4 North Texas Master-Planned Communities Crack Research Firm’s Top-50 List

North Texas has four of the nation’s top-50 master-planned communities, according to a survey by an Irvine, Calif.-based real-estate research firm.

They might not be in the high-flying top 40, but they’re clustered in the latter part of the list compiled by John Burns Real Estate Consulting.

Two communities are in Kaufman County and two are developed by Dallas-based Hillwood Communities.

Pecan Square By Hillwood in Northlake ranks the highest at 42nd. The Hillwood Communities property had 495 net sales in 2021, a 3 percent drop from 2020. The community was 38th in RCLCO Real Estate Advisors’ semiannual list of top-50 master-planned communities released last January.

Heartland in Kaufman County is ranked 43rd. The Huffines Communities property had 481 net sales in 2021, which was a 31 percent increase over 2020.

Windmill Farms in Forney, another Kaufman County community, is ranked 45th. The community, developed by Dallas-based JMJ Development, had a good sales year with 472 sold in 2021, representing a 47 percent increase from 2020.

Union Park By Hillwood in Little Elm is ranked 50th. The Hillwood Communities property sold 460 homes in 2020, a 24 percent decline from 2020. Union Park was ranked 43rd in the RCLCO Real Estate Advisors’ semiannual top-50 list released last July.

According to John Burns Real Estate Consulting, more than 39,000 homebuyers bought new homes in 2020, which exceeded the 31,000 sales in the 2019 list.

The research firm attributed the rise to a demand for work-from-home amenities in master-planned communities. The firm cited a New Homes Rends Institute survey that determined permission to WFH influenced 28 percent of moves during the pandemic.

Florida dominated the list with six of the top 15 best-selling communities.

The Villages in Florida sold the most homes, 4,004 in 2021, which was a 63 percent increase. The largest increase came from No. 22 Raindance of Greeley, Colo., which sold 683 homes, an increase of 177 percent.

Arlington-based D.R. Horton developed the fifth-ranked community, Valley Vista in Las Vegas, Nev., and 18th-ranked Tamarron of Houston.