Lagos Reserve Manor TX: Tri Pointe vs Ashton Woods Builder Comparison

Two builders are selling homes in the same Manor neighborhood. They share an amenity center, a school district, and a zip code. They do not always share the same tax bill.

One builder has eight home sites left in its first phase with no PID. The other opened its model this weekend, and every lot in every phase carries an extra yearly charge. That charge runs about $250 to $300 a month for thirty years. It is not on the sign out front.

We live a few minutes away in Manor, so we walked both builders and ran the numbers. This is Lagos Reserve. Here is what you need to know before you sign.

Table of Contents

• Lagos Reserve: Two Builders, One Neighborhood, Different Tax Bills
• Location and Commute Times from Lagos Reserve
• What You Get: Amenities, HOA, and What Is Still Under Construction
• Tri Pointe Homes: Phase 1 Inventory and What Comes Standard
• Ashton Woods: VIP Sales, Energy Star Certification, and Higher-Level Finishes
• Side-by-Side Comparison: Tri Pointe vs Ashton Woods
• Property Taxes and PID Fees: The $3,000 Difference No One Puts on the Sign
• Which Builder and Which Phase Make Sense for You

Lagos Reserve: Two Builders, One Neighborhood, Different Tax Bills

Quick housekeeping because the name confuses everyone. There is Lagos and then there is Lagos Reserve . Lagos is the neighborhood next door where Pulte is building. Lagos Reserve is a new community where Ashton Woods and Tri Pointe Homes are building.

Lagos Reserve comes in two parts. The south part is Tri Pointe Homes . Phase 1 has 112 homes. Only eight home sites are left, plus fourteen inventory homes ready to move into. The north part is Ashton Woods . It plans 294 homes, and the map shows the first 89 lots available now. Tri Pointe has started Phase 2 and will also have a third phase with 246 more homes planned. Add it up and this neighborhood is going to have close to 650 homes.

Timing matters. What you can buy here depends on when you show up. The homes for sale today in Tri Pointe Phase 1 do not carry a PID. The homes in the new phases do. That runs about $250 to $300 a month, and it is not optional. We will break down that monthly cost near the end, but the gap is roughly $3,000 to $3,500 a year.

Prices across both builders run from the mid $300,000s to the low $600,000s. HOA is $67 a month. Both builders use brick or stone on the front and fiber cement siding on the rest. Tri Pointe leans into what is behind the walls. Ashton Woods leans into the finishes. Neither is wrong. Walk both before you decide which one you care about.

Location and Commute Times from Lagos Reserve

Lagos Reserve sits on FM 973, a couple of miles from downtown Manor. Highway 290 is north of here. State Highway 130 Toll Road is just west. Those two roads are why people look here.

We drove to the biggest employers and timed it. Tesla Giga Texas is about nine miles away. It takes about fifteen to twenty minutes depending on the route. We just bought a new Tesla Model Y Long Range from the Gigafactory across the street, and we love it, especially the self-driving mode. This is actually the first time we are filming at home with our new Tesla.

Applied Materials is on 290 towards Austin. That took us less than fifteen minutes. Samsung's Austin campus is up on Palmer Lane, and that takes about fifteen to twenty minutes as well. The airport is about twelve miles away and takes about twenty minutes. Downtown Austin is also under twenty minutes, but that depends on traffic and what time you leave. Do not quote us on that. Highway 290 at 5:30 is its own experience.

Groceries are easier. The H-E-B is about three miles north. The builder rep said she went during a really slow time of day and it only took her ten minutes. Home Depot is right beside it, and Walmart is on the other side of the street.

If your job is on the east side, very few new neighborhoods are this close. That is the pitch. Now here is what you get for it.

What You Get: Amenities, HOA, and What Is Still Under Construction

The amenity center sits on the north side close to the Ashton Woods section. The plan calls for a pool, a splash pad, a pavilion, and a pickleball court. Also a fire pit, a play area, and a big open lawn. Ashton Woods lists every one of these as future, and they are currently building it right now. The model home rep at Tri Pointe told us the amenities should be finished at the end of the year. A rendering is not a pool.

Both builders list the same HOA fee, which is $67 a month. That is excellent for HOA. That is about $800 a year, and it covers the common areas. If you have a dog, the trails and the lawn will matter a little more than the pool. Tri Pointe's side also backs up a wide greenbelt along the south side.

