Something is happening to the way people think about home in North Texas. The generation of buyers arriving in this market — from coastal cities, from corporate relocations, from a genuine rethinking of what they want their lives to look like — is asking a question that didn’t come up as often ten years ago.

Not just: is this a good neighborhood? But: does this place feel like somewhere I actually want to live?

The communities being built and discovered right now are answering that question directly. Here’s what’s underway — from the resort-style master-planned communities transforming Prosper and Celina, to the most ambitious development in North Texas history on Lake Texoma, to the Texas Gulf Coast community that North Dallas families have been calling their second home for years.

Preston Harbor — Denison, Lake Texoma

~75 miles north of Dallas  ·  $7 billion  ·  3,114 acres

Preston Harbor is the largest master-planned development in North Texas history. Located on the Lake Texoma shoreline in Denison — approximately 75 miles north of Dallas — it encompasses 3,114 acres with a projected total investment of $7 billion.

Centurion American Development Group broke ground on the residential portions of Preston Harbor in October 2025. The development will ultimately include approximately 7,500 homes across multiple categories: luxury single-family, active adult, multifamily, and lakefront. Lot sizes range from standard 50- to 60-foot homesites to half- to seven-acre estate tracts, many with lake or greenbelt views. First lots are expected to be delivered to builders by end of 2026.

The development also includes a 900-slip marina — one of the largest on any inland lake in Texas.

The Margaritaville Resort — an important clarification:

A $100 million Margaritaville Resort by Phoenix Hospitality Group is planned for Preston Harbor. The resort will feature 150 hotel rooms, 50 residential units including bungalows, cottages, and casitas, restaurants, entertainment venues, multiple swimming pools, and boat slips.

However: resort construction is projected to begin later in 2026, contingent on completion of a northern arterial road. The resort is not yet built. If you’re planning a visit to Preston Harbor expecting to find a completed resort, be aware that what exists right now is the early residential construction phase. The full vision takes several years to realize.

The real estate angle: Buyers who purchase lots at Preston Harbor today are buying before the premium. The marina, the resort, and the full amenity infrastructure are what will drive long-term appreciation. Early buyers in communities like this historically capture the most significant value gains — but they’re also accepting the most uncertainty about timelines and execution.

Lake Texoma itself is worth understanding. At 89,000 acres, it’s one of the largest reservoirs in the United States. It has been a destination for North Texas fishing and boating families for decades. Preston Harbor is the first development to treat it as a luxury lifestyle asset rather than simply a recreational resource.

Source: Dallas Business Journal / WFAA, March 2026

Windsong Ranch — Prosper

Open now  ·  5-acre Crystal Lagoon  ·  3,324 homes at completion

Windsong Ranch in Prosper is the most established resort-style master-planned community in the North Texas market — and the first in the region to feature a Crystal Lagoons facility.

The Crystal Lagoon at Windsong Ranch spans five acres with Caribbean-style turquoise water, sandy beaches, kayaking, paddleboarding, and swimming. It operates year-round and is exclusively for residents of the community. It was the first Crystal Lagoons facility in North Texas and remains one of the most distinctive residential amenities in the entire DFW market.

Beyond the lagoon: nearly 2,000 acres of community with 30+ miles of trails, multiple parks, sports courts, resort-style pools, and a full-time activities program. Upon completion the community will include 3,324 single-family homes and 150 acres of mixed-use retail and commercial development.

Windsong Ranch is located at 1001 Windsong Parkway South, Prosper TX 75078. It is an active, selling community today — not a future concept.

Ramble by Hillwood — Celina

Opened May 14, 2026  ·  1,380 acres  ·  4,000+ homes at completion

Ramble by Hillwood is the newest master-planned community to open in the North Texas market, having launched on May 14, 2026. Located in Celina, stretching between Preston Road and Custer Road, Ramble encompasses 1,380 acres of developable land.

When complete, Ramble will include over 4,000 homes and two new Celina ISD elementary schools built on-site within the community. Hillwood Communities — a Perot company with a long track record of master-planned development in North Texas — is the developer.

Celina’s location along the Preston Road corridor places Ramble within reach of the Legacy Drive employment corridor in Plano while maintaining the space and lifestyle character of a newer suburb. For buyers priced out of established neighborhoods in Plano or Far North Dallas, Ramble offers new construction at accessible price points with major amenity investment.

Serenade Texas — Celina

Broke ground March 2026  ·  468 acres  ·  Opens 2027

Serenade Texas is a 468-acre master-planned community by Huffines Communities, broke ground in March 2026 near Preston and Marilee roads in Celina. The first phase includes 543 lots. The community is scheduled to open in 2027 with homes ranging from 1,800 to 4,500 square feet, priced from $400,000 to $900,000.

Huffines Communities has a proven track record in the DFW market with communities including Pecan Square in Northlake and Union Park in Little Elm. Serenade Texas represents their entry into the Celina corridor, which has seen some of the fastest residential growth in North Texas over the past three years.

Cinnamon Shore — Port Aransas, Texas Gulf Coast

~5 hours from Dallas  ·  Mustang Island  ·  $1M+ median home price

Cinnamon Shore is where North Dallas families go when they want a Texas beach weekend without getting on a plane. Located in Port Aransas on Mustang Island, approximately five hours from Dallas, it has become the most sought-after second home destination on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Established in 2007 as the first new urbanist beach community in Texas, Cinnamon Shore was designed around walkability, community, and the kind of resort lifestyle that typically requires a flight to find. Gulf-front and Gulf-view homes, multiple pools, on-site restaurants, a beach club, golf cart rentals, lawn movie nights, fire pits, stocked fishing ponds, and a full calendar of community events.

The numbers tell the demand story: median home prices at Cinnamon Shore have surpassed $1 million. Entire phases have sold out within days of opening. The developer has announced expansion plans on both the Gulf and bay sides of Mustang Island.

Cinnamon Shore South — the 147-acre sister property currently in development — is adding a town square with performance stage, full-service spa, retail and dining district, sports courts including pickleball, fitness center, and an indoor-outdoor event venue. It represents the next chapter of what has become the most recognized resort community brand on the Texas coast.

For North Dallas buyers evaluating second home investments, Cinnamon Shore has several characteristics worth understanding:

• Phases sell out quickly — buyers who have purchased early in each phase have seen the strongest appreciation
• Strong rental income potential — Port Aransas draws visitors year-round, with peak demand in spring break, summer, and fall
• Texas coastal real estate — unlike Florida or the Carolinas, the Texas coast has no state income tax and no dramatic hurricane insurance crisis at this time
• Community-based lifestyle — Cinnamon Shore is designed for repeat visitors and owners who want their beach home to feel like a community, not just a property

cinnamon-shore.com · Port Aransas, Texas

What All of This Has in Common

Preston Harbor, Windsong Ranch, Ramble, Serenade Texas, and Cinnamon Shore are all different in scale, location, and price point. But they’re answering the same question.

The buyers arriving in North Texas from coastal markets didn’t leave New York or Los Angeles because they stopped wanting a great life. They left because they realized they could have a better one here, at a fraction of the cost, without sacrificing the quality of schools, restaurants, culture, or community infrastructure they’d built their expectations around.

These communities exist because developers looked at that buyer and built directly for them. The Crystal Lagoon in Prosper. The Margaritaville resort on Lake Texoma. The beachfront town square at Cinnamon Shore South. These aren’t features designed for a traditional Texas suburban buyer. They’re designed for a buyer who moved from somewhere that had these things and didn’t want to give them up.

That buyer is here. And they’re looking at neighborhoods like ours as their primary residence — with communities like these as the weekend and second home investment layer on top of it.