HOUSTON – (By Dale King, Realty News Report) – Texans are increasingly choosing to establish new homes on wide-open rural land, a trend accelerated by COVID-19 concerns and a desire to leave crowded urban environments.
According to the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University, buyers from cities across the state turned toward rural properties in late 2020. By the end of the year, TAMU reported that Texans purchased 552,707 acres of land for a record $1.6 billion.
This surge in demand is evident at Wolff Companies’ Gates Ranch, a 1,500-acre community of family farms in historic Washington County near Brenham. As of early April, five recent closings left only six residential farm parcels still available.
Gates Ranch is located where FM 1155 meets FM 2726, about 65 miles from Houston and 94 miles from Austin, along the Brazos River. In the past three months, the final two estates in Phase II and three estates in Phase III have sold, leaving a small number of parcels remaining.
“The Washington County area has been gaining steady interest over the past few years, and the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated that trend,” said Brad Bevers, a local Realtor and founder of Legend Texas Properties, which represents Gates Ranch.
“Thanks to its protective covenants, carefully restored land and proximity to Chappell Hill, Brenham and College Station, Gates Ranch appeals to those who seek privacy while still living in an established community of like-minded neighbors,” he added. “We anticipate continued strong activity throughout 2021.”
Developments at Gates Ranch mirror a broader statewide increase in demand for rural land. The TAMU study recorded a 33.57 percent rise in land sales in the Gulf Coast–Brazos Bottom area, which includes Washington County. Sales activity accelerated in the third and fourth quarters of 2020, with increases of 45.4 percent and 78 percent respectively.
“Fourth quarter 2020 produced a remarkable increase in rural property transactions across most of Texas,” said Dr. Charles Gilliland, research economist for the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M. “Statewide, the 7,684 sales were up 28.9 percent from last year.”
Kevin Morley, market president at Frost Bank and a Gates Ranch buyer, said the property fulfilled a family dream. “What initially attracted us to the area was its central location to our children in Austin, Dallas and Houston, while still being close to necessary amenities and offering a wonderful country feel,” he said. “Once we walked the property and saw the rolling hills, long views and beautiful pastures, we understood what Gates Ranch was about and decided to make it our home that same day.”
Residents and recent buyers at Gates Ranch represent diverse backgrounds: former elected officials, professional athletes, senior executives in finance and energy, physicians, and teachers. They share a common goal of living on a farm rather than treating the property as a pure investment; most see Gates Ranch as a long-term family home.
Some buyers were raised in similar suburban settings, while others sought an escape from busy city life after careers that required frequent relocation. One recent buyer, who moved 13 times around the globe due to an energy industry career, said they had explored many attractive properties in Hill Country and Washington County but did not want to feel isolated.
“The vision of Gates Ranch, which offers full privacy while remaining part of a community, really appealed to us,” the buyer said. “We love the bucolic setting and were thoroughly impressed by the meticulous job Wolff Companies did to restore the land and make each property unique.”
The six remaining parcels range from 19 to 113 acres, allowing buyers to design custom homes in styles that suit them—from traditional farmhouses to modern ranch homes. Several purchasers have combined adjacent parcels to create larger estates or are using restored pastures for horse breeding, cattle grazing, beekeeping, or hay production to qualify for agricultural tax exemptions.
For 50 years, Wolff Companies has developed master-planned, mixed-use business and residential communities in the Houston area. Their commercial developments include Beltway, Park 10, Interwood, Westway Park, First Crossing, Ten Oaks at the Texas Medical Center – West Campus, Central Park and Beacon Hill.
April 17, 2021 Realty News Report Copyright 2021
File: Gates Ranch Draws Buyers To Country Living
Photo courtesy Wolff Cos.
For more about Texas real estate, see the book Houston 2020: America’s Boom Town – An Extreme Close Up by Ralph Bivins.