Painted Tree in McKinney, Texas: The Complete Buyer's Guide

by OnDemand Realty

Painted Tree in McKinney, Texas: The Complete Buyer's Guide

There are master-planned communities in North Texas built around golf courses. There are communities built around resort pools. There are communities built around retail districts and town squares. And then there is Painted Tree — a 1,100-acre master-planned community in McKinney built around something genuinely different: the land itself.

Two hundred acres of preserved open space. A 20-acre fish-stocked lake. Twenty-five miles of trails through woods, prairie, and creek corridors. A signature amenity hub designed to evoke America's National Parks. A community "park ranger" — an actual staff position — whose job is to plan events and experiences exclusively for residents.

Painted Tree has appeared on RCLCO's national list of top-selling master-planned communities in the United States — multiple times. It ranked on that list before its grand opening even happened, selling 223 homes in the first half of 2023 while model homes were still under construction. As of September 2025, the community was entering its final phase of development, with the Dallas Business Journal covering the milestone.

This guide covers everything a buyer needs to know: the developer and backstory, the three districts, every builder and their product, pricing, the amenity package in depth, the schools, the tax rate — which is one of the more favorable in the McKinney new construction market — and an honest assessment of what Painted Tree is and who it's for.

The Developer and the Origin Story

Painted Tree is developed by Oxland Group, a Dallas/Fort Worth-based residential development company focused on large-scale master-planned communities in high-growth Texas markets. Oxland's co-president and founder Tom Woliver has been the public face of the development since its announcement, and the company's approach to Painted Tree reflects a specific philosophy: that a community can be built around the character of the land rather than imposing a built environment over it.

The site itself — 1,100 acres north of US-380 between Hardin Boulevard and Lake Forest Drive, three miles west of downtown McKinney — is the reason for the community's identity. The land has genuine natural character: wooded creek corridors, rolling prairie, the natural drainage basin that became the 20-acre lake, and the tree canopy that gives the community its name. Oxland's planning decisions — dedicating 200 acres to permanent open space, running 25 miles of trails through the natural features rather than around them, and commissioning a National Park-inspired design aesthetic for the amenity infrastructure — reflect a development team that started with the land and built around it.

The grand opening event on September 9, 2023, drew more than 3,500 people — one of the largest community grand openings in recent DFW memory. McKinney Mayor George Fuller played guitar on stage. A petting zoo and food trucks populated the grounds. ManeGait — a McKinney-based nonprofit providing horse therapy for children and adults with disabilities — was introduced as Painted Tree's official charitable partner. And Taco the Goat attended a ribbon-eating ceremony. The grand opening reflected exactly the community personality Oxland was building toward: warm, outdoorsy, community-first, and genuinely fun.

Location: Three Miles from Downtown McKinney, Next to Everything Else

Painted Tree's address is McKinney, TX 75071, located north of University Drive (US-380) between Hardin Boulevard and Lake Forest Drive — just west of I-75 (Central Expressway). This position gives the community a rare combination: genuine natural surroundings within three miles of one of North Texas's most vibrant downtowns.

Highway access:

I-75 (US-75, Central Expressway) — less than a mile east of the community, the primary north-south corridor connecting McKinney to Plano, Allen, and Dallas
US-380 (University Drive) — the east-west connector running directly along the community's southern edge, connecting to Frisco, Prosper, and the US-75/SH-121 interchange
SH-121 — accessible south via I-75, connecting to DFW Airport, Frisco, and Allen

Distance from key destinations:

Downtown McKinney: 3 miles
Historic Adriatica Village (European-inspired boutique shopping and dining): minutes away — Cavalli Pizza, Starwood Café, Tantra, and boutique retail within a short drive
Frisco (Legacy West, The Star, Stonebriar Mall): approximately 20 minutes via US-380 west
DFW International Airport: approximately 35 minutes via I-75 south and SH-114
Downtown Dallas: approximately 35-40 minutes via I-75 south
Collin County Community College: short drive, directly accessible from the McKinney corridor
UNT Frisco Campus: approximately 20 minutes west via US-380
Fields West (the 2,500-acre mixed-use development planned adjacent to Frisco and McKinney, including a confirmed Universal Studios entertainment complex): within the broader US-380 corridor
Sunset Amphitheater at McKinney: approximately 10 minutes east at US-75 and SH-121

