Riverstone Sugar Land Guide 2026: The Last Section

Above: the Riverstone entrance. The lakes and landscaping are the amenity load that keeps resale competitive here, and they are also part of what your MUD rate is paying for.

Most neighborhood guides tell you about the pools. I will get to the pools, because there are a lot of them and they matter.

But the thing actually worth knowing about Riverstone in 2026 is that it is running out of land. After roughly two decades and about 6,400 homes, there is one section left. When that sells, Riverstone becomes a resale only market for the first time in its history, and that changes how you should think about buying or selling here.

Key takeaways

• Riverstone spans roughly 3,800 acres with about 6,400 homes and 18,000 residents, developed by Johnson Development Corp beginning in 2001.
• The community is in its final chapter. One section remains, built by Psalms Fine Homes, with about half the remaining homes on waterfront lots, priced from $1.49 million.
• Median sale price was $675,000 in May 2026, the most recent subdivision level figure available, with an average of $722,442. The twelve month direction is genuinely unresolved, see the caveat below.
• The median list price was about $1.14 million in a late July snapshot against that $675,000 median sale. That gap is the single most misread number in this neighborhood.
• Luxury here runs $1 million to $3.5 million, and at that $1.14 million median list, at least half of the 20 active listings sit inside that band. The available inventory is a luxury market. The transaction market is not.
• Property tax rates run roughly 2.1 to 3.14 percent depending on which MUD and levee district your address falls in. That range is wide enough to change your payment by hundreds a month.
• HOA runs about $1,130 on average, with gated sections often paying $2,000 or more, plus additional fees for lakefront lots and transfer fees at resale.

The basics

Riverstone is a large master planned community off Highway 6, about three miles south of US 59, split across Sugar Land and Missouri City with much of it in unincorporated county land inside both cities' extraterritorial jurisdictions.

That jurisdictional split matters more than it sounds. A Riverstone address is not automatically a City of Sugar Land address. Portions sit in Missouri City proper, portions in Sugar Land proper, and much of it is unincorporated. That affects which city services you receive, which city tax rate applies, and occasionally which city you vote in. Verify by address rather than by the marketing.

What is actually here

Riverstone was built as a resort that people happen to live in, and the amenity package is the reason it sold as well as it did for as long as it did.

Three recreation centers anchor it, with pools contoured around rock waterfalls and lake views, lighted tennis courts, a fishing pier, playgrounds, and a 3.5 acre dog park. More than 20 miles of trails run through it. The developer built more than 200 acres of man made lakes into what was originally flat coastal plain, which is why so many streets here have water frontage that geography never provided.

That amenity load is the reason Riverstone was one of the top selling communities in the nation from 2012 through 2018, and it is the reason resale still holds up against newer competition further out. If you want the head to head against the other obvious contender, that is the whole subject of Sweetwater versus Riverstone, and the wider field is mapped in the ultimate guide to Sugar Land neighborhoods.

Not all of Riverstone is gated. Several sections are, and those carry an additional HOA fee. The gated inventory here relative to the rest of the city is covered in the gated communities guide.

The number everyone gets wrong

Here is the most useful thing in this guide, and it is the reason people misjudge this market in both directions.

Median sale price in May 2026 was $675,000. The median list price in a late July snapshot was about $1.14 million.

That is not a contradiction and it is not a market crash. It is a mix problem. Luxury in Riverstone runs roughly $1 million to $3.5 million, and because the median list price is about $1.14 million, at least ten of those twenty listings, half the standing inventory, fall inside the luxury band. The homes sitting on the market in Riverstone skew heavily toward the luxury and waterfront tier, while the homes actually transacting cluster far lower. A late July snapshot showed 20 active listings, running from about $599,000 to $2,845,000, at an average of $290 per square foot, with 59 average days on market.

What that means in practice:

If you are buying, do not anchor on the list prices you see online. The active inventory is not representative of what the neighborhood sells for. The $675,000 median is the honest center of gravity. Do not read a trend into it, for the reason in the caveats.

If you are selling, understand that 59 average days on market is being driven by the top of the market, not the middle. The wider pricing discipline that applies here is in the Fort Bend seller pricing guide. A well priced home in the $600s and $700s does not behave like the $2.8 million waterfront listing in another section, and pricing off those comps is how sellers end up in the price cut column. That is the mistake I see most often here.

If you are appraising your own equity, use sold data, not list data. The gap between the two in this specific neighborhood is larger than almost anywhere else in Sugar Land.

Taxes and HOA, the part that changes your payment

This is where Riverstone gets genuinely complicated, and where two nearly identical homes in different sections of the community can cost meaningfully different amounts to own.

