Dive Brief:

• Dallas-based developer Republic Property Group has announced the first four homebuilders for its 7,200-acre Walsh community in Fort Worth, TX.

• David Weekley Homes and Drees Custom Homes, along with Texas-based builders Highland Homes and Village Homes, will collectively build 580 homes in a mix of typologies. The first phase will also include a 10,000-square-foot gym, a pool, a recreational lake, hiking trails and walking paths.

• When it is complete, the development is expected to feature more than 15,000 homes priced from the high $200,000s.

Dive Insight:

RPG also developed the Phillips Creek Ranch in Frisco, TX, and Light Farms, in Celina, TX, which were ranked among the top 25 best-selling master planned communities (MPCs) in the U.S. in 2015 by John Burns Real Estate Consulting.

This month, the 3,600-acre Elyson development from San Diego-based Newland Communities opened with 10 model homes from Chesmar Homes, Darling Homes, David Weekley Homes, Highland Homes, Perry Homes, Pulte Homes, Trendmaker Homes and Westin Homes. In addition to space for 6,200 single- and multifamily residences, the development will also include light commercial space, a fitness center, café and trail system.

Low mortgage rates, employment gains and tight inventory elsewhere in the market were among the factors cited by John Burns Real Estate Consulting as driving demand for new construction in MPCs. Sales among the top 50 communities were up 14% in 2015 year over year to 23,300 homes with sales topping 500 homes in 11 communities. Overall, MPCs represented nearly 5% of all new-home U.S. home sales last year.

Single-family construction remains strong across Texas, real estate consulting firm RCLCO reported in September. It ranked the top 25 for-sale housing markets by single-family permitting between 2011 and 2015, noting the strongest demand in states with the highest in-migration. That includes Texas in addition to Arizona, Colorado, Florida, and Nevada.