What New Construction Master Planned Communities Are Being Built in Katy Texas Right Now

Katy and its surrounding unincorporated areas hold more active master planned community acreage than any other submarket in the Houston metro. The reason is straightforward: large tracts of flat, developable land west of Beltway 8 and along the State Highway 99 Grand Parkway corridor are still available at a scale that makes thousand-acre communities financially viable. Developers can build roads, utilities, and amenity centers into the land cost and still price homes competitively against inner-loop Houston.

Land, Infrastructure, and the Grand Parkway Effect

The completion of Grand Parkway segments through Katy, Fulshear, and into Fort Bend County opened up thousands of acres that were previously too far from employment centers to attract buyers. Today, a resident in a new community near FM 1463 or Katy-Fulshear Road can reach the Energy Corridor along I-10 in roughly 25 to 35 minutes during off-peak hours, and the Westpark Tollway and Beltway 8 provide additional routing options. That commute math changed what buyers were willing to consider, and developers followed.

Katy ISD's geographic footprint, which covers a large portion of the western Harris County and eastern Fort Bend County area, also plays a role in where developers choose to build. Buyers researching schools should check directly with the Katy ISD website for current attendance zone maps, since new communities sometimes span multiple zones or trigger rezoning as phases are added.

How Katy Communities Compare Regionally

The Houston Chronicle's annually updated ranking of top-selling master planned communities in the region consistently places multiple Katy and Katy-adjacent communities in the top ten. You can see the most current figures in the Houston Chronicle's 2026 master planned community report, which tracks new home closings by community. The Katy corridor routinely outpaces The Woodlands and Sugar Land in raw unit volume, which reflects both the available land and the price points that attract a high volume of buyers.

2. New Construction Master Planned Communities Being Built in Katy Texas Right Now

Several large master planned communities are actively selling and building new homes in and around Katy as of September 2026. Each one differs in size, price range, builder lineup, and amenity focus. Here is a detailed look at the communities currently under active construction.

Cane Island

Cane Island sits along I-10 West near the intersection with Katy-Hockley Road, roughly 3 miles west of the main Katy Mills corridor. The community spans approximately 1,000 acres and is developed by Caldwell Communities. New home prices in Cane Island currently range from the mid $300,000s for smaller patio-style homes to over $800,000 for larger estate lots along the community's wooded creek corridors.

Active builders in Cane Island as of September 2026 include David Weekley Homes, Perry Homes, Westin Homes, and Taylor Morrison, among others. The community's amenity center, called The Hub, features a resort-style pool, fitness center, event lawn, and a dedicated activities director. Lot sizes range from roughly 45-foot-wide patio lots to 70-foot and 80-foot traditional lots, with some custom sections on 90-foot lots near the back of the community.

Cane Island is zoned to Katy ISD and sits within the city limits of Katy, which gives residents access to city services. The I-10 frontage makes it one of the more commuter-accessible communities in the area, with the Energy Corridor roughly 20 to 25 minutes east on a typical morning.

Elyson

Elyson is one of the largest active master planned communities in the Katy area, covering over 3,000 acres along FM 529 and Katy-Hockley Road in unincorporated Harris County. Developed by Newland, the same company behind Cinco Ranch, Elyson has been selling homes since 2016 and still has substantial phases under active development as of September 2026.

New home prices in Elyson currently start around $310,000 for smaller attached and detached homes and reach into the $600,000s for larger homes on 70-foot lots. Builders currently active in the community include Chesmar Homes, David Weekley, Highland Homes, Lennar, Perry Homes, and Pulte Homes, giving buyers a wide range of floor plan styles and price points under one HOA umbrella.

The Elyson amenity package is one of the more extensive in the Katy market. The Elyson House is the main amenity center and includes a resort-style pool, splash pad, fitness center, game room, and event space. The community also has over 750 acres of open space, 30-plus miles of trails, and a catch-and-release lake. A second amenity center, Elyson Cafe, serves as a gathering spot with a pool and covered pavilion. Monthly HOA dues run approximately $115 to $125 per month depending on section.