The US-380 corridor is one of the most consequential commercial and residential development corridors in North Texas right now. The intersection of US-380 and SH-121 anchors billions in planned investment — the Fields West development, the Sunset Amphitheater, and multiple corporate relocations have designated this stretch of southern Collin County as one of the highest-growth corridors in the country. Painted Tree sits at the western edge of that corridor, close enough to benefit from the infrastructure investment without being in the thick of the construction activity.

The Three Districts

Painted Tree is not a single-density subdivision. It is organized into three distinct districts, each defined by the character of the land it occupies and offering a different residential experience within the same master-planned framework. Understanding the districts is the first step before comparing builders or floor plans.

The Lakeside District

The Lakeside District surrounds Painted Tree Lake — the community's 20-acre, fish-stocked centerpiece — and is home to The Outpost, the community's signature National Park-inspired amenity hub. This is the most socially animated district of the three: closest to the water, closest to the community's primary gathering infrastructure, and the district that defines the visual identity of Painted Tree in most marketing photography.

Lakeside South, developed by Normandy Homes, is specifically positioned around the lake with lakeside and lake-view homesites offering direct visual access to the water from the home. Some sections of the Lakeside District have already sold out — a signal of how quickly the community's best-positioned lots move once they open for sale.

The Lakeside District is also home to The Outpost's food truck court, event lawn, lookout tower, and outdoor adventure park — meaning Lakeside residents are the most walkable to the community's highest-activity gathering space.

The Woodland District

The Woodland District occupies the treed and forested section of the community, with single-track paths winding through 200 acres of protected forest and prairie connecting to community hubs, pools, and gathering spaces. CB JENI Homes builds townhomes in the Woodland District, while Normandy Homes and CB JENI offer single-family and attached product respectively.

The Woodland District's school zoning differs from the Lakeside and Village Districts: Woodland residents attend McClure Elementary, Cockrill Middle School, and McKinney Boyd High School — one of McKinney ISD's most highly regarded campuses and the district's largest high school.

If you are a buyer who values a wooded, quieter setting over lakeside proximity — who would rather have a trail through trees behind the house than a view of the water — the Woodland District is specifically designed for that preference.

The Village District

The Village District is the community's most diverse product district — currently home to CB JENI Homes townhomes built on smaller footprints with attached-home living and shared exterior maintenance managed through the HOA. The Village District is the most accessible price point within Painted Tree for buyers who want the community's full amenity access (trails, The Outpost, the lake, the pools) without the single-family price tag.

Village District homes are zoned to Minshew Elementary, Scott Johnson Middle School, and McKinney North High School.

The Builders: Nine at Launch, More Added Since

Painted Tree opened with nine builders in September 2023, covering a range from production townhomes to semi-custom single-family. Additional builders have been added since launch. Here is the complete builder picture:

CB JENI Homes

CB JENI is a Green Brick Partners brand focused on attached homes — townhomes and paired homes — at accessible price points within master-planned communities. They build in both the Village District (townhomes) and Woodland District (townhomes) at Painted Tree, and are the primary builder serving the community's lower price tier.

Village District townhome HOA dues through CB JENI: approximately $395 per month, which includes the $305 townhome association fee plus the $90 master community HOA. The townhome fee covers exterior building maintenance, landscaping including biannual mulch and seasonal flowers, irrigation maintenance, building insurance, and HOA management — essentially a full-maintenance exterior package that removes the individual homeowner's burden for those items.

