announced as soon as possible.
The RCLCO report showed Houston’s appeal to homebuyers relative to other metro areas and highlighted the ongoing appeal of MPCs as “safe havens.”
Collectively, the Houston 13 MPCs ranked represented more than 4,500 sales, or almost 24 percent of all sales in the Top 50. The second-ranked city, Las Vegas, was far behind with just over 2,000 sales.
Nationwide, MPC sales for the first half of 2024 are similar to those in 2023, and sales in MPCs outpaced those in the broader market.
“This stability in sales underscores the continued appeal and resilience of MPCs,” RCLCO states. “As a ‘safe haven’ for consumers when markets slow, the outlook for MPCs specifically may be viewed with more optimism.”
RCLCO also defined what makes a development an MPC.
“They foster an environment within which generations can live better in terms of housing and the community environment, and many offer educational opportunities, neighborhood shopping and services, and even employment centers to complement the residential neighborhoods,” RCLCO stated. “Rooted in a vision, the most resilient MPCs have flexible master plans that are environmentally sensitive, market responsive, and nurture the lifestyles of their residents.”