Sunterra

Sunterra is one of the newer large-scale communities in the Katy area, located along FM 529 between Katy-Hockley Road and Clay Road in unincorporated Harris County. Developed by Land Tejas, Sunterra launched its first sections in 2021 and has expanded rapidly, with multiple new sections opening through 2025 and 2026.

The defining feature of Sunterra is its Crystal Lagoon, a 5-acre man-made lagoon with white sand beaches, paddleboards, kayaks, and swim areas. This amenity type is relatively rare in the Houston market and has driven strong buyer interest since the community opened. Home prices in Sunterra currently range from the low $300,000s to the mid $500,000s, with builders including Chesmar Homes, D.R. Horton, Lennar, Perry Homes, and Tri Pointe Homes.

Lot sizes in Sunterra run from 40-foot cottage lots to 60-foot standard lots. The community is zoned to Katy ISD. Monthly HOA fees are approximately $140 to $155, which is higher than some Katy communities but reflects the lagoon maintenance cost. FM 529 provides direct access to the Grand Parkway (SH 99) and I-10 within a few minutes.

Marvida

Marvida is a Caldwell Communities development along Katy-Hockley Road near Clay Road, adjacent to the Cypress and Katy border area. While technically in unincorporated Harris County closer to the Cypress zip codes, Marvida is frequently searched alongside Katy communities because of its proximity and its Katy ISD zoning for portions of the development.

Marvida also features a Crystal Lagoon as its centerpiece amenity, a 6.5-acre lagoon that is one of the largest in the Houston area. Home prices start in the low $300,000s and extend to the mid $500,000s. Active builders include Chesmar Homes, D.R. Horton, Lennar, and Perry Homes. The community is still in early-to-mid phases as of September 2026, meaning buyers can still select lots in newly released sections.

Upcoming and Newly Announced Communities

Beyond the communities already selling homes, several new master planned projects have been announced or are in pre-development stages along the Katy and Fulshear corridors. A detailed breakdown of these incoming projects is covered in this article on the biggest master planned communities coming to Katy and Fulshear, which tracks land acquisitions and announced projects that have not yet broken ground.

One area to watch is the FM 1093 and FM 359 corridor in Fulshear, where several large landholdings have been acquired by regional developers. The Fulshear area sits just south of the Katy city limits and shares much of the same employment access via the Westpark Tollway and SH 99. New communities in this corridor tend to price slightly higher than comparable Katy communities due to Fort Bend County tax rates and land costs, with entry-level new construction starting around $380,000 to $420,000.

3. What You Actually Get Inside a Katy Master Planned Community

Master planned communities in Katy offer significantly more built-in infrastructure than standard subdivisions, but the details vary more than the marketing materials suggest. Understanding what is included, what costs extra, and how the HOA structure works before you sign a contract will save you from surprises at closing and in the years after.

Amenity Packages and What They Cost You

Every major Katy master planned community includes at minimum a resort-style pool, fitness center, and trail system. The differences show up in the details: how many pools, whether there is a splash pad, the quality of the fitness equipment, whether there are tennis or pickleball courts, and whether there is a full-time activities staff. Communities with Crystal Lagoons, like Sunterra and Marvida, carry higher monthly dues specifically because lagoon maintenance is expensive.

Monthly HOA fees across active Katy master planned communities as of September 2026 run roughly $100 to $160 per month for most sections. Some communities also charge a one-time transfer fee at closing, typically $200 to $500, and an initial capital contribution that can range from $500 to over $1,500. Ask for the full HOA disclosure package before signing a contract so you can see the reserve fund balance, any pending special assessments, and the rules governing exterior modifications.

Builder Mix and Price Tiers

Most large Katy master planned communities use a multi-builder model, meaning several different homebuilders operate simultaneously within the same community under a master developer's design guidelines. This creates meaningful price variation within a single zip code. In Elyson, for example, a Lennar home on a 50-foot lot might close at $340,000 while a David Weekley home on a 70-foot lot in the same community closes at $550,000.