Normandy Homes

Normandy Homes builds in both the Woodland West and Lakeside South sections of Painted Tree, offering single-family product with open-concept layouts, dramatic two-story ceilings, and spacious game rooms. Their Lakeside South product positions buyers closest to the lake with the strongest water-view homesites in the community. Note: several Lakeside South sections have sold out, and availability fluctuates as new phases open.

Normandy is a Green Brick Partners brand — the same parent company as CB JENI — which means shared lending incentives through Green Brick Mortgage (NMLS #2618876) are available across both brands.

Southgate Homes

Southgate Homes offers their 60' Series at Painted Tree — single-family homes on 60-foot-wide homesites ranging from approximately 2,928 to 4,392 square feet. Configuration ranges from 3 to 5 bedrooms and 3.5 to 5.5 bathrooms, with both single-story and two-story floor plans available. Southgate is also a Green Brick Partners brand, enabling bundled mortgage and title incentives.

For buyers who want meaningful square footage, flexible bedroom counts, and a more substantial home footprint on a wider lot within Painted Tree, Southgate's 60' Series is the production builder option that scales toward the upper end of the community's single-family range.

Highland Homes

Highland Homes is one of the most respected Texas-focused production builders in the DFW market, known for design quality, construction standards, and customer experience. Their Painted Tree product represents their standard premium approach — open layouts, energy-efficient construction, and curated interior finish packages — applied to one of McKinney's most nature-forward communities.

Coventry Homes

Coventry Homes joined Painted Tree after the initial grand opening builder lineup, bringing their Eco Smart energy efficiency program and multiple floor plan options. Their Painted Tree presence covers homesites north of US-380, with a product range that complements the broader single-family lineup. Estimated monthly payments published on their site start around $1,887 for base configurations and scale to $4,015+ for larger floor plans — providing a useful transparency benchmark for buyers budgeting total housing costs.

Trophy Signature Homes

Trophy Signature Homes brings a distinct offering to Painted Tree: free Interior Design Services through their furnishing partner MINE, whose certified designers are specifically trained on Trophy Signature floor plans and work with buyers to create a custom interior look at no additional cost. For buyers who struggle with the design center process — the upgrade decision-making that can add tens of thousands to a base price — this built-in design support is a meaningful differentiator.

Trophy Signature has appeared on RCLCO's national top-selling communities lists, indicating strong sales performance within Painted Tree specifically.

Drees Custom Homes

Drees is a family-owned national builder with deep Texas roots and a reputation that sits between production building and true custom construction. Their Painted Tree product offers more personalization than a standard production builder allows, with a Design Center process where buyers work with professionals to customize floor plans, structural options, and finish selections before breaking ground.

David Weekley Homes

David Weekley is a privately held Houston-based builder with a customer-first reputation and strong energy efficiency commitments. Their Painted Tree homes reflect their standard approach: flexible floor plans, quality construction standards, and a weekly communication cadence during construction that keeps buyers informed of progress. Weekley has a long track record in McKinney master-planned communities.

Tri Pointe Homes

Tri Pointe is a publicly traded national builder whose DFW presence covers multiple master-planned communities. Their Painted Tree product emphasizes design-forward interiors and lifestyle-optimized floor plans, with flexible spaces designed for how people actually use their homes — home offices, bonus rooms, and open social spaces that accommodate the post-pandemic definition of home.

Centre Living Homes

Centre Living Homes rounds out the Painted Tree builder roster, offering additional product diversity in the single-family segment. Centre Living is a boutique DFW builder with a focus on elevated design and a curated homebuyer experience.

Pricing: From the $300s to $1 Million and Beyond

Painted Tree's pricing range — advertised by the community as "from the $300s to $1M+" — reflects the breadth of product types across its three districts and multiple builders.

Here is how the range breaks down in practice:

Townhomes (CB JENI, Village and Woodland Districts): Entry price tier, starting in the $300s. Exact current pricing varies by phase and inventory availability. The townhome HOA dues of $395/month cover exterior maintenance, building insurance, and landscaping — meaning total monthly carrying cost is higher than the mortgage alone, but out-of-pocket maintenance responsibility is lower.

