New homes surge: Land availability, affordability spurs growth

The big picture

Several single-family housing projects are under construction in Pflugerville and Hutto, amounting to 434 and 225 building permits issued this year, respectively.

One of the larger neighborhoods is Blackhawk, which has over 4,000 proposed units, according to city of Pflugerville records. Another, Carmel East, will add 954 additional homes and connect Carmel West by 2026, according to builder Ashton Woods.

In Hutto, two built-to-rent projects are in progress, and another six neighborhoods are under construction, according to Director of Development Services Ashley Bailey.

The 835-acre Flora project in north Hutto will eventually have 2,800 new homes, with some builders marketing houses as move-in ready.

“Hutto is growing north, south, east and west,” Bailey said. “We’re definitely on the uptick with how development has been occurring here.”

Many of Pflugerville’s new single-family developments under construction are east of SH 130, where there is more open land available.

While an array of housing types are coming into Pflugerville, Assistant City Manager Emily Barron said there is a clear trend toward detached single-family homes, in part because infrastructure costs tend to support that product.

Bailey said Hutto’s growth is tied to early land acquisitions by developers who bought before prices began rising.

“Historically, our land prices were just a little bit lower,” she said. “I don’t think that’s going to be the same case going forward.”

April Whitaker, regional president for Taylor Morrison, also cited land costs as the main factor in affordability.

“I think in ... the communities that we’re selling in, we acquired the land at a good price,” she said. “You have to start there.”

Digging deeper

Hutto is one of the fastest-growing cities in Texas, according to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The city was listed as No. 13, with a population increase of 9.4% since 2023.

Much of this growth is attributed to increased economic development in the area. In turn, both Daniel and Bailey point to major employers, such as Samsung Semiconductor in Taylor and Skybox Datacenters in Hutto, as additional drivers of land value and the current housing demand.

“They’re going to be hiring a lot of employees soon,” Daniel said. “So there’s going to be a higher demand for housing in the area—in Pflugerville, Hutto, Taylor [and] even in east Round Rock.”

Whitaker agrees that the regional draw adds to the desirability of the markets, in addition to having convenient access to major employers.

“[Hutto is] still growing, but it’s growing quickly, as one of the faster-growing submarkets here in the nation, quite frankly,” Whitaker said.

Whitaker said Pflugerville has been a major area of expansion for the company for nearly two decades. She said as the Pflugerville housing market is built out, more development will be pushed toward Hutto.

“I think what [Hutto] really has going for it is it’s an affordable community,” Whitaker said.

In the meantime, Taylor Morrison is working on two built-to-rent communities in both cities. The model offers the amenities of homeownership, like a yard and no shared walls, while being more accessible to new graduates or those looking to live part time near Austin, Whitaker said.

Bailey has also noticed a rise in popularity of for-rent homes in Hutto, which she expects to continue “as long as the market will tolerate.”

Hutto is moving toward “cities within cities,” with major projects planning to offer residential, retail and office space, Bailey said.

“That’s what we’re looking more toward—to hopefully create some more walkability, have a little bit more of a mix of housing and some commercial and support uses so that you don’t necessarily have to get in your car,” Bailey said.

Pflugerville officials hope to provide a variety of housing options as development continues. Barron said plans are in place to bring more “missing middle” housing, or units that serve as an intermediary between apartment living and outright homeownership.