Allen, Texas Homes and Neighborhoods

Allen sits in the heart of Collin County, at the crossroads of US 75 and State Highway 121. That location puts the city between Plano to the south and McKinney to the north, with airports, jobs and entertainment within reach.

Buyers look at Allen for different reasons. Some want a short drive to work along US 75. Some want a home close to a park or trail. Some are comparing Allen with Plano or McKinney and want to know what the same budget buys in each.

I don't treat Allen as one market. The right price and the right plan depend on the street, the age of the home and what's for sale around it right now.

I only name communities I can point to an official source for. Here is what I can confirm for Allen, grouped the way buyers usually ask.

New builder communities

• The Avenue. A D.R. Horton community of single-family detached homes, two to three stories, with three to five bedrooms and a two-car rear-entry garage.
• Custer Ridge Estates. A Shaddock Homes community at McDermott and Custer, with 11 floor plans. The builder's page describes a wooded area with a trail connection and trails along a creek to the north.

Golf and country club communities

• The Golf Club at Twin Creeks. At 501 Twin Creeks Drive, an Arnold Palmer Signature Course with a par-72 layout, five lakes and two creeks. The club's site says daily-fee play is open to the public.

Popular communities

• Twin Creeks. Hillwood, the developer, describes it as a 2,400-acre master-planned community in Allen. One section, Wimberley Place, is a gated custom development with two private swim clubs, tennis courts, a sand volleyball court, two pavilions and more than three miles of hike-and-bike trails.
• The Park at Montgomery Farm. The neighborhood's own site describes 51 acres and 179 single-family craftsman style homes built by Darling and Highland Homes, with no perimeter walls, within walking distance of Watters Creek.

What shapes a price in Allen: the age of the home, the updates, the lot and how close the home sits to a park or trail. The city's own goal is to put every resident within a 10-minute walk of a park, and its trail system has passed 100 miles. Tell me what you're looking for or what you own, and I'll pull recent sales for that exact area. Find out what your Allen home is worth.

Allen's two main roads are US 75 (Central Expressway) and State Highway 121 (the Sam Rayburn Tollway). Which one you drive every day should shape where you buy.

The city runs a long list of public facilities through its parks department. Its site names the Don Rodenbaugh Aquatics Center, Ford Pool, the Joe Farmer Recreation Center, the Stephen G. Terrell Recreation Center, the Allen Senior Recreation Center, the Allen Community Ice Rink, Allen Heritage Village and The Edge skate park. The Courses at Watters Creek is the city's outdoor golf facility. Celebration Park and Spirit Park are among the named parks.

The city also lists the Allen Cottage Farmers Market and the Seasonal Sounds Concert Series. Recent updates on these facilities and programs are found at lifeinallen.org, and the city's event calendar and news are at cityofallen.org.

Watters Creek, at 970 Garden Park Dr, describes itself as a shopping and dining destination, and its site lists a concert series and a kids club. Recent updates are found at watterscreek.com. The Credit Union of Texas Event Center is also a city venue with its own website, linked from the city's site.

The Allen Chamber of Commerce has its office at 400 N Allen Dr, Suite 101, and keeps an events calendar of its own. Recent updates are found at allenchamber.com.

If you're moving to Allen from out of town, the city site has a New Residents page and utility billing with online start and cancel options. Drive the route from a home you like to where you work, at the time of day you'd actually make it. That tells you more than a map does.

Ready to talk about your move? Tell me what you're planning in Allen.

If this page was useful, these cover the same places and interests:

• Plano: neighborhoods with mature trees, parks and DART rail.
• McKinney: the historic square and downtown events.
• Frisco: my home base, with neighborhoods and local life.
• Upsizing: moving up to more space.
• Schools in Collin County: which district serves each city and how to check an address.