Single-family production homes (Coventry, Highland, Trophy Signature, Tri Pointe, Normandy, David Weekley, Centre Living): Range broadly from the high $400,000s to the $700,000s for most floor plans. Specific published pricing from Coventry's estimated monthly payment calculator suggests homes ranging from approximately $380,000 to $700,000+ at current rates. Trophy Signature's Violet IV floor plan — one of their model home designs — carries a base price around $657,900 with move-in ready homes typically ranging $700,000 to $740,000 depending on options and lot premiums.

60' Series single-family (Southgate): 2,928 to 4,392 sq ft homes at the higher end of the production builder price range, approaching $800,000+ for fully optioned larger floor plans.

Semi-custom and custom (Drees Custom): Upper range of the community, where buyers work through a more personalized process that can push pricing toward and beyond $1 million depending on lot, structure, and finish selections.

Budget guidance for all buyers: Base pricing is the starting point. Plan for upgrades, lot premiums, and options to add 10-13% on average above the published base price before you have the home you actually want. On a $600,000 base home, that means budgeting $660,000 to $678,000 in total home cost before closing costs. Know your all-in number before you walk into the design studio.

The Amenity Package: What Makes Painted Tree Different

The amenity infrastructure at Painted Tree is the community's strongest competitive differentiator. Other McKinney master-planned communities have pools. Painted Tree has something more coherent — a connected, trail-first, nature-forward amenity ecosystem with a defined identity and a staff position dedicated to making it come alive.

The Outpost

The Outpost is Painted Tree's signature amenity hub, located in the Lakeside District and designed to evoke America's National Parks in both architecture and purpose. It features a covered pavilion with a porch, a lookout tower offering elevated views across the community, an outdoor adventure park, children's playgrounds, a fire pit, and a food truck court.

The programming at The Outpost is where the "community park ranger" position becomes concrete. This is not a branding exercise. Painted Tree employs an actual staff member whose designated role is planning and executing resident-only events: concerts at the pavilion, food truck gatherings, seasonal celebrations, cultural events, and the kind of spontaneous community programming that most HOA boards delegate to a volunteer committee and watch wither by February. The park ranger model is borrowed from the National Park Service ethos — the idea that a dedicated, passionate human presence in a natural space makes that space come alive in ways that signage and brochures cannot.

The Lake

Painted Tree Lake is 20 acres and fish-stocked. Residents can fish from the shoreline, cast lines from the piers, use non-motorized watercraft, picnic along the lake edge, and watch sunsets from the lookout tower at The Outpost. For buyers coming from communities where the "lake" is a retention pond visible from the highway, Painted Tree's 20-acre stocked fishing lake is a meaningfully different experience.

The Lakeside Trailhead and Pool — planned to open as a future amenity hub — will provide additional recreation infrastructure directly adjacent to the water, with resort-style pool access and lake views from the pool deck.

The Trail System

Twenty-five miles of trails are the connective tissue of the entire Painted Tree community. The trail network links all three districts to all three amenity hubs, running through wooded corridors, along the lake perimeter, across prairie, and through the natural features that define the site's character.

The trail system accommodates walking, jogging, cycling, and leashed pets. Two pump tracks are embedded within the trail infrastructure for mountain bikers and younger riders. Three signature trailheads serve as access anchors — the Village Trailhead, the Outpost area, and the planned Lakeside Trailhead — each with distinct surrounding amenities and programming.

For buyers who use trail systems as a daily habit rather than an occasional amenity, 25 miles provides genuine variety. Most DFW master-planned community trail networks top out at 3 to 8 miles before you're repeating loops. Painted Tree's scale gives committed trail users new routes within the community for weeks before repetition.

The Pools

Painted Tree features multiple resort-style pools across its amenity hub structure. The Village Trailhead and Pool serves the northern section of the community. The Lakeside hub provides additional pool access with lake views. The pools are resident-only, accessible by trail from any section of the community without requiring a car.