Production builders like D.R. Horton and Lennar typically offer faster build times, around 4 to 6 months from contract to close, and more standardized floor plans with limited structural options. Semi-custom builders like David Weekley and Highland Homes offer more structural flexibility and finish-level choices but often quote 6 to 9 month build timelines. Understanding which builder tier matches your priorities is one of the first decisions to make once you narrow down a community.

HOA Structure and What It Covers

In a master planned community, there is typically both a master HOA and a sub-HOA or section HOA. The master HOA governs community-wide amenities and shared infrastructure. The sub-HOA governs your specific section and may have additional rules about landscaping, parking, and exterior paint colors. Some sections have no sub-HOA, while others charge an additional $30 to $60 per month on top of the master HOA fee.

Harris County and Fort Bend County master planned communities also sit within Municipal Utility Districts, known as MUDs. MUD taxes cover water, sewer, and drainage infrastructure and are billed as part of your annual property tax. MUD tax rates in newer communities can be as high as $1.00 to $1.50 per $100 of assessed value on top of the county and school district rates, so your effective total tax rate in a brand-new section of a community may be meaningfully higher than in a section that was built out 10 years ago and has paid down its MUD bonds.

4. Key Questions to Ask Before Buying New Construction in Katy

Buying new construction in a master planned community is a different process than buying a resale home, and the questions that protect you are different too. The builder's sales agent represents the builder, not you, which means the due diligence burden falls on the buyer to ask the right questions before signing.

Lot Position and Future Phases

In a community that is still adding phases, the lot you buy today may back up to undeveloped land that will eventually become a road, a commercial pad, or another builder's section. Ask the builder's sales agent for the full community master plan and identify what is planned for the land adjacent to any lot you are considering. Communities like Elyson and Cane Island publish master plans, but the details of future commercial or multi-family tracts are not always prominently disclosed.

Also ask how many total homes are planned for the community and how many have been built to date. A community that is 80% built out will have a stabilizing HOA and MUD tax rate. A community that is 20% built out will have higher MUD taxes for several more years as the bonds are still being issued to fund infrastructure for future phases.

Builder Incentives vs. Rate Buydowns

As of September 2026, most production builders in Katy are offering some combination of closing cost contributions and mortgage rate buydowns through their in-house lending affiliates. These incentives are real and can be worth $10,000 to $25,000 in present value, but they typically require you to use the builder's preferred lender. Get a competing quote from an independent lender before committing, because the rate and fee structure from an outside lender sometimes beats the builder's package even after accounting for the incentive.

Incentives also tend to be tied to specific inventory homes or quick-move-in homes rather than to-be-built contracts. If you are willing to buy an already-completed or nearly-complete home rather than designing from scratch, you will often find the largest incentive packages. Builders want to clear completed inventory before the end of a quarter, and that timing creates negotiating leverage.

Working With a Buyer's Agent on New Construction

One of the most common misconceptions buyers have about new construction is that skipping a buyer's agent saves money. In almost every case in the Katy market, it does not. Builders set their prices and incentive packages independently of whether a buyer is represented, meaning the buyer's agent cost is already built into the builder's margin. If you walk in unrepresented, the builder keeps that margin rather than passing it to you.

A buyer's agent who knows the Katy new construction market can flag lot issues, identify which builder sections have the most favorable MUD tax rates, negotiate upgrades into the contract, and review the purchase agreement before you sign. The builder's contract is written to protect the builder, not the buyer, and having someone in your corner who has reviewed dozens of those contracts matters. For more on this topic, see the article on whether it is worth hiring a buyer's agent when purchasing a home in Katy.

If you want broader context on how new construction fits into the overall Katy housing market right now, the Katy Texas real estate market guide covers resale pricing, inventory trends, and how new construction inventory is affecting resale competition across the area.

It is also worth noting that the long-term durability of master planned communities as a housing model has been examined closely by industry analysts. HousingWire's analysis of master planned community staying power looks at how these communities hold value through market cycles, which is a useful read for anyone deciding between a new master planned home and a resale property in an established neighborhood.