Last year, sales in the top 50 master-planned communities (MPCs) totaled 16,481 units, or approximately 5% of the estimated 306,000 new U.S. home sales for the year.
Texas dominates the top 50. Of the 50 top-selling MPCs in the country, 40% are located in Texas.
Pulte/Del Webb, Lennar and Ryland are the public builders with the greatest presence in the top MPCs. Pulte/Del Webb sold homes in 18 of the 50 top-selling MPCs during 2011, followed by Lennar in 14 communities and Ryland in 13 communities.
- 18% of the top 50 MPCs have no public builders. Nine of the top 50 MPCs, or 18%, have no public builders active. Texas and Florida each have three top-selling master-plans built solely by private builders.
- Toll often develops its own communities. Toll’s move-up buyers like to be in planned communities with amenities, which the company often develops and builds out itself.
- Texas and Southwest concentrations place Meritage in top 5. Meritage isn’t in as many markets as some bigger competitors, but a strong presence in the two regions dominating the list of top-selling MPCs pushes Meritage into a 3-way tie for 4th place. Given its expansion program, we may see Meritage rank even higher in the next few years.
To see the original ranking of the MPCs, visit 50 Top-Selling US Master Planned Communities 2011.
Our MPC consulting business has grown by more than 50% in the last year, driven by consumer research that developers are using to improve segmentation and educate the home builders. If done right, the improved consumer knowledge results in faster-selling, higher-priced homes, which also translate to higher land prices for the developer. For more information on our consulting work, please fill out this form.
