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A model home on a 40-foot-wide lot in Westridge Cove, Conroe, located in a new neighborhood under construction by Tri Pointe Homes

The interiors of a model home in Westridge Cove, Conroe, a new community under construction from Tri Pointe Homes

A model home on a 50-foot-wide lot in Westridge Cove, Conroe,a new community under construction from Tri Pointe Homes.

A national homebuilder is opening a new community south of Lake Conroe and another north of The Woodlands as population growth in Montgomery County continues to attract new home construction.

Tri Pointe Homes, one of the nation’s largest homebuilders headquartered in Nevada, is launching a 95-acre single-family home community called Westridge Cove at 12019 Moonlight Path Drive in Conroe just south of Lake Conroe, about 17 miles north of The Woodlands. Plans call for building 335 homes priced between about $300,000 $386,000.

 “Housing is so important all over high-growth Texas and especially in Conroe, which ranked (as one of the) fastest growing suburb in the state,” said Tri Pointe Homes Houston’s Division President Joe Mandola in a statement.

Earlier this year Conroe was called out by U-Haul as one of the top cities in Texas where there were more people booking U-Haul trucks to move into the city than move out. Population growth in Conroe and the nearby The Woodlands are helping to fuel overall growth in Montgomery County, which has seen its population expand  by 42 percent since 2010 – from about 455,000 to almost 649,000 people today, according to U.S. Census data. That in turn is continuing to attract new development from residential and commercial developers alike.

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Westridge Cove will be in its own standalone neighborhood in Conroe, not inside of a third-party master-planned development, but it will still offer plenty of perks such as a swimming pool with two-story waterslide and tanning edges; fitness and recreation centers; a playground with tower play structure, swings, and toddler area; a community walking trail; and a greenbelt area. Homes will range in size from 1,466 square feet  to 2,712 square-feet.

Westridge Cove's welcome center and two model homes are already open, and construction on a planned recreation center is nearing completion, Mandola said in an email. There are a handful of homes that would be ready to sell by the end of this year in Westridge Cove, he added.

The Conroe community is in addition to a 132- home section Tri Pointe Homes is building as its first project in Johnson Development’s 3,000-acre master-planned community of Woodforest, about 14 miles north of The Woodlands. Located at 536 and 540 Oakview Bend, the home section is going up in a tucked away corner of Woodforest with rolling topography and tall trees within walking distance the local elementary school, according to Tri Pointe. The Woodforest homes range in size from 1,865 square feet to 2,631 square feet with prices ranging from $400,000 to $536,000.

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“This part of the Houston metro also offers the established appeal of The Woodlands nearby and the promise of future attractions as more people and businesses flock to this area,” Mandola said.

That population growth could provide a bit of a buffer for sales as the home sales market begins to cool down across the Houston metro. Mandola said that the company is offering promotions to stimulate more sales in both communities.

“The market has slowed a bit from the beginning of the year, but recently we’ve been seeing an increase in traffic and interest.  We are still seeing customers buying across all the price points, though the higher-priced homes are moving at a slower pace,” said Mandola. 

Sales overall in the Woodforest master-planned community are down compared to same period last year. Woodforest still ranked as No.47 in the nation's top-selling master-planned communities in a recent ranking by the residential real estate consultancy RCLCO. 

"While we still have a variety of product types and price points available, a portion is in our custom section with prices above $1 million, which takes longer to sell," said Virgil Yoakum, senior vice president and general manager of Woodforest, previously told the Chronicle. Homes in Woodforest for an average of $545,829 in the first half of the year, up from $435,433 in the first six months of 2021.

Both Tri Pointe’s 52-acre home section in Woodforest as well as the Westridge Cove community in Conroe will offer 40-foot-wide and 50-foot-wide lots and both will allow access to Conroe Independent School District, according to Tri Pointe. Both also offer proximity to nearby employment centers, but the Woodforest community offers “tranquility of … our a tucked away location” and the Conroe community offers access to a “small-town charm”, Mandola added.

Marissa Luck covers real estate for the Houston Chronicle.

Originally from Hawaii, Marissa previously covered refining and chemicals for the Chronicle and also had stints at Costar, the Austin Business Journal and The Daily News in Longview, Wash.

She grew up near Seattle and studied international political economy at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash.

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