Top 50 MPCs in 2018

A new ranking of the top-selling 50 master-planned communities (MPCs) in the U.S. finds that once again, Florida's The Villages takes the number one spot.

Each of the MPCs in the top 50 that made the 2017 ranking as well averaged 5 percent annual growth. The Villages had 2,134 home sales. In second, Sarasota, Fla.'s Lakewood Ranch had 23 percent growth in sales. By state, Florida, California, and Texas have a 67 percent share of total sales in RCLCO's top 50 ranking. At the national level, new single-family home sales grew 2 percent annually as of October 2018, yet the top-10 MPC sales volume has not recovered its pre-recession peaks.

Despite steadily rising home prices and rising mortgage interest rates, 2018 was generally a good year for MPCs. The outlook for 2019 is that even with the pace of home price increases slowing, reduced affordability will make it challenging to maintain the total sales pace without a shift in the mix of housing products being offered to include a greater share of attainably priced product. Average new home prices are up over 50 percent since the recovery from the Great Recession (not adjusted for inflation) and that combined with higher interest rates will continue to dampen the pace of sales.

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