Comparable homes in the Memorial Villages fall into three tiers with very different price logic, and mixing the tiers is the most common pricing mistake in 77024. New construction, the tier every other tier is measured against, lists from 2,500,000 to 6,000,000 dollars (Redfin, 2026). Older homes list far below that, at levels reflecting land value less site preparation costs, and the research sample shows why: of 19 pre-1981 homes tracked, 11 were acquired by builders, 57.9 percent, meaning the comparable that mattered for most older homes was a vacant lot with a future house on it, not a neighboring ranch (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
Because Texas is a non-disclosure state, closed prices for any of these tiers are not public record, so this report answers with the evidence that exists: list ranges by tier, the defined sample, and a residual illustration that places land value around 1,200,000 to 1,400,000 dollars for a parcel supporting a 3,200,000 dollar new build (Frontier Capitals, 2026). A homeowner who sorts their comparables into the right tier first will read those ranges correctly; one who averages across tiers will misprice in either direction.
Key Findings
- Comparables in 77024 sort into three tiers: new construction at 2,500,000 to 6,000,000 dollars list, renovated older homes priced for occupants, and unrenovated older homes priced mainly as land (Redfin, 2026).
- The distance between tiers is wide: a new build list price routinely exceeds an older home list price on the same street by more than 1,500,000 dollars (Redfin, 2026).
- For pre-1981 stock, the operative comparable is usually land: builders acquired 11 of 19 sampled homes, on lots from 8,637 square feet upward (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- No verified table of closed comparable prices exists, because Texas non-disclosure keeps sold prices private; ranges here are built from listings, records, and a stated sample (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
- Tier confusion is expensive at settlement too: a 1,300,000 dollar listed sale carries 65,000 to 78,000 dollars of commission at 5 to 6 percent before closing costs and concessions (National Association of Realtors, 2025).
How Should a Comparable Set Be Built in a Non-Disclosure ZIP Code?
Start with sameness of tier, then sameness of street, then sameness of lot. The parcel record for each candidate comparable confirms its lot dimensions, its assessed land value, and its permit history (Harris County Appraisal District, 2026). Permit history matters more than sellers expect: a comparable that shows a recent builder permit tells you that address traded as land, whatever its list presentation suggested, while a comparable with no permit activity likely traded to an occupant. Sorting by that record prevents the classic error of pricing a land value home against a renovated occupant sale, or the reverse.
Time is the other sorting variable, and it is routinely neglected. A comparable listing from the start of the year sat in a different rate and pace environment from one listed this autumn, and the September 2026 statistics, with their median of 29 days to pending (Zillow, 2026), describe the current environment, not the one from two seasons ago. Where a comparable set mixes periods, the homeowner should weight the recent listings more heavily and note the direction of movement, up 2.1 percent year over year nationally (Federal Housing Finance Agency, 2026), rather than treating every listing in the set as if it were priced yesterday under identical conditions.
Geography inside the ZIP code comes next. The villages are separate municipalities, Hedwig Village, Hunters Creek Village, Piney Point Village, Bunker Hill Village, Spring Valley Village, and Hilshire Village, each with its own zoning authority for setbacks, coverage, and height. A comparable from a different village is usable, but it should be adjusted for the different buildable envelope and for street level differences in finished new build prices. Regional Houston housing data can confirm that the wider market is moving the way your comparable set implies (Texas Real Estate Research Center, 2025), though it cannot choose your comparables for you.
The companion report on what homes are actually selling for in Memorial Villages explains the non-disclosure constraint behind this method, while the guide to how homeowners determine their property value turns the comparable set into a full valuation. Used together, they keep the comparison honest about what is known and what is estimated.
What Are the Top Tier Comparables, the New Builds, Actually Listing For?
New construction across the villages lists between 2,500,000 and 6,000,000 dollars, with the position inside that range set by the village, the lot size, and the finished square footage (Redfin, 2026). These are list prices, and in a non-disclosure state the closed figures stay with the parties, but list prices still do real work: they are the finished values builders underwrite against when they bid for land, and they are the ceiling that renovated older homes are priced under. A renovated ranch listed too close to the bottom of the new build range invites the buyer to ask why they would not simply buy new, and that question shows up in offers.
Market conditions shape how firmly those list prices hold. In September 2026, listings nationally took a median of 29 days to go pending, 27.4 percent of listings had a price cut, and 27.6 percent sold above list price (Zillow, 2026). In the villages, scarce large lots and a thin supply of finished new homes support the top tier, while the general market statistics warn against assuming any individual listing is immune to a cut. Once under contract, homes typically close in about 30 days, though 14 percent of contracts face delayed settlement and 6 percent are delayed by appraisal issues (National Association of Realtors, 2026).
