In Texas, There's Still Room for Single-Family Coastal Homes

Sunday, March 02, 2008

In beach towns along the Texas Gulf Coast, there is no shortage of towering condominium projects, but there's also quite a market for beachgoers who have no interest in sharing walls with somebody else.

For those folks, single-family properties in communities near the beach are more attractive than a Gulf-view high-rise.

Simply put, the Texas Gulf Coast remains a great place for a bargain beach house, says Jim Hayes, managing principal of Crown Team Texas, a Beaumont-based development group that created Laguna Harbor, a development on the Bolivar Peninsula near Galveston.

The single-family development route is less risky than a high-rise condo project, says Jeff Lamkin, chief executive officer of Seat Oats Group, which is developing the "new urbanist" community Cinnamon Shore near Port Aransas.

"I'm selling lots for $595,000," he said. "In Florida, that same lot is $2.5 million. There are still a boatload of people who can afford it here."

The Shores of South Padre

Down the coast on South Padre Island is another community that embodies some of the elements of new urbanism. The Shores of South Padre, a 240-acre beachfront development that sits at the northern edge of the island, strives for a neighborhood feel. Shops, cafes and offices are grouped around a general store and marina. Houses and townhomes sit on red-brick streets. Also in the gated community is a sprinkling of condos.

"The Shores will help bring upper-end clientele to South Padre, and that's a positive thing for the whole area," says developer Dennis Franke, who created the community along with his brother Richard Franke.

In agreement is Gary Sanner, president of The Shores' property owners association. Sanner, 62, initially bought 12 lots in the project, and recently completed the construction of a 2,800-square-foot house on one of the lots. He is selling the home for just over $1 million.

"There are a number of nice properties on South Padre, but none of them are of the quality that The Shores will be," says Sanner, a Michigan native who also owns homes in his home state, as well as in Florida and Tennessee. Sanner says he has been investing in South Padre Island properties since 1983, and he has no plans for that to change.

"Things don't go at the same pace in Texas as they do in my island part of Florida," says Sanner, who owns a home near Stuart, Fla.