#15: Sienna Planation
#22: Bridgeland
#25: Cross Creek Ranch
#27: Aliana
#30: Harmony
#36: Lago Mar
#37: The Woodlands
#38: Woodforest
#41: Riverstone
#44:
#47: Towne Lake
Home sales gained momentum in Sienna Plantation, Bridgeland and Cross Creek Ranch in the first half of the year, earning them a position among the nation's 25 top-selling communities, a new report showed.
They are also among 11 Houston-area communities that made the 50 top-selling master-planned communities based on mid-year home sales, according to RCLCO, a housing consulting firm based in the Washington, D.C. area.
Sienna Plantation, No. 15, saw a 41 percent rise in sales in the first half of the year to 292 sales, RCLCO said. The opening of Leonetti Elementary School and Sawmill Lake Club have drawn buyers to the Missouri City community this year, the developer said.
"We're only about 100 sales away from last year's final tally with six months more to go," Sienna Plantation general manager Alvin San Miguel said in an announcement. "With a new middle school opening up in August and the new community entrance along FM 521, I don't see this sales pace slacking any."
In Cypress, northwest of Houston, mid-year sales rose 16 percent in Bridgeland to 260. West of Katy, sales also rose 16 percent in Cross Creek Ranch in Fulshear to 246 through mid-year.
Riverstone in the Sugar Land area was the only Houston-area community in the top 50 to show a year-over-year drop. The Fort Bend County community, which is nearing completion, registered a 32 percent decline to 189 sales in the first half of the year, RCLCO said.
Sales rose most in Harmony, a Johnson Development community at the Grand Parkway and Rayford Road in Spring. New home sales in Harmony rose by 72 percent year-over-year to 234 during the first half of 2018. The community ranked 30th on the list.
The Villages at Harmony, a new section planned for nearly 700 homes in four enclaves, opened earlier this year.
A supply of move-in ready homes in the mid $200,000 contributed to the gains, Harmony's marketing director Faith Pitman said.
"Our sales growth has been positive from day one," Pitman said. "But the extension of the Grand Parkway right at our front door was a big game changer, particularly for those requiring access to the area's major employment centers."
Lago Mar, a new Land Tejas development in Texas City, ranked No. 36 with 207 sales. Tammaron, a new development by D.R. Horton, ranked No. 44 with 183 sales at mid-year.
Texas, Florida and California account for 62 percent of the total sales among the 50 top-selling communities.
Westridge in the Dallas area ranked highest among Texas communities with 312 sales. Two other Dallas-area communities made the list: Viridian in Arlington (240 sales) and Harvest in Argyle (236 sales).
Two Austin-area communities made the list: Siena in Round Rock with 182 sales, and Sunfield in Buda, 174 sales.
The strong start in sales at Texas communities so far in 2018 comes despite concerns that rising land and construction costs are making it more difficult to build affordable homes, the report said.
The Villages in Florida was again the nation's most active community for new homes sales, with 1,115 home selling in the first half of the year. Lakewood Ranch, also in Florida, took the No. 2 spot with 826 sales. Summerlin in Las Vegas logged 772 sales at mid-year.
RCLCO has conducted a national survey to determine the rankings since 1994.
-Katherine Feser of The Houston Chronicle