No verified public list answers this question with street by street sale prices, and any seller in Memorial Villages should hear that limit before hearing a number. Texas treats sold prices as non-public record, so the research compiled for this report could count builder acquisitions without publishing a price for each one (Frontier Capitals, 2026). What the sample does show is activity: among 19 pre-1981 homes sampled in 77024, 11 ended up acquired by builders, a builder demand rate of 57.9 percent (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
A plausible range can still be built by method. New construction in the villages lists between 2,500,000 dollars and 6,000,000 dollars depending on village, lot size, and finished square footage (Redfin, 2026). Working backward from a 3,200,000 dollar new build value, subtracting roughly 1,300,000 dollars in construction costs and a builder margin near 20 percent leaves a residual land value around 1,200,000 dollars to 1,400,000 dollars, before site preparation. That residual, described throughout this post as a simplified illustration rather than a promise, is the closest grounded guide to what a builder can pay for a lot in this setting.
Key Findings
- Builder buying was common in the sampled group, with 11 of 19 older homes acquired by builders for a rate of 57.9 percent, yet no per property sale price was published for those acquisitions (Frontier Capitals, 2026)
- Parcel and permit files can confirm that a purchase and a building project followed one another, even though those files do not turn a Texas closing into a public price record (Harris County Appraisal District, 2026)
- Finished houses offered for sale carry list prices from 2,500,000 dollars to 6,000,000 dollars, which sets the revenue ceiling from which every builder offer has to be deducted (Redfin, 2026)
- The worked illustration in the underlying research lands on residual land value near 1,200,000 dollars to 1,400,000 dollars after construction costs and margin are removed from a 3,200,000 dollar finished value (Frontier Capitals, 2026)
- Online value displays for 77024 track listed inventory and modeled estimates rather than recorded builder closings, so they cannot substitute for a closing statement (Zillow, 2026)
Why does Texas non disclosure hide the exact prices builders paid?
In many states a curious neighbor can look up a closing price the week after a sale. A Memorial Villages seller cannot do that in the same way. Deed records show that a transfer occurred, and county appraisal files show parcel dimensions and assessed values, but the consideration paid stays private between buyer, seller, and the parties to the closing. That is why the study behind this report reports counts and rates instead of a table of amounts (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
County sources still help a seller test a story someone tells about a recent purchase. Parcel and permit records can show lot size, a change in ownership, and whether new construction followed (Harris County Appraisal District, 2026). A separate county record set focused on parcel dimensions, zoning, and assessed land value gives a second way to compare one lot with another on size and land assessment, even though an assessment is not a sale price (Harris County Appraisal District, 2026). Reading how much a residential lot is worth in Memorial Villages alongside those records keeps expectations tied to land rather than to rumor.
Because exact amounts stay private, stories about a single spectacular payment travel fast and verify poorly. A figure repeated at a closing table may omit site preparation, carrying time, or a repair allowance that shaped the contract. A seller who hears a headline number for a different village, a larger lot, or a different year should ask what finished house the buyer expected to sell, what it cost to build, and what margin remained. Without those three answers, the reported payment explains very little.
How can a seller estimate a recent builder payment from the residual method?
Start with the house that will replace the older one, not with the older house itself. If comparable new construction on similar streets supports a finished value near 3,200,000 dollars, the builder then removes construction spending of roughly 1,300,000 dollars and protects a margin near 20 percent of value. The arithmetic leaves roughly 1,200,000 dollars to 1,400,000 dollars for land before site preparation, which is why offers for ordinary lots in this value band cluster conceptually around land value rather than around the charm or condition of a 1960s interior.
The same method explains why two neighboring payments can differ without either buyer acting irrationally. A wider lot that allows a larger finished footprint can support a higher finished value from the list range documented for new construction (Redfin, 2026). A lot needing heavier site preparation shrinks the residual even when the finished value stays constant. For a fuller walk through the ceiling calculation, see what the maximum price a builder can pay is and still make a profit, which uses the same illustration with different emphasis.
Market pace adds a second check. Nationally, a typical sold home spent 46 days on the market in September 2026 (Redfin, 2026). A builder who expects a slower resale will guard margin more carefully, while a builder with a buyer already identified can accept a thinner cushion. Contract mechanics also matter at this stage, because earnest money and closing terms sit inside the promulgated forms that govern Texas residential deals (Texas Real Estate Commission, 2026). A high stated price paired with weak earnest money and a long option period is not the same payment as a slightly lower price with firm funds behind it.
