Dive Brief:

• KB Home has opened its Lancaster Square development in Cypress, TX, northwest of Houston.

• The development will offer seven one- and two-story plans from 1,585 square feet to 2,910 square feet with up to five bedrooms and three bathrooms.

• The homes are priced from the $170,000s and are built to Energy Star criteria.

Dive Insight:

Lancaster Square is the latest in a run of new developments in the Houston area aiming to attract the entry-level buyer with lower price points, smaller footprints and energy efficient features.

Toll Brothers announced in its fourth-quarter earnings call this week that it will launch a new line of homes, T|Select, in 2017. The homes target millennial homebuyers with fewer structural options and upgrades than the company typically offers, but at a lower price point.

Similarly, Meritage Homes rolled out its LiVE.NOW. homes brand in Houston and Phoenix in October. With prices from the low $200,000s, the single-family houses range from 1,800 square feet to 2,500 square feet.

Other developments recently opened include the Elyson master-planned community on 3,600 acres west of Houston, which was built by San Diego–based Newland Communities. It is expected to accommodate 6,200 homes when complete. 

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