The Montessori School

An on-site Montessori school was planned to open in spring 2024 within the Painted Tree community. An on-site school within a master-planned community — particularly a Montessori school that serves younger children with a nature-integrated curriculum — is a genuine lifestyle amenity for families with preschool-age children. The community's trail system, open space, and outdoor programming philosophy makes Painted Tree a natural fit for Montessori-aligned educational approaches.

ManeGait: The Community's Charitable Partner

ManeGait is a McKinney-based nonprofit that provides therapeutic horsemanship programs for children and adults with disabilities, including cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, traumatic brain injury, and veterans with PTSD. Painted Tree selected ManeGait as its official charitable partner at the grand opening, embedding philanthropy into the community's identity rather than treating it as a check written at the end of the fiscal year.

For residents, this partnership creates an additional point of community cohesion — a shared cause around which volunteer opportunities, fundraising events, and community gatherings can organize. It also signals something about the kind of community Oxland was trying to build: one that is outward-facing and connected to McKinney's broader civic life rather than insular.

Schools: McKinney ISD — An "A"-Rated District

All of Painted Tree is served by McKinney Independent School District, which earns an overall grade of A from Niche.com. McKinney ISD is one of the most consistently well-regarded school districts in Collin County — a meaningful claim in a county where school quality is a primary driver of residential real estate demand.

The specific campus assignments vary by district within Painted Tree:

Village District:

Minshew Elementary
Scott Johnson Middle School
McKinney North High School

Woodland District:

McClure Elementary
Cockrill Middle School
McKinney Boyd High School

Lakeside District: Verify specific campus assignments directly with McKinney ISD, as zoning for newer phases may reflect updated boundaries.

McKinney Boyd High School is one of McKinney ISD's largest and most awarded campuses, consistently appearing in state and national rankings for academic performance, fine arts programs, and athletics. For Woodland District buyers, Boyd's zoning is a meaningful differentiator versus other McKinney ISD high school zones.

McKinney ISD as a whole has a strong arts program identity — the district has been recognized as one of the state's most distinguished arts programs — and benefits from McKinney's broader cultural investment in the arts community downtown.

The district is also in close proximity to Collin County Community College's McKinney campus and the University of North Texas's Frisco campus, which opened in recent years as a significant expansion of higher education access in the northern DFW corridor.

The Tax Rate: One of the Best in McKinney New Construction

Painted Tree carries a combined property tax rate of approximately 1.746%, composed of four taxing entities:

Taxing Entity	Rate (per $100)
City of McKinney	$0.412
McKinney ISD	$1.104
Collin County	$0.149
Collin College	$0.081
Combined	~$1.746%

In real dollar terms:

A home appraised at $500,000 × 1.746% = $8,730 per year ($728/month)
A home appraised at $650,000 × 1.746% = $11,349 per year ($946/month)
A home appraised at $800,000 × 1.746% = $13,968 per year ($1,164/month)

These are pre-homestead-exemption figures. Texas's homestead exemption — including the $140,000 school homestead exemption approved under Proposition 13 in November 2025, effective for the 2026 tax year — reduces your taxable value for the McKinney ISD component of your bill, which at $1.104 per $100 is the largest single component of the Painted Tree rate.

Critical context: Painted Tree does not carry a Municipal Utility District (MUD) tax or a Public Improvement District (PID) assessment on top of the standard ad valorem rate. In communities like Trinity Falls (which falls within McKinney MUD #1), buyers pay standard property taxes plus a separate MUD levy — which can add $3,500 to $4,900 or more per year to the carrying cost. Painted Tree's 1.746% is the complete picture, without a hidden special district surcharge layered on top.