Property tax rates in Riverstone run roughly 2.1 to 3.14 percent depending on the specific municipal utility district and levee improvement district your address falls in. In the Avalon at Riverstone section, the combined rate runs closer to 2.0 to 2.36 percent. On a $700,000 home, the difference between the bottom and the top of that range is well over $600 a month.

That is not a rounding error. It is a bigger swing than most buyers negotiate on price, and it never shows up in a listing.

Here is what that range does to the same house, using a $700,000 Riverstone home and property tax alone:

Same house, same schools, same amenities, different section. Up to $607 a month apart on tax rate alone, before insurance or HOA. That is why the section matters as much as the floor plan here.

HOA runs about $1,130 on average, and gated sections often pay $2,000 or more, with separate additional fees for lakefront homes. There are also transfer costs at resale: a Riverstone Foundation fee and an HOA capitalization fee assessed each time a home sells, with the capitalization funds reserved for future community repairs and improvements. Budget for those when you calculate proceeds, because they surprise sellers at closing. The general mechanics are in the Sugar Land HOA guide, and the wider tax picture is in the Sugar Land property tax guide.

Pull the actual combined rate for the exact address before you write an offer. Not the neighborhood, the address. The Fort Bend Central Appraisal District publishes it.

Schools

Riverstone is zoned to Fort Bend ISD, and the core feeder pattern runs through Anne Sullivan Elementary, Fort Settlement Middle School, and Elkins High School, with portions of the community zoned to Clements or Austin high schools depending on location.

Two things worth knowing this year.

First, Riverstone was not affected by the district's elementary closures. Fort Bend ISD closed seven campuses ahead of this school year, and none of them served Riverstone. If you have been reading about the closures and wondering whether this neighborhood is exposed, it is not. The full picture is in the Fort Bend ISD closures post.

Second, the secondary boundary review is still open. The district began reviewing middle and high school boundaries in April with board consideration expected in early fall. Riverstone's split across three possible high schools makes it more sensitive to that review than a neighborhood with a single feeder. Verify the assignment for your exact address through the district's locator, and treat the high school assignment as subject to change.

Flood and drainage

Riverstone's lakes are engineered infrastructure, not decoration, and that is mostly good news. It is also a reason to check rather than assume.

The 200 plus acres of man made lakes serve a drainage function alongside the aesthetic one, and much of the community sits behind levee improvement district infrastructure, which is part of why the tax rate varies by section. The LID line item on your bill is paying for flood protection.

That does not mean any given address is outside a mapped flood zone, and it does not mean a lakefront lot carries the same risk profile as an interior one. Pull the zone by address, and read the Sugar Land flood zones buyer's guide before you fall in love with a water view. Given where we are on the calendar, the flood insurance timing post is the other half of that decision.

What the final section means for you

Riverstone has one section left, and when it is gone the neighborhood becomes resale only. That is a genuine turning point and it cuts differently depending on which side of the transaction you are on.

The remaining homes are being built by Psalms Fine Homes, a luxury custom builder, with about half of the remaining lots on the water, priced from $1.49 million. That is well above the neighborhood's $675,000 median sale, which tells you the developer is finishing at the top of the market rather than the middle.

For existing owners, this is mildly positive. Once builders stop selling, resale listings no longer compete against a new build with incentives, a warranty and a design center. That competition has been suppressing resale pricing in every active master planned community in Fort Bend, and it is exactly the dynamic I described in the builder incentives guide. Riverstone is about to stop having that problem.

For buyers, it means the discount window is closing. If you specifically wanted new construction in Riverstone at a normal price point, that opportunity is largely gone. What is left is $1.49 million and up, or resale.

For anyone comparing communities, it means Riverstone is now the mature option and the growth is elsewhere. The active building is west and south now, which is the story I covered in the Fort Bend school district split and the Grand Parkway extension.

Who Riverstone is actually right for

Straight answer: families who will use the amenities, and buyers who want scale.

It fits you if you have kids who will live at the rec centers, you want lake views without leaving Fort Bend, you value having three pools and 20 miles of trails inside the gate rather than a drive away, and you are comfortable paying a MUD rate for infrastructure that was built rather than inherited.

It does not fit you if you want a low tax rate, a small HOA, or a quiet street with no programming. Riverstone is enormous and it is organized. Some people love that and some people find it exhausting, and both reactions are correct. If the second one is you, mature Sugar Land with lower carrying costs is a better hunt, and First Colony or Telfair are the natural comparisons.

If you are shopping the top of this market specifically, the wider luxury picture is in the Sugar Land million dollar market.