Which records can confirm a builder bought, even if the price stays private?
Ownership and project evidence lives in public files even when consideration does not. County parcel records tie a lot to its dimensions and current owner of record (Harris County Appraisal District, 2026). Permit activity recorded for a parcel can corroborate that construction followed a transfer. Together those sources let a seller verify claims about how many older homes on a street changed hands for rebuilding, instead of relying on a single anecdote. Houston level housing research provides background on how the wider city market was moving while those village purchases occurred (Texas Real Estate Research Center, 2025).
Listings give a different kind of confirmation. Current and recent listings for finished homes show the asking prices builders and their agents believed buyers would consider (Redfin, 2026). Modeled home value displays and listed inventory for the ZIP code offer yet another lens, useful for spotting direction but weak for proving what any individual builder paid (Zillow, 2026). A seller comparing these layers should treat listings as intentions, county files as events, and a signed closing disclosure in hand as the only true price evidence for a personal transaction.
The option period language in the standard Texas contract shows why headlines about price need a date and a status attached (Texas Real Estate Commission, 2026). A property under contract at one figure can close at another after inspection talks, or fail to close at all. Reports that count contract prices as paid prices overstate certainty. That distinction is one reason this report answers the headline by method: the sampled acquisition count is solid, the finished value range is documented, and individual paid amounts are not public.
What should a seller do with an unverified price story about a nearby lot?
Treat the story as a prompt for questions rather than as a comparable sale. Ask which village the lot sits in, because Hedwig Village, Hunters Creek Village, Piney Point Village, Bunker Hill Village, Spring Valley Village, and Hilshire Village each apply their own zoning rules on setbacks, lot coverage, and height. Ask the lot size, remembering that village lots commonly run 15,000 square feet to 30,000 square feet or more against a sample minimum of 8,637 square feet (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Ask whether the buyer actually closed, and whether proof exists in county ownership records.
Closing cost guidance written for sellers generally can also sharpen the comparison, because a gross price and a net payment diverge once seller costs enter the picture (Bankrate, 2026). Two offers separated by 40,000 dollars on paper can end closer than they look if one shifts costs the other leaves with the seller. Sellers who want a broader value frame before judging any builder figure can read how much a house is worth in Memorial Villages in 2026 and then return to the residual steps with fresh numbers for their own lot.
One more discipline helps when several price stories compete for your attention. Write down, for each story, the village, the lot size, the year, and whether the figure was a list price, a contract price, or a closing price, and set aside any story missing two or more of those four facts. Then compare what remains against your own parcel record, particularly its dimensions and assessed land value (Harris County Appraisal District, 2026). Stories that survive that filter tend to cluster sensibly around the residual band, while stories that fail it usually turn out to describe a different lot size, a different village, or a contract that never closed. The exercise takes an hour and can prevent a pricing decision built on the weakest evidence in the room.
Finally, remember that builders buy a future project, not a memory. A payment that looks low beside a neighbors renovated sale may reflect a smaller buildable envelope, heavier preparation, or a finished plan aimed at the lower end of the new construction range. A payment that looks generous may reflect an unusually deep lot or scarce frontage. Judged lot by lot, with records in hand, the pattern behind recent payments becomes clearer even though the exact private amounts stay out of view.
How does selling directly to a builder change what a seller keeps and risks?
A direct builder route removes several familiar sale costs while introducing a different duty, which is verifying the buyer carefully. On privacy, a direct conversation avoids a public marketing season entirely, with no showings and no open houses, so word does not move through close knit village streets until a deed records. On timing, a prepared buyer can close in 7 days to 21 days when a seller needs speed, or wait months and allow a leaseback when a family needs time to relocate, while a listed older home commonly needs 60 days to 120 plus days to sell and close.
On money kept, skipping a brokerage commission matters at village scale. Commissions of 5 percent to 6 percent would take 65,000 dollars to 78,000 dollars from a 1,300,000 dollar sale, and a direct placement avoids that line altogether. Seller closing costs of 1 percent to 2 percent also fall away in a direct deal, and because commissions plus closing costs together run 6 percent to 8 percent, the combined saving sits near 78,000 dollars to 104,000 dollars on that same sale. On condition, an as is builder purchase removes inspection driven repair credits of 10,000 dollars to 30,000 dollars and removes the pressure to fund foundation, roof, or systems work for a buyer who plans to replace the house anyway.
