Nearly 2,000 single-family homes are coming to a master-planned community northwest of the Texas state capital.
Johnson Development said it has acquired the 764-acre Chapman Ranch in Liberty Hill, Texas, about 35 miles outside of Austin, for the community. Johnson expects home sales to begin in the fall of 2027, with builder and home prices to be announced later.
Home sites will range from 45 to 70 feet wide, with commercial space, a school and an amenity center also part of the development, according to Johnson.
The still-unnamed project is part of a wave of new developments announced this year across fast-growing metropolitan areas of the Lone Star State.
In the near term, home starts and sales are down due to soft demand in Dallas, Austin and other markets. However, homebuilders are confident in Texas' long-term appeal and want to be ready for an expected turnaround over the next few years, analysts say.
The ranch, with 1.5 miles of frontage along the north fork of the San Gabriel River, is near some of the metropolitan area's largest employers, including Apple, Indeed, VRBO and Visa, according to Tommy Tucker, Johnson’s vice president of business development for Central and North Texas.
Liberty Hill and Williamson County are "close enough to enjoy Austin but far enough away to have an authentic Hill Country vibe," Tucker said in a statement.
Liberty Hill actually lost population in the 1990s and 2000s before enjoying a renaissance in the 2010s, according to Danny Khalil, associate director of market analytics for Homes.com.
The city's population soared by nearly 300% to more than 3,600 people, and the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows Liberty Hill has well over 10,000 residents, Khalil noted.
"As affordability has waned in the core of Austin, people have pushed farther into the suburbs of Williamson County," he said. "It doesn't surprise me that developers have seen this momentum and read the tea leaves for what they are."