With six residential developments underway, the city of Shenandoah is working on developing more housing for future residents.

The developments include the Marion, Lily, Boulevard Green, Malaga Forest, The Reserve at Grogan's Mill, and Parkgate Reserve, Shenandoah City Manager Greg Smith said. He added that residential development has increased over the past several years, a trend he expects to continue going forward.

"I think we are probably seeing a faster increase in development now than we have in the previous couple of years," Smith said. "When you have [six] new residential subdivisions going in the last two years, that's quite a lot. We do not see it slowing down for two or three or four or five more years."

Gracepoint Homes president Tom Cox said Shenandoah, along with increased commercial amenities in the area, offers a strong sales tax base that helps the city keep property taxes low, making the city appealing for development. Gracepoint is developing the Marion and Lily projects.

"Shenandoah is the best kept secret in Houston," Cox said. "You have got probably one of the strongest commercial tax bases in the city compared to the amount of actual homes. It creates this incredible advantage for property taxes. They have consistently reduced the tax burden on homeowners."

Pelican Builders principal Derek Darnell said the company aims to take advantage of Vision Park with their development Boulevard Green, which has direct access from Vision Park Drive.

"The Vision Park, that whole corridor in Shenandoah, is new and it's exciting," Darnell said. "[Shenandoah] still has great proximity to The Woodlands and I-45. We just knew that it should be an area that is desirable and Vision Park mainly created the opportunity."

Housing is booming in the area as demand for housing has outpaced residential development, which stalled along with the U.S. economy in 2006, Cox said.

"When the market started tanking in 2006, you had a period of time where there was no residential development being created for about four years," Cox said. "Then the market came back, then Exxon [Mobil] announced and there was more people needing houses than there were lots available in a very significant way."

Available land has become increasingly hard to come by as development continues. In Shenandoah, many developers are establishing their projects within the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, and depend on annexation into the city to be eligible for utility infrastructure.

"There is more development coming. It's starting now to reach outside of our existing corporate city limits, and somewhat going into the ETJ and having those developments coming in to the city," Smith said.