McKinney, Texas Homes and Neighborhoods

McKinney is the county seat of Collin County, and it covers a lot of ground. You can find homes steps from a historic courthouse square, homes inside a large master-planned community and homes on newer streets farther out.

The square is the center of the original town. The courthouse square was laid out in 1848, and the downtown is one of the largest historic districts in Texas, with about 200 independent shops, restaurants and event spaces in a walkable area. Free parking and a trolley are part of the setup.

That mix matters when you buy or sell. A home near the square and a home in a larger planned community are different products with different comparisons, so I never price or search McKinney as one market.

Historic Downtown McKinney. The historic district around the courthouse square is the oldest part of town. If you want to live close to the square's shops, restaurants and events, this is where you start your search. Condition, updates and the age of each building shape the price, and no two blocks compare the same way.

Stonebridge Ranch. Stonebridge Ranch is a master-planned community about 35 miles northeast of Dallas. According to its community association, it covers over 5,000 acres, with more than 500 acres kept as open space, and it is made up of 70 or more villages. Each village has its own mix of homes, so a Stonebridge Ranch address tells you the community, not the price. Which village the home sits in, and how it has been updated, matters most.

The community also has an association with its own design guidelines for changes homeowners make to their property. If you are buying or selling there, I check the association's current rules before we write an offer or set a plan.

Golf and club communities. The Clubs of Stonebridge Ranch is a private club that opened in 1988. Its own site describes the Dye Course, designed in Pete Dye's style, and the Hills Course, designed by Arthur Hills with 27 holes. If you are looking at a home tied to a club, I check what the home carries with it and what membership terms apply before we make an offer.

Newer builder communities. Painted Tree is a community from the developer Oxland Group, still under development, about three miles north of downtown. Its site describes about 200 acres of natural open space, a 20-acre lake, three community hubs and trail connections, with single-family homes and townhomes. If you are selling a resale home near a newer community, those builders are part of your competition. If you are buying, I'll help you compare the full picture, not only the sticker.

Parks and green space. McKinney's city parks include Towne Lake Recreation Area and Bonnie Wenk Park, two of the larger parks in town. If a park or trail matters to you, tell me in your buyer consultation and I'll build the search around it.

US 75 (Central Expressway) and US 380 are two of McKinney's main roads, and the Sam Rayburn Tollway (State Highway 121) ends at US 75 in McKinney. Where you work and which of those roads you drive every day should shape where you buy.

Downtown McKinney hosts signature events through the year, including McKinney Oktoberfest and Home for the Holidays, plus a farmers market. McKinney Main Street runs them, and recent updates are found at the downtown events page. The city also keeps a calendar at its events and festivals page.

Because McKinney is the county seat, the Collin County courthouse, the justice center and county administrative offices are in town. The county says its courthouse opened in fall 2007. That helps when a transaction needs county records.

New to the area? The McKinney Chamber of Commerce publishes a relocation guide covering neighborhoods, local government and attractions.

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

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

• Allen: parks, trails and Watters Creek.
• Melissa: downtown District 46 and new communities.
• Anna: new builder communities along US 75 and SH 5.
• Celina: what's new, from the tollway to the Square.
• Buy a new custom or new construction home: how I compare builder offers on the full numbers.
• Schools in Collin County: which district serves each city and how to check an address.