How the Painted Tree rate compares to nearby markets:

Solterra / Mesquite (MISD): approximately 3.34% plus a 20-year PID assessment
Frisco (Frisco ISD): approximately 2.16%
Prosper (Prosper ISD): approximately 2.45%
Flower Mound / Argyle ISD (Furst Ranch): approximately 1.75%
McKinney / McKinney ISD (Painted Tree): approximately 1.746%

Painted Tree's rate is competitive with Furst Ranch in Flower Mound — and significantly better than every major Collin County and Denton County master-planned community in higher-demand school districts. For a buyer purchasing a $650,000 home, the difference between Painted Tree's 1.746% and Frisco ISD's 2.16% is approximately $2,691 per year — or roughly $224 per month — in perpetuity.

HOA dues for single-family homes: $270 per quarter ($1,080 per year) for the master HOA. This is among the most favorable HOA assessments for the amenity package it covers — 25 miles of trails, 200 acres of open space, a 20-acre lake, resort pools, The Outpost, and park ranger programming.

HOA dues for townhomes (Village and Woodland Districts): Approximately $395 per month total — $305 for the townhome sub-association (which covers exterior maintenance, building insurance, landscaping, and irrigation) plus $90 for the master HOA. For buyers comparing townhome versus single-family carrying costs, the townhome HOA is higher in monthly dues but lower in out-of-pocket maintenance expense since exterior work is association-managed.

What's Around Painted Tree: The McKinney Lifestyle Advantage

The community's location three miles from downtown McKinney is not incidental. Downtown McKinney is one of the most genuinely vibrant small city downtowns in North Texas — a historic district anchored by the Collin County Courthouse on the town square, lined with locally owned restaurants, wine bars, boutiques, art galleries, a weekly farmers market, the McKinney Performing Arts Center, and seasonal festivals that draw visitors from across the Metroplex.

Chestnut Square is McKinney's historic village complex, hosting regular events, craft fairs, and cultural programming. The McKinney Arts and Culture Center and McKinney Performing Arts Center provide a sustained arts calendar that competes with anything in a DFW suburb. McKinney was previously recognized by Money magazine as one of the "Best Places to Live in America" and by WalletHub as one of the "Best Places for First-Time Home Buyers."

The Adriatica Village district — a European-inspired boutique shopping and dining enclave nearby — provides walkable access to Cavalli Pizza, Starwood Café, Tantra, and boutique retail that contrasts the chain-heavy retail of most DFW suburban corridors. For Painted Tree residents, this is the closest everyday dining and shopping cluster to the community.

Looking ahead, the Fields West development — a 2,500-acre master-planned mixed-use development at the US-380/SH-121 interchange — includes a confirmed Universal Studios entertainment complex, retail, office, and residential components that will make the US-380 corridor one of the most complete live-work-play environments in North Texas within the next decade. Painted Tree residents sit at the front edge of this corridor's transformation.

And the Sunset Amphitheater at McKinney — currently under construction at US-75 and SH-121, scheduled to open Q3 2026 with a 20,000-seat capacity and 70 concerts annually — is approximately 10 minutes from Painted Tree. The Aikman Club at that venue (covered separately on this blog) gives buyers a sense of the entertainment infrastructure coming to this corridor.

National Recognition: Top-Selling in America

Painted Tree has appeared on RCLCO's Mid-Year and Year-End lists of the 50 top-selling master-planned communities in the United States — a ranking that tracks actual home sales volume rather than community size or amenity marketing.

Making that list before a community's grand opening — which Painted Tree did in mid-2023, recording 223 sales in the first six months of the year — is described by Tom Woliver as "nearly unprecedented." The community's sales velocity reflects genuine market demand rather than developer promotional activity.

As of December 2025, Painted Tree was again recognized among the nation's top-selling master-planned communities across multiple 2025 industry rankings. As of September 2025, the community was entering its final phase of development — the milestone that signals a community is approaching completion of its total planned homesite inventory.

The implication for buyers: Painted Tree is in its final phase. The window to purchase new construction within the community is closing. Buyers who want to be part of this community should be evaluating it now, not in twelve months when inventory is significantly tighter.

