Homebuilding giant PulteGroup said prices will start in the low $300,000s at its first 55-and-over development in the Austin, Texas, area in about three decades.
The first phase at Del Webb Lost Pines in Bastrop, Texas, will include 260 homes, with sales due to start early next year. Atlanta-based PulteGroup builds "active adult" communities under the Del Webb brand. PulteGroup announced general plans for the community in August.
Bastrop is about 30 miles northwest of the state capital in the Texas Hill Country.
PulteGroup's goal is "to offer homes close to everyday conveniences like shopping and medical services, but at a more attainable price point than similar homes closer to downtown Austin," said Pablo Rivas, PulteGroup's Central Texas division president, in a statement.
Del Webb Lost Pines will feature three home styles and more than 500 homes across 160 acres at full buildout, PulteGroup said. The development is adjacent to the Colorado River and within The Colony master-planned community that eventually will have about 4,000 homes.
Del Webb's last active adult community in the Austin area was Sun City Texas. The development of more than 8,000 homes opened in Georgetown, Texas, in 1996.
Concept to remain popular
PulteGroup is the nation's third-largest U.S. homebuilder based on 31,219 sales last year, according to Builder magazine. In addition to Del Webb, PulteGroup also builds under the DiVosta, Pulte Homes, Centex, American West and the John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods brands.
The active adult segment typically offers a resort lifestyle and an array of sports and social activities. The developments are a staple of Florida, Texas and other areas of the Sun Belt that are attracting retirees.
While Austin’s housing market has been volatile recently, it still offers relative affordability compared to other parts of the country, according to Ken Johnson, the Walker Family Chair of Real Estate at the University of Mississippi.
“I just don’t see this concept going out of style in Texas for the next decade or two decades,” Johnson told Homes.com.
The Austin metropolitan area's economy had been on a tear for more than a decade, with expansions in the technology, professional services, hospitality, education and healthcare industries, according to Israel Linares, a senior market analyst for Homes.com. But hiring has slowed over the past year, and the housing market has softened.
While the Austin region's median sale price rose 3.1% in October from a year ago, annual prices have fallen in prior months, according to Homes.com. In September, Austin's median fell 1.5% from September 2024, tying Houston for the largest drop among the nation's 40 largest housing markets, Homes.com data showed.