A new Texas homebuilder is launching its inaugural sales this summer, targeting first-time and move-up buyers across the fast-growing Houston metropolitan area.
Autograph Homes is building at Two Step Farm, a 2,000-acre development in Montgomery, Texas. Autograph is also building at Sundance Cove in Crosby and at Aldeana in Bonney.
Prices at the developments range from the high $200,000s to the high $400,000s. The Houston-based company also plans homes in Spring Branch, Texas, priced at more than $1.4 million.
President James Miller said he expects privately held Autograph to be selling homes in 10 communities in the Houston market by the end of 2025. The 36-year industry veteran most recently was a region president for Empire Communities, bringing the firm's homebuilding arm to Texas in 2016. Prior to that, he spent 27 years at Coventry Homes.
In a statement, Miller said he expects Autograph to carve out a niche in the Houston market.
“This is a good, aggressive launch,” Miller said. “In five years, we want Autograph Homes to be an established brand in the Houston new home building space with a presence in the most widely recognized communities in the region. We want to be known for innovative designs and home types that appeal to a wide range of buyers.”
Houston is the nation's second-fastest-growing metropolitan area, adding more than 198,000 residents between 2023 and 2024, according to the U.S. Census. Only New York-Newark-Jersey City added more, about 213,000 new residents.
Still, homebuilders are struggling with elevated mortgage rates near 7% and rising prices that have stretched consumer budgets and led to unsold properties piling up. The seasonally adjusted total of new U.S. houses for sale at the end of May hit 507,000, the highest reading since late 2007, according to government data released this week.
Major U.S. builders are cutting prices in some markets and offering mortgage-rate buydowns, but smaller companies don't have as much leeway and are struggling to compete, analysts say.
Last month, United Homes Group, a South Carolina-based builder across the Southeast, said it was launching a strategic review that could include a sale of the company. Also in May, Dream Finders Homes of Jacksonville, Florida, acquired Green River Builders of Monroe, Georgia, while regional builder Scott Felder Homes of Austin, Texas, acquired Olivia Clarke Homes of Plano, Texas.
"Higher interest rates have slowed new home sales and that, in turn, slows the ability of a lot of builders to build new product," said Justin Benefield, academic director for Auburn University's Winchester Institute for Real Estate Development, in a recent interview with Homes.com. "At the same time, they're not moving inventory. That's really putting a squeeze on smaller builders."