United States house prices rose 2.1 percent year over year and 0.3 percent quarter over quarter (Federal Housing Finance Agency, 2026), a backdrop that supports top tier pricing without steepening it. Homeownership stood at 65.0 percent with a homeowner vacancy rate of 1.2 percent in the second quarter of 2026 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2026), which keeps occupant demand for the middle tier steady even at elevated prices.
What About the Middle and Bottom Tiers, Renovated and Unrenovated Older Homes?
The middle tier, renovated older homes, prices against other renovated homes and against the bottom of the new build range. Its buyers are occupants, and its adjustments are the familiar ones: kitchens, baths, systems, and layout. The research renovation illustration belongs to this tier: a 120,000 dollar kitchen and bath update on a 1965 ranch might lift the sale price by 60,000 to 90,000 dollars when the buyer intends to live in the home (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Note that even in its best case, the update returns less than it costs, which is why renovated comparables should never be used to justify spending into a sale without checking which tier your own home will actually trade in.
The bottom tier, unrenovated pre-1981 homes, prices against land. The worked residual illustration is the tier pricing tool: from a 3,200,000 dollar finished value, subtract roughly 1,300,000 dollars of construction cost and a builder margin near 20 percent, and the remainder, about 1,200,000 to 1,400,000 dollars before site preparation, is what the parcel supports (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Lots in this tier run from the sample minimum of 8,637 square feet to the 15,000 to 30,000 square feet or more that are common in the villages (Harris County Appraisal District, 2026), and within the tier, price follows lot size and buildable envelope far more than it follows the condition of the house standing on the lot.
Mortgage rates averaged 7.28 percent in the October 1, 2026 survey release (Freddie Mac, 2026), and that fact quietly rearranges the tiers. Financed occupant buyers, concentrated in the middle tier, face the highest carrying costs in years, while bottom tier builder buyers and top tier cash buyers are less rate sensitive. Most sellers still list with an agent, 91 percent against about 5 percent selling alone (National Association of Realtors, 2025), so tier placement is usually an agent conversation; the records in this report let a homeowner audit that conversation rather than simply accept it.
Time spent building the comparable set has a cost of its own that sellers should count honestly. While an owner gathers listings and parcel records, Texas property taxes, insurance, and upkeep keep running on the house, and those charges are part of why extended market time in the research carries a substantial holding expense for older Village homes. That does not argue for rushing the comparison work in 77024, because a tier mistake can cost far more than a few careful weeks. It does argue for doing the work once, in the right order, rather than revisiting the price after each showing or price discussion (Zillow, 2026). A set built carefully at the start tends to hold up when offers arrive and the questions turn sharper.
Two adjustments deserve special care inside the bottom tier, because they are where comparable sets most often go wrong. The first is shape and frontage. A rectangular lot with wide frontage accepts a larger footprint than an irregular lot of equal area, and parcel records show the dimensions plainly (Harris County Appraisal District, 2026), so a comparable set that matches on area alone can still mislead by a wide margin. The second is the existing structure itself. A substantial house in sound condition raises site preparation cost for a builder, which trims what the parcel can support, while a small failing structure lowers it; the residual illustration is stated before site preparation for exactly this reason (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Neither adjustment appears in a price per square foot table, and both appear in every serious builder underwriting. A homeowner who includes them in the comparable work will find their ranges narrowing from the wide territory of guesswork into the narrower band where actual village transactions, list and land alike, are negotiated and closed.
How Do Sellers Use the Comparable Tiers When an Offer Arrives?
By asking which tier the offer belongs to, then judging it inside that tier. A builder offer should be tested against the residual band for your lot: below the band, negotiate or seek competing builder interest; inside the band, judge the offer on certainty and terms. An occupant offer should be tested against renovated and unrenovated occupant comparables, with attention to financing strength, because a financed offer at a higher number can be worth less than a clean offer below it once appraisal and delay risk are priced in. The separate analysis of how much a builder will pay for an older house in Memorial Villages details the builder side of that test.
Route costs then convert the accepted price into proceeds. On a 1,300,000 dollar listed sale, commission is 65,000 to 78,000 dollars, seller closing costs add 1 to 2 percent, and the pair together run 6 to 8 percent, roughly 78,000 to 104,000 dollars (National Association of Realtors, 2025). Buyer concessions on older homes often run 15,000 to 40,000 dollars, holding costs across four to eight months of market time run 35,000 to 75,000 dollars, and the net on that list price lands in the mid 1,100,000s before any price reduction.
A direct off-market sale removes most of that friction, and its structure should be stated without decoration. Frontier Capitals is a wholesaler that sources off-market deals to builders; it does not build and does not claim to. Under that route, the sale is private, with no showings, no open houses, and no public marketing period, which keeps the transaction out of village conversation until the deed records. The closing date is flexible, 7 to 21 days when speed matters or months away with a leaseback when it does not, instead of 60 to 120 plus days for a listed older home. No commission is charged, so the 65,000 to 78,000 dollars illustrated above is not deducted. No seller closing costs are charged either, preserving the combined 78,000 to 104,000 dollars. The house is bought as it stands, so inspection repair credits of 10,000 to 30,000 dollars never enter the discussion.
