With 412 new-home sales in 2008, Telfair is also the No. 1 community in the Southwest Houston submarket, which includes Sugar Land.

A development of Newland Communities, Telfair also had the highest sales increase of any other community in the national study, with new-home sales up 13 percent in 2008.

The only other communities on the RCLCO list with positive sales gains - Cinco Ranch in Katy and Eagle Springs in northeast Houston - are also located in Houston, and are also developments of Newland Communities. Overall, Houston was home to five of the top 10 communities on the RCLCO list.

"Sugar Land frequently ranks high on national lists of the best places to live and work, and the RCLCO study shows that home buyers are recognizing the quality of life offered by Sugar Land," said Ted Nelson, President of Newland's Central Region, which includes Texas. 

Nelson said that Telfair's Sugar Land location consistently ranks high in research asking home buyers why they chose the community. 
 

Another highly positive trend for Houston - not reflected on the RCLCO report - is the fact that 2009 new-home sales for the three Newland communities on the top 10 list are on par with, or even ahead of, 2008 sales.

For 2009, Telfair reported a total of 117 new-home sales through April 19 - running neck-and-neck with the same period in 2008, when 119 new homes were sold.

"Continued strong new-home sales in Telfair, Cinco Ranch and Eagle Springs prove that during uncertain economic times, homebuyers are choosing quality homes in well-planned, well-located communities with great amenities and lifestyle built in," Nelson added. "Homebuyers seem to be viewing large-scale master-planned communities as strong investments, especially those communities with strong track records."

Nelson added that Telfair is having an eventful year in 2009, with the extension of University Blvd. all the way from U.S. 59 to Highway 6, paving the way for a new phase of homesites. This summer, the first phase of Telfair Central, a 25-acre community center complex, is planned to open. In the fall, the Houston Museum of Natural Science plans to open its new Sugar Land facility in the historic Central State Farm building at Telfair, which was donated by Newland Communities.

All three Newland Communities developments on the list also posted increases in the average sales price of new homes in 2008.  The average sales price was up 3% in Telfair, 11% in Cinco Ranch, and 6% in Eagle Springs.