Who Painted Tree Is Right For

Painted Tree works well for:

Buyers who genuinely use outdoor amenities. The community's trail system, lake, and open space are daily-use infrastructure for residents who walk, run, cycle, and fish as a regular habit — not just something to Instagram on moving-in day. If outdoor access is a quality-of-life priority rather than a marketing preference, Painted Tree was designed around your lifestyle.

McKinney ISD families at any price point. The A-rated district, the on-site Montessori school, and the community's educational philosophy (art, nature, and outdoor programming embedded in daily life) create an environment where the school district and the neighborhood reinforce the same values.

Buyers who want reasonable carrying costs without sacrificing amenity quality. The 1.746% combined tax rate, the absence of any MUD or PID assessment, and the $270-per-quarter master HOA produce total non-mortgage monthly costs that are favorable compared to most comparable amenity-rich DFW master-planned communities.

Buyers who want variety in product type under one community umbrella. Townhomes, single-family production homes, semi-custom product, and larger 60' lot homes are all available within Painted Tree — buyers can compare builders and product types within a single site visit rather than driving across three cities.

Painted Tree may not be right for buyers who:

Want a golf course-anchored or sports-facility-anchored community. Painted Tree's amenity philosophy is trails, nature, and community gathering — not tennis courts, a clubhouse with a bar, or a resort pool with a lazy river. If those specific amenities are priorities, communities like Stonebridge Ranch, Lantana, or Viridian are better fits.

Need more than 4,400 square feet. The largest production home at Painted Tree (Southgate's 60' Series) tops out around 4,392 square feet. Custom buyers who need 5,000+ square feet and fully custom execution have limited options within the community.

Want a fully mature community with completed landscaping, established trees, and no active construction. As Painted Tree enters its final phase, some sections are still under active development. Buyers purchasing in new phases will have neighboring construction activity for some period post-close.

Buying New Construction at Painted Tree: What Every Buyer Should Know

Your buyer's agent costs you nothing. Every builder at Painted Tree has on-site sales agents who represent the builder. An independent buyer's agent represents you, reviews the contract, compares builders, helps identify leverage points for incentives, and makes sure the full cost picture — including upgrades, lot premiums, and HOA dues — is clear before you sign. Builder co-op commissions cover the buyer agent's fee entirely.

Budget 10-13% above base price. The published starting price is a floor, not a ceiling. Lot premiums on lake-view, greenbelt-adjacent, or cul-de-sac homesites can add $30,000 to $80,000 before a single upgrade is selected. Know your all-in budget before the design studio appointment.

Builder incentives are real and negotiable — but front-loaded. Interest rate buydowns, closing cost contributions, and option credits are the primary incentive levers. Green Brick Mortgage (the preferred lender for CB JENI, Normandy, and Southgate) has run promotions including 1/0 and 2/1 buydowns with first-year rates as low as 3.99% on qualifying loans. Compare builder-preferred lender terms against your own lender before committing — the difference matters over 30 years even when the first-year rate looks attractive.

Get an independent inspection. Even on new construction. Request a pre-drywall inspection and a final walkthrough inspection from a third-party inspector. Production builders build at scale, and QA processes are not perfect. Issues caught before drywall are simple fixes. Issues discovered post-closing are warranty claims that take time.

File your homestead exemption on time. Collin Central Appraisal District (collincad.org) accepts homestead exemption applications beginning January 1 and requires filing by April 30 of the year following your purchase. Missing the window means paying the full 1.746% rate on the full appraised value for an extra year. The $140,000 school homestead exemption (effective 2026 tax year) is particularly meaningful against the McKinney ISD component of the rate. Don't miss it.

The Bottom Line

Painted Tree is the rare master-planned community where the marketing matches the product. The 25 miles of trails are real. The 20-acre lake is real. The National Park-inspired Outpost is real. The park ranger is real. The ManeGait partnership is real. And the sales velocity — recognized on national top-selling community lists before the grand opening even happened — reflects genuine market demand from buyers who've seen through the DFW new construction landscape and chosen this specific community.