Every lot we have seen listed is fifty feet wide and nearly 120 feet deep. The yard comes sodded front and back with sprinklers, which in Texas is necessary. For a dog, that means a usable yard on day one.

Tri Pointe Homes: Phase 1 Inventory and What Comes Standard

We are starting with Tri Pointe because these homes exist right now. This is Phase 1. It has 112 homes and eight home sites are left at this point in time. Tri Pointe has ten floor plans. They run from about 1,800 square feet all the way up to just over 3,100. The builder's advertised price starts around the mid $300,000s for the smallest single-story. The largest plan starts in the mid $400,000s.

The largest model they have is the McKinney. Right off the entry is the first primary suite, and there is a study with doors. That is office number one. The model has an upstairs loft space. That is office number two. You can add a media room upstairs. Seven speakers, 5.1 surround sound, 85-inch LED QLED TV. Let's rock and roll.

The kitchen has a large island, a gas range, and 42-inch upper cabinets. Granite is a standard countertop in the kitchen. Quartz is standard in the bathrooms. Model homes are full of upgrades. Ask which finishes come at the base price.

The main primary bedroom suite is at the back of the house, tucked away and private. That is what is great about this particular model. It has two primary suites on the first floor, which is great for multi-generational living. Several of the two-story plans keep it on the first floor, which our clients love. Every plan has a covered patio.

Every home gets a tankless water heater and a radiant barrier in the roof. There is also a 240-volt outlet in the garage for a car charger, which is a reasonable thing to include nine miles away from Tesla. You also get a water softener loop and a smart home package with mesh Wi-Fi and a video doorbell. And an independent thermal scan of the house before you close. This is to make sure your home is leak-free on day one.

Now the homes you can actually buy. Tri Pointe has eight home sites left that are finished or close to it, in addition to those fourteen inventory homes. They run from the mid $400,000s to the mid $500,000s. Four of them are listed to move into right now. One example: a four-bedroom at just over 2,580 square feet is just under $505,000. Remember that number. We will use it again.

The current offer is $30,000 in flex cash, and you can use that towards closing costs or rate buydowns. Right now they have an FHA and VA loan at 5.25% interest rate if you use their preferred lender. But if you would rather do the flex cash, that $30,000, you may be able to find a lender that can buy your rate down even further. You get to pick one, either the flex cash or the lower interest rate. Offers change, so confirm it with the builder in writing before you choose.

Once the last eight home sites are gone, the next Tri Pointe homes start in Phase 2. Phase 2 has already started, but the county's plan puts it in a special district. Short version: same builder, higher annual bills. And this is the kind of detail that is easy to miss on a model home tour. The sales team is there to sell the builder's home. They work for the builder, not for you. We work for you.

Ashton Woods: VIP Sales, Energy Star Certification, and Higher-Level Finishes

Ashton Woods opened its model home and started VIP sales this very weekend. VIP means the early list gets first picks of a lot. Ashton Woods plans 294 homes here. The map shows the first 89 lots. Ashton Woods also has six floor plans. Four are single stories. The builder rep said two more floor plans are coming soon.

These homes start in the upper $300,000s for just over 1,900 square feet. The largest starts just over $500,000. That one is nearly 3,000 square feet with five bedrooms, and the builder rep told us that with additions you can get it all the way up to 4,000 square feet.

As you walk into the model, you have the first of two primary suites as soon as you enter the home. Followed by the open dining and kitchen and an office. The smallest plan offers a private study as an option. The largest plan has a pocket office, which you will see in this model home.

The finished homes here have a gas cooktop, built-in ovens, and quartz counters. The builder rep was telling me that this community has the higher-level design options. Ask whether those are standard or part of the design package. If you have seen our Rolling Glen tour, those design options are kind of part of a core package. But here in Manor, in Ashton Woods Lagos Reserve section, they said they reserved all of the best design choices for this community.

Ashton Woods sells finishes as collections. You choose a look, not forty different items. Ashton Woods is built well and looks amazing. And the best part, in the hot part of Texas, it is Energy Star certified.

Both two-story plans keep two main bedrooms downstairs. The game room and the other bedrooms go up. This model home also has a full primary suite with a bathroom ensuite on the first floor, which is really great if you have a mother-in-law or maybe a kid who decided to come home to live with you. Our clients love the primary suite separated from everything else, and Ashton Woods does a fantastic job with that. That works for a guest or even a second office.

