For millionaire entrepreneur Frederic Lepoutre, the decision to move his family from the South Florida coast to Texas Hill Country wasn’t just about a change of scenery – