Katy vs. Fulshear: Where Should You Buy New?
Katy and Fulshear both offer new construction in Greater Houston. New construction in Katy, TX averaged $468,736 and $173 per square foot in June 2026, while Fulshear averaged $588,284 and $195 per square foot in July 2026, per HAR. Mohebbi Realty Group compares both markets by school zone, MUD rate, and builder incentive.
TL;DR
New construction in Katy, TX averaged $468,736 in June 2026, compared to $588,284 in Fulshear, TX in July 2026 — a gap of roughly $119,500 (HAR).
Price per square foot runs $173 in Katy and $195 in Fulshear, so Fulshear buyers pay about 13% more for the same interior space.
Fulshear was the second-fastest-growing city in the United States for the third consecutive year, adding roughly 11,200 residents and growing 21% between July 2024 and July 2025, per U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimates released May 14, 2026.
Most of Fulshear proper is zoned to Lamar CISD, not Katy ISD — northern Fulshear communities near the city line are the exception, and boundaries are actively being redrawn.
The median Katy single-family sale price was $355,000 in May 2026, up 5.6% from $336,250 in May 2025, with a median 22 days on market.
As of August 2026, the Houston market is carrying roughly 5.1 months of single-family inventory, which is the balanced range where builder incentives get negotiable.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Buy in Katy if the monthly payment is the binding constraint. The $22-per-square-foot spread compounds into real money at closing and in escrow.
Buy in Fulshear if lot size, newer amenity packages, and Lamar CISD's new campus cluster matter more than commute minutes.
Verify the school zone and the MUD rate at the specific address before signing a builder contract. Both change block by block, and neither is what the model home sales office tends to lead with.
What is the actual price difference between new construction in Katy and Fulshear?
New construction in Fulshear costs about $119,500 more on average than new construction in Katy. HAR data shows the average new construction price in Katy, TX at $468,736 and $173 per square foot in June 2026. The same metric for Fulshear, TX registered $588,284 and $195 per square foot in July 2026.
That gap is not purely a premium for the Fulshear name. Fulshear's new inventory skews toward larger floor plans on larger lots, so part of the difference is simply more house. The per-square-foot number strips that out, and it still shows a roughly 13% premium for Fulshear.
Which school district will your new home actually be zoned to?
Your school district depends on which side of the line the address falls on, not which city name is on the mailbox. Most of Fulshear proper is zoned to Lamar Consolidated ISD, while northern Fulshear and western Fort Bend County are captured by Katy ISD boundaries that extend south.
This surprises buyers constantly. Communities like Cross Creek West sit in Lamar CISD despite being minutes from Katy ISD campuses.
Katy ISD serves more than 96,000 students and is projected to exceed 100,000 by 2027.
Lamar CISD enrolls more than 44,000 students and is the fastest-growing district in Fort Bend County. Voters approved a $1.99 billion bond in August 2025.
Lamar CISD is building a full campus cluster — high school, junior high, and middle school — on 100 acres in Cross Creek West, slated to open in August 2027.
Slawinski Elementary School opened in the Fulshear area for the 2026–2027 school year at 31031 Tamarron Parkway.
Both districts are rezoning on an active cycle. Lamar CISD trustees approved new attendance boundary options at a March 17, 2026 meeting ahead of the Slawinski and Cantu elementary openings. Today's assignment is not a guarantee of your child's assignment in three years — a point we raise with every family touring new construction in either city.
How do property taxes and MUD rates compare in Katy vs. Fulshear?
Fulshear generally carries a higher combined effective tax rate than Katy, but the MUD line matters more than the city line. The City of Fulshear's ad valorem rate for fiscal year 2025/2026 is $0.167903 per $100 of assessed value. The City of Katy's rate is $0.4250 per $100, held flat for two consecutive years.
Those city rates are the smallest piece of the stack. The combined effective rate in Fulshear typically lands near 2.05%, while Fort Bend County homeowners average roughly 1.65% across all entities. The variable that moves the number most is the Municipal Utility District.
How MUD rates work in practice:
A newly formed MUD may levy around $0.70 per $100 in its first years, when the infrastructure bonds are freshly issued.
That rate declines as bonds are retired, often falling toward $0.20 per $100 over roughly fifteen years.
Two homes with identical list prices in adjacent sections can carry meaningfully different annual bills purely because one MUD is newer.
Katy's Waller County sections often carry lower base county rates but newer, higher MUD rates.
The 2026 Texas school district homestead exemption is $140,000. File Form 50-114 with the appraisal district for your county, and note that the protest deadline is May 15 each year.
Which builders are active in Katy vs. Fulshear right now?
Both cities draw from the same builder roster, but the price bands differ by community rather than by city. Mohebbi Realty Group maintains relationships with more than 40 builders across Greater Houston, which is how we know which sections are quietly carrying incentives in a given month.
Katy sections tend to open at lower base prices, with more product under $400,000 in Waller County–side communities.
Fulshear sections skew toward larger plans, wider lots, and higher standard finish levels.
Fulshear had roughly 970 new construction homes listed for sale as of mid-2026 — deep enough inventory that builders compete on rate buydowns and closing cost credits.
Across the west Houston corridor, most active new construction inventory sits between $300,000 and $750,000, with premium product above $750,000 concentrated in master-planned sections.
The negotiating reality in August 2026: the 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.66% in Freddie Mac's July 30, 2026 survey. With Houston carrying roughly 5.1 months of inventory, builder rate buydowns are frequently worth more than a list price reduction — and they are the first thing we ask for on a client's behalf.
How much longer is the commute from Fulshear than from Katy?
Fulshear sits roughly 40 minutes west of Houston, past Katy, which typically adds 10 to 20 minutes each way compared with a central Katy address. The Westpark Tollway and FM 1093 are the primary arteries, and the corridor's master-planned communities are strung along them.
The functional difference shows up in the daily details. From central Katy, the Energy Corridor is a routine drive. From southern Fulshear, the same trip is a genuine commute that widens during rush hour as the city's population outpaces its road capacity. Fulshear's traffic strain is a direct consequence of adding roughly 11,200 residents in a single year.
For buyers who work from home or work in Sugar Land or Richmond, that penalty largely disappears — which is exactly why Fulshear's growth has not slowed.
Which market holds its value better on resale?
Katy currently shows stronger measured price momentum, while Fulshear shows stronger absolute price levels. The median Katy single-family sale price reached $355,000 in May 2026, up 5.6% from $336,250 a year earlier, across 577 sales with a median of 22 days on market.
Fulshear's trailing twelve-month median sale price sits near $543,981, up about 2% year over year. Homes in Fulshear averaged 56 days on market.
The resale risk in Fulshear is not price — it is sameness. When several hundred nearly identical floor plans deliver in the same eighteen-month window, your resale competes directly against the builder's own remaining inventory, which can discount at will. Katy's older master-planned sections have already absorbed that wave. This is the single most underdiscussed factor in choosing between the two, and it is why we push clients toward differentiated lots — greenbelt, cul-de-sac, no rear neighbor — in any fast-delivering Fulshear section.
Which Katy and Fulshear communities should you actually tour?
The right answer is usually two or three communities on each side of the line, toured back to back on the same day. Our short list as of August 2026:
Katy side:
Cinco Ranch — the established benchmark, with mature amenities and a resale market that has already proven itself.
Elyson — one of the primary drivers of Katy ISD's enrollment surge, with a wide builder mix.
Cane Island and Sunterra — newer amenity packages with Waller and Harris County tax profiles worth comparing side by side.
Fulshear side:
Cross Creek Ranch — the anchor of Fulshear's master-planned corridor, and the community most buyers benchmark against.
Cross Creek West and Tamarron — Lamar CISD, with the new campus cluster arriving in August 2027.
Fulshear Lakes and Fulbrook on Fulshear Creek — larger lots, higher price bands.
The community that settles the argument: Firethorne straddles the Katy and Fulshear line, which makes it the cleanest place to see what the premium actually buys. Compare our Katy area guide against our Fulshear guide before you tour.
Why Mohebbi Realty Group
Bobby Mohebbi holds the Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR), Pricing Strategy Advisor (PSA), Veterans Affairs Certified Agent (VA), and Short Sales & Foreclosure Resource (SFR) designations, and ranks in the top 1.5% of agents nationwide per RealTrends. Mohebbi Realty Group works with more than 40 builders across Katy, TX, Fulshear, and Greater Houston, which means we know which sections are carrying incentives before they are advertised. Builder representatives work for the builder we represent the buyer, at no cost to you, and our involvement does not raise your price. We pull actual MUD rates, tax history, and school zoning for every address our clients consider before an offer goes in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fulshear more expensive than Katy? Yes. New construction in Fulshear, TX averaged $588,284 in July 2026 versus $468,736 in Katy, TX in June 2026, according to HAR. On a per-square-foot basis, Fulshear runs $195 compared to Katy's $173. The gap reflects both larger floor plans and higher land costs in Fulshear's master-planned corridor.
Is Fulshear in Katy ISD? Only partly. Most of Fulshear proper is zoned to Lamar Consolidated ISD, while Katy ISD boundaries extend south to capture northern Fulshear and western Fort Bend County. Some Fulshear communities are split between both districts. Buyers should verify zoning at the specific address, since both districts are actively rezoning as enrollment grows.
Do new construction homes in Katy and Fulshear have MUD taxes? Most do. Nearly all master-planned communities in both cities sit inside a Municipal Utility District that funds water, sewer, and drainage infrastructure through bonds repaid via property taxes. A new MUD may levy around $0.70 per $100 of assessed value, declining toward $0.20 per $100 as bonds are retired over roughly fifteen years.
How far is Fulshear from downtown Houston? Fulshear sits roughly 40 minutes west of downtown Houston, past Katy, via the Westpark Tollway and FM 1093. Actual drive times run longer during peak hours, as road capacity has not kept pace with a 21% single-year population increase. Central Katy addresses typically save 10 to 20 minutes each way.
Should a first-time buyer choose Katy or Fulshear? Katy generally fits first-time buyers better on price. Katy's median single-family sale price was $355,000 in May 2026, and its Waller County sections carry the most inventory under $400,000. Fulshear's entry-level new construction starts in the mid-$300s in select communities, but the city's overall median sits well above Katy's.
Ready to compare both cities in one afternoon?
Call or text Bobby Mohebbi at (832) 455-3565. We will build you a same-day tour route across both Katy and Fulshear so you can see the price difference with your own eyes instead of on a spreadsheet.
Get our current builder tour list — the Katy and Fulshear sections carrying live incentives this month — at /new-construction.
About the author
Bobby Mohebbi is the leader of Mohebbi Realty Group at Keller Williams Signature, 920 S Fry Rd, Katy, TX 77450. Designations: Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR), Pricing Strategy Advisor (PSA), Veterans Affairs Certified Agent (VA), Short Sales & Foreclosure Resource (SFR). Recognized in the top 1.5% of agents nationwide by RealTrends, a Keller Williams Signature Top Producer, and a member of the Agent Leadership Council. Serving Katy, Fulshear, Cypress, Richmond, Sugar Land, and Greater Houston.
Call or text (832) 455-3565 · Bobby@mohebbirealtygroup.com
Published August 12, 2026. Market figures reflect the most recent HAR, Census, and Freddie Mac data available as of August 2026 and change monthly.