The honest caveats

Three, straight.

First, the acreage and start date genuinely differ by source. Riverstone's size is cited anywhere between 3,700 and 3,860 acres, and while development began in 2001, some sources list the community as established in 2007. I have given you the range rather than pick a number and pretend it is settled.

Second, the price figures are snapshots, this is a thin market, and the year over year direction does not survive scrutiny. I checked several sources and got a trailing twelve month median down 11 percent from one, down 3 percent from another, and an average home value up 2.4 percent from a third. Those are not the same measurement, and with only 20 active listings and single sales above $2 million, no subdivision level trend number here is trustworthy. Use the $675,000 median as a level, not a trend, and pull current comps for your specific section and price band before making a decision.

Third, the tax rate range is the single largest variable here and I cannot resolve it for you generically. Two point one percent versus three point one four percent is the difference between comfortable and stretched on the same house. Get the actual rate for the actual address from the Fort Bend Central Appraisal District before you get emotionally committed.

Frequently asked questions

How big is Riverstone in Sugar Land?

Riverstone spans roughly 3,800 acres, with sources citing figures between 3,700 and 3,860, and contains about 6,400 homes and 18,000 residents. It includes more than 500 acres of open space, more than 200 acres of man made lakes, and more than 20 miles of trails. It was developed by Johnson Development Corp beginning in 2001 and spans both Sugar Land and Missouri City.

What is the average home price in Riverstone?

The median sale price was $675,000 in May 2026 with an average sale price of $722,442, which is the most recent subdivision level reading available. The twelve month direction is not reliably measurable at this level, since published figures range from down 11 percent to up 2 percent depending on the source and the property mix. Active listings skew much higher, with a late July snapshot showing a median list price near $1.14 million, because the homes sitting on the market lean toward the luxury and waterfront tier rather than the neighborhood's actual transaction range.

What are the HOA fees in Riverstone?

HOA runs about $1,130 per year on average, and homes in gated sections often pay $2,000 or more, with additional fees for lakefront lots. There are also charges at resale, including a Riverstone Foundation fee and an HOA capitalization fee collected each time a home sells, with capitalization funds set aside for future community repairs and improvements.

What is the property tax rate in Riverstone?

Total property tax rates run roughly 2.1 to 3.14 percent depending on the specific municipal utility district and levee improvement district serving the address. The Avalon at Riverstone section runs closer to 2.0 to 2.36 percent. On a $700,000 home that range is a difference of more than $600 a month, so the rate must be confirmed by exact address through the Fort Bend Central Appraisal District.

What schools is Riverstone zoned to?

Riverstone is zoned to Fort Bend ISD, with the core feeder running through Anne Sullivan Elementary, Fort Settlement Middle School and Elkins High School. Portions are zoned to Clements or Austin high schools depending on location. None of the seven elementary schools Fort Bend ISD closed this year served Riverstone, though the district's secondary boundary review remains open into the fall.

Is Riverstone still building new homes?

Barely. Riverstone is in its final chapter with one section remaining, built by luxury custom builder Psalms Fine Homes, with about half the remaining homes on waterfront lots and pricing from $1.49 million. Once that section sells out, Riverstone becomes a resale only market, which removes the builder competition that has been holding down resale pricing across active master planned communities in Fort Bend.

Is Riverstone in Sugar Land or Missouri City?

Both, and often neither in the strict sense. Riverstone spans the two cities, with portions in Missouri City proper, strips in Sugar Land proper, and a large share in unincorporated county land inside both cities' extraterritorial jurisdictions. That determines which city services and city tax rate apply, so it needs to be verified by address rather than assumed from the community name.

Bottom line

Riverstone is the most amenity heavy community in its price range in Fort Bend, it is zoned to good Fort Bend ISD schools, and it was not touched by this year's elementary closures. The trade is carrying cost: a MUD and levee rate that runs as high as 3.14 percent, an HOA with add on fees, and transfer charges at resale.

The 2026 story is that it is finishing. One section left, from $1.49 million, half of it on the water. For owners that is quietly good news, because the builder competition that has been capping resale values is about to end. For buyers it means the entry point into new construction here is gone and resale is the market.

The number to hold onto is $675,000, not the $1.1 million you will see on the listing sites. And the number to actually check is your tax rate, because in this neighborhood it varies more than the house does.

Thinking about a specific section or a specific street? Send it to me and I will pull the exact MUD rate, the school assignment and the real comps for that pocket, which is a different answer than the neighborhood average in almost every case.

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Sources: Johnson Development, Riverstone; Riverstone community site; Fort Bend Central Appraisal District.