Frontier Capitals works in this market as a wholesaler, meaning it sources off market deals to builders and does not present itself as a builder. That distinction should be explicit in any conversation. A seller should then verify the end buyer directly: ask for proof of funds or end buyer financing dated within the last 30 days, check a record of completed placements in county records, and expect earnest money of typically 1 percent or more. A contract built around an assignment clause and a nominal deposit, with no named end buyer, signals a deal that may never reach the closing table, as the guidance in how homeowners can attract multiple offers from builders also explains.
A useful cross check is to work backwards from a finished house on a comparable Village street rather than forwards from a rumour about a neighbouring sale. New construction in 77024 lists from 2,500,000 to 6,000,000 dollars depending on village, lot size, and finished square footage (Redfin, 2026), so choosing a finished example that is far larger, or on a much deeper lot, will distort the land figure that follows. Match the village first, then the lot size, then the finished size, and only then apply the simplified residual illustration described earlier in this report. After that, confirm that a builder was actually involved by looking for a change in the parcel and permit record for that address (Harris County Appraisal District, 2026). That sequence will not reveal a private price, but it keeps an estimate anchored to evidence a seller can inspect, rather than to a number repeated at a dinner table.
Methodology and limitations
The figures here rest on a defined sample rather than a count of every transaction in 77024. Researchers compiled 19 pre 1981 homes and found 11 acquired by builders, then placed that result beside listing ranges, county parcel material, and the worked residual illustration from the same research (Frontier Capitals, 2026). A sample of that size can show strong demand without proving the rate for any single street or month.
That key limitation bears directly on what this headline asks. Because Texas does not disclose sold prices, the materials contain no verified list of amounts builders recently paid for teardown properties in the villages, and no such list is invented here. The post therefore answers by method, using documented finished values and the labeled simplified illustration, and a seller who needs an exact figure for a specific past sale will have to obtain it privately from a party to that closing.
Conclusion
Recent builder payments in Memorial Villages cannot be read from a public price table, but they are not a mystery without structure. The sampled demand rate, the finished home list range, and the residual calculation together outline the band in which a serious payment must fit. A seller who wants that band applied to a particular lot, with a verified buyer behind it, can call 401-219-4207 or email [email protected]. If every exact price for a neighbors lot stays private by law, how should a seller weigh a well documented range against a single unverified story?
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there any public database that lists what builders paid on my street?
No public database in the materials publishes those paid amounts for 77024. County files can confirm ownership changes, lot dimensions, and permit activity for a parcel (Harris County Appraisal District, 2026), while the price itself remains a private term of each closing because Texas is a non disclosure state (Frontier Capitals, 2026).
Does the 57.9 percent figure mean my house has that chance of a builder sale?
No, the percentage describes the sampled group only. Eleven of 19 sampled pre 1981 homes were acquired by builders (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Your odds depend on your village rules, your lot dimensions, and the finished value a builder can support on your parcel.
Why do people quote a 1,200,000 dollar to 1,400,000 dollar land range so often?
That band comes from the worked example in the research, not from a list of closings. Removing about 1,300,000 dollars in building costs and a margin near 20 percent from a 3,200,000 dollar finished value leaves that residual before site preparation (Frontier Capitals, 2026). Different finished values produce different residuals.
Can a listing price for a new house tell me what its lot sold for?
Only indirectly. New construction lists from 2,500,000 dollars to 6,000,000 dollars (Redfin, 2026), yet two lots under similar finished houses may have sold at quite different prices depending on preparation costs and timing. Use the finished price as the starting point of the residual method, not as proof of a land payment.
What proof should I ask a builder buyer to show before I sign?
Request proof of funds dated within 30 days, look for completed placements you can trace in county records, and expect earnest money of 1 percent or more under the standard contract framework (Texas Real Estate Commission, 2026). Those three checks separate funded buyers from intermediaries hoping to find a buyer later.
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.
- Harris County Appraisal District, 2026. Parcel dimensions, zoning, and assessed land value records for the Memorial Villages area. Official record.
- Redfin, 2026. Listed homes and new construction, ZIP code 77024, Houston TX. Market data.
- Zillow, 2026. Home values and listed inventory, 77024. Market data.
- Redfin, 2026. Housing market update: typical sold home spent 46 days on the market in September 2026. Market data.
- Texas Real Estate Commission, 2026. Contract forms, earnest money, and closing practices. Official record.
- Texas Real Estate Commission, 2026. One to Four Family Residential Contract: option period and option fee provisions. Government data.
- Texas Real Estate Research Center, Texas A&M University, 2025. Houston housing market data. Research institute.
- Bankrate, 2026. Closing costs when selling a house. Industry report.