Diligence protects the seller in either route. Funds proof, or financing confirmation for the end buyer, should be current within 30 days. Require a record of completed placements that can be verified in county records (Harris County Appraisal District, 2026). The seller should see earnest money at 1 percent or above as the normal threshold. Regard an assignment clause paired with a nominal deposit and no named end buyer as a marker of a contract not meant to close, and price that risk accordingly or decline it.
Methodology and limitations
The comparable ranges here rest on list prices for new construction and older homes in 77024 (Redfin, 2026), parcel and permit records (Harris County Appraisal District, 2026), and a sample of 19 pre-1981 homes of which 11 were acquired by builders (Frontier Capitals, 2026). That sample is deliberately narrow, covering the older stock most likely to trade as land; it is not a survey of every sale in the ZIP code, and renovated and new homes trade under different logic that the sample does not measure.
The governing limitation is Texas non-disclosure. Because closed prices are not public, no average older home price as a share of new build price could be computed for 77024, and this report does not present list ranges as if they were closed results. The residual illustration is simplified, with construction cost and margin stated as assumptions, and individual parcels will support figures above or below the illustrated band depending on lot, village rules, and street.
Conclusion
Comparable homes in the Memorial Villages are selling, listing, and being underwritten inside three distinct tiers: new construction at 2,500,000 to 6,000,000 dollars, renovated homes priced for occupants, and unrenovated older homes priced as land with residual value illustrated at 1,200,000 to 1,400,000 dollars. The single most valuable pricing act a seller can perform is placing their own home in the correct tier before comparing anything. If you want help placing yours and building the comparable set around it, call 401-219-4207 or email [email protected]. Which tier is your house really in, and which tier has it been priced as?
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can this report not list exact comparable sale prices?
Because Texas is a non-disclosure state and closed prices are not public record. The honest substitutes are list prices by tier, parcel and permit records, and a defined sample of older homes, which together bracket what comparables achieve without pretending to a precision the record cannot support (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
What is the most useful comparable for an unrenovated 1960s ranch?
A parcel that a builder has bought, evidenced in permit and parcel records, on a similar sized lot in the same village (Harris County Appraisal District, 2026). The ranch will trade on land logic, illustrated by residual value of 1,200,000 to 1,400,000 dollars for a lot supporting a 3,200,000 dollar new build, not on the price of a renovated house nearby (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
How much higher are new build comparables than older home comparables?
The list price spread on the same street routinely exceeds 1,500,000 dollars, with new construction listing from 2,500,000 to 6,000,000 dollars while older homes list at land driven levels (Redfin, 2026). That spread is the economic engine behind builder demand for older stock.
Does a renovation move a home into a higher comparable tier?
It can move a home from the land tier to the occupant tier in presentation, but the return is partial: a 120,000 dollar kitchen and bath update might add 60,000 to 90,000 dollars for an occupant buyer and nothing for a lot buyer (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Sellers should confirm which tier of buyer is active on their street before spending.
How should a seller react to an offer far below the comparable ranges?
Ask which tier the offer was built from and what evidence supports it. A builder offer can be checked against the residual calculation for your lot, and any direct buyer should supply proof of funds dated within 30 days and a verifiable placement record in county records (Harris County Appraisal District, 2026). An offer that cannot show its working is not yet a serious comparable based bid.
Sources
- Frontier Capitals, 2026. 189-neighborhood builder-demand study: 19 homes sampled in 77024, 11 acquired by builders (57.9 percent), minimum lot 8,637 sq ft, no old-to-new price ratio reported (Texas non-disclosure). Market data.
- Harris County Appraisal District, 2026. Parcel and permit records, Houston TX. Official record.
- National Association of Realtors, 2025. Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers: 91% of sellers used an agent; 5% FSBO. Industry report.
- Redfin, 2026. Listed homes and new construction, ZIP code 77024, Houston TX. Market data.
- Zillow, 2026. September 2026 Market Report: median 29 days to go pending; 27.4% of listings with a price cut; 27.6% sold above list price. Industry report.
- National Association of Realtors, 2026. REALTORS Confidence Index: contracts typically close in 30 days, 14% face delayed settlement, 6% delayed by appraisal issues. Industry report.
- Federal Housing Finance Agency, 2026. U.S. House Prices Rise 2.1 Percent Year over Year; Up 0.3 Percent Quarter over Quarter. Government data.
- Freddie Mac, 2026. Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Market data.
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2026. Housing Vacancies and Homeownership, Q2 2026: homeownership rate 65.0%; homeowner vacancy rate 1.2%. Government data.
- Texas Real Estate Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2025. Houston housing market data. Research institute.