The combination of an A-rated McKinney ISD school district, a 1.746% combined property tax rate with no MUD or PID, a $270-per-quarter master HOA against a comprehensive amenity package, and one of the most authentically nature-forward community designs in North Texas is not a coincidence. It is the result of a developer that started with the land and built a community worthy of it.

As Painted Tree enters its final phase, the window for new construction in this community is genuinely closing. Buyers who want to be here should be looking now.

If you want to tour Painted Tree's districts side by side, compare builders, understand contract terms, or evaluate whether a Painted Tree townhome or single-family home is the right fit for your timeline and budget, we're here to help.

Frequently Asked Questions About Painted Tree

Who developed Painted Tree? Oxland Group, a Dallas/Fort Worth-based residential development company. Co-president and founder Tom Woliver has been the public face of the development since its inception.

Where is Painted Tree located? North of US-380 (University Drive) between Hardin Boulevard and Lake Forest Drive in McKinney, TX 75071 — approximately three miles west of downtown McKinney and just west of I-75 (Central Expressway).

What is the property tax rate at Painted Tree? Approximately 1.746% combined, based on City of McKinney (0.412%), McKinney ISD (1.104%), Collin County (0.149%), and Collin College (0.081%). There is no MUD or PID assessment at Painted Tree. Verify current rates with the Collin Central Appraisal District before closing.

What are the HOA dues? Single-family homes: $270 per quarter ($1,080/year) for the master HOA. Townhomes: approximately $395/month total — $305 townhome sub-association plus $90 master HOA.

What school district serves Painted Tree? McKinney Independent School District (A-rated on Niche). Village District: Minshew Elementary, Scott Johnson Middle School, McKinney North High School. Woodland District: McClure Elementary, Cockrill Middle School, McKinney Boyd High School. Verify Lakeside District zoning directly with McKinney ISD.

How many homes are planned at build-out? Approximately 3,400 to 3,500 total residential homesites across all three districts.

What builders are building at Painted Tree? CB JENI Homes, Normandy Homes, Southgate Homes, Highland Homes, Coventry Homes, Trophy Signature Homes, Drees Custom Homes, David Weekley Homes, Tri Pointe Homes, and Centre Living Homes.

What is the price range? Townhomes start in the $300s. Single-family production homes range broadly from the high $400,000s to the $800,000s. Semi-custom and custom homes can reach $1 million and above. Budget 10-13% above base price for upgrades and lot premiums.

What are the three districts? Lakeside District (surrounds the 20-acre lake, home to The Outpost), Woodland District (forested and trail-focused, single-track wooded paths), and Village District (townhomes, CB JENI primary builder).

Does Painted Tree have a MUD or PID? No. Painted Tree is not within a Municipal Utility District or Public Improvement District. The 1.746% combined rate is the complete ad valorem picture.

What is The Outpost? Painted Tree's National Park-inspired signature amenity hub, featuring a covered pavilion, a lookout tower, a food truck court, an outdoor adventure park, children's playgrounds, and a fire pit. It is the community's primary gathering and event space, programmed by a dedicated community park ranger.

Is there a lake at Painted Tree? Yes. Painted Tree Lake is 20 acres and fish-stocked. Residents can fish, picnic lakeside, and access the lake by trail from any district in the community.

What national recognition has Painted Tree received? RCLCO's top-selling master-planned communities in the U.S. list (multiple appearances, including before the grand opening in mid-2023), recognition in multiple 2025 industry rankings, and coverage by the Dallas Business Journal as the community entered its final phase in September 2025.

What is the Painted Tree park ranger? A dedicated staff position employed by the community whose job is to plan and execute resident-only events and programming at Painted Tree. The park ranger model is inspired by the National Park Service approach to community programming.

Who is ManeGait? Painted Tree's official charitable partner — a McKinney-based nonprofit providing therapeutic horsemanship programs for children and adults with disabilities, including cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, traumatic brain injury, and veterans with PTSD.