Elyson by Newland Communities (Houston, Mission: apartment complexes, home builders, buyers)

[Zoo2000]

By including the lower end of the spectrum with builders like Chesmar and Pulte, Newland is using a similar formula that has made Cinco Ranch so successful: draw both middle middle class and upper middle class in at the same time. Elyson is really way out there (the same way Cinco was in the early 90s) and it's on the wrong side of the side of the tracks--north of 1-10 and west of your Towne Lake/Cypress Creek Lakes/Miramesa....including a lower price point will help get some traction for the community. Dare I say that DR Horton is using the same formula at Tamarron? DR Horton doesn't have the cache Newland does, but where else can you get a home for $150K or $700K?

[LocalPlanner]

Banking on higher-end homes in the outer western suburbs, especially a somewhat pioneering community like Elyson, is a recipe for very slow sales in the near term, given the oil and gas economy and what's happened to the major Energy Corridor employers. They're being smart by covering a range of price points in terms of helping to guarantee higher home sales in the near term. The main risk is that closed-minded affluent home buyers will shy away in the future if they see too many "entry-level" home buyers populating the community and dominating the schools, connecting it in their feeble brains with the supposedly "to be avoided" North Katy / south Cy-Fair population just to the east.

[curbur]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

Banking on higher-end homes in the outer western suburbs, especially a somewhat pioneering community like Elyson, is a recipe for very slow sales in the near term, given the oil and gas economy and what's happened to the major Energy Corridor employers. They're being smart by covering a range of price points in terms of helping to guarantee higher home sales in the near term. The main risk is that closed-minded affluent home buyers will shy away in the future if they see too many "entry-level" home buyers populating the community and dominating the schools, connecting it in their feeble brains with the supposedly "to be avoided" North Katy / south Cy-Fair population just to the east.

Those feeble brains that have worked and saved up enough to afford a $500k+ home; if only they were as enlightened as all those road scholars buying up starter home property in the Houston metro.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by curbur

Those feeble brains that have worked and saved up enough to afford a $500k+ home; if only they were as enlightened as all those road scholars buying up starter home property in the Houston metro.

If they're going to reject a quality home in a well-designed MPC by one of the nation's top MPC developers just because they can't stand the thought of their precious coddled little ones walking amongst kids from households that might earn under $100K a year, then they justify the derogatory adjectives.

[jtothemak]

Their are different ways developers mix in different classes of society. Cinco Ranch is very successful at this because they did a very good job of keeping up nice common areas, having great amenities and most importantly the HOA also very strictly enforces the rules to keep up excellent curb appeal.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by jtothemak

Their are different ways developers mix in different classes of society. Cinco Ranch is very successful at this because they did a very good job of keeping up nice common areas, having great amenities and most importantly the HOA also very strictly enforces the rules to keep up excellent curb appeal.

Exactly, Newland has the expertise for this.

[kittyhawk]

Once a suburb gets the "to be avoided" label, it never loses it unless it's in a highly coveted location. Saying they will build higher end homes won't change that because they won't sell whether justified or not. With the exception of the area zoned to Katy HS, most everything north of I-10 and S of 529 in both Katy and Cy-fair ISD is thought of as inferior by most affluent buyers and real estate agents alike because of the schools. Elyson could succeed if it gets big enough to self-contained but that would take years and people buying in the suburbs aren't necessarily going to wait for it.

[pc50]

Elyson is currently zoned the Katy HS.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by kittyhawk

Once a suburb gets the "to be avoided" label, it never loses it unless it's in a highly coveted location. Saying they will build higher end homes won't change that because they won't sell whether justified or not. With the exception of the area zoned to Katy HS, most everything north of I-10 and S of 529 in both Katy and Cy-fair ISD is thought of as inferior by most affluent buyers and real estate agents alike because of the schools. Elyson could succeed if it gets big enough to self-contained but that would take years and people buying in the suburbs aren't necessarily going to wait for it.

So, in your opinion, should Newland forgo more moderately-priced homes in the near term because it will hurt their higher-end sales over time? That would be a major financial decision on Newland's part, as near term cash flow is a big deal in standard financial models.

FYI I believe Elyson is currently zoned to Katy HS. Eventually, after some unknown period of time, there may be a more local high school within or near the community, after there's been a lot of population growth at the northwest end of the district. I don't know if that school would also include any Katy ISD areas east of 99.

[hbcu]

Ventana Lakes HS is closer I think