Now the honest part about price. The smallest plan starts around $380,000. The finished one for sale is just over $460,000. So the gap is a little over $80,000. It is the upgrades and the lot. The starting price is where the conversation begins. It is not where it ends, especially if you have an agent with you.

Five homes are under construction with move-in dates in November and December. Those are the best times to buy new homes at the end of the year. We have done it ourselves. They run from the mid $400,000s to the low $600,000s, and more than 200 homes are still to come after this first map. If you want a specific lot, early is when you get it.

Side-by-Side Comparison: Tri Pointe vs Ashton Woods

Here is the cleanest comparison we could find. Two homes almost the same size, one from each builder.

Tri Pointe : just over 2,580 square feet, four bedrooms, ready now for under $505,000.

Ashton Woods : just over 2,850 square feet, ready around the holidays around $554,000.

That is about $49,000 apart. They are not identical homes. The Ashton Woods one has five bedrooms and four full baths, and Tri Pointe is offering $30,000 on top of that difference. That is very tempting to us. I said to Matt that I wanted to buy the model that we showed you today. We love the kitchen. We will let you know.

Both use brick or stone on the front and fiber cement siding on the rest. Tri Pointe leans into what is behind the walls. Ashton Woods leans into the finishes. Neither is wrong. Walk both before you decide which one you care about. Ask each builder for the warranty in writing. That is what we do for our own clients, and we will compare them for you in writing. That part is free.

Property Taxes and PID Fees: The $3,000 Difference No One Puts on the Sign

Now the part that nobody puts on the sign. Texas has no state income tax. It makes up for it with property taxes.

Tri Pointe's Phase 1 has a total tax rate of 1.82%. Ashton Woods unfortunately has a PID in their first phase. Public Improvement District. It is an annual fee that you have to pay every year. On a $450,000 home, that is about $8,190 a year, or roughly $683 a month before any exemptions and before the PID.

Good news: Tri Pointe does not have a PID in its first phase. That yearly charge pays back the cost of roads and utilities in the new sections. It comes with your tax bill and it stays with the home. Ashton Woods will have this PID in all of its sections, and Tri Pointe will have this PID in its later sections.

The county's plan sets it roughly $3,000 to $3,600 a year depending on the lot size. So that is about $250 to $300 more each month than the first phase of Tri Pointe, and that is something that Ashton Woods will always have with all of its homes. The first bills are due in January 2027, and the schedule runs thirty years.

You are allowed to pay it off early. The payoff is between about $40,000 and $49,000 per lot. So the same floor plan can cost you more per month than one across the street. Add $67 a month for the homeowners association on either side.

Before you sign, ask the builder for the PID notice on that exact lot. When you compare two homes here, compare the monthly number, not the price. We have run that comparison for our clients before they ever visit.

Which Builder and Which Phase Make Sense for You

Lagos Reserve makes sense if your job is on the east side: Tesla, Applied Materials, Samsung, or the airport. It makes sense if you need a real office or even two, and if you want a newer home for less than the same size costs closer to Austin.

Choose Tri Pointe's Phase 1 if you want to move soon. It has eight home sites left at that lower tax rate. And with interest rates higher and higher, it is more important than ever to pull the trigger if you are ready to buy. They also have inventory homes as well, in addition to the home sites that you can build your own.

Choose Ashton Woods if you want to choose your lot and finishes from the start.

The trade-offs are real. 290 backs up at rush hour, and some people are like, I don't want to pay for PIDs or MUDs, but then they are sitting in two-lane traffic for an hour and they are like, where are the roads, where are the bridges. That is why you pay PIDs and MUDs. Infrastructure. And the amenity center is not finished. And construction on the south side will go on for a while. None of that is a secret. It is just easier to hear before you sign.

If Lagos Reserve is on your list, the real question is which builder and which phase. People just like you have been reaching out to us with that exact question. The answer depends on your budget, your timeline, and which lots are left when you're ready.

Book a call with us before you visit a model home. Many builders ask that your agents come with you on the first visit. On that call, we will add you to our Lagos Reserve list for price changes, lot releases, and incentive updates. We walked both builders and pulled the tax numbers. The lots at the lower tax bill will not be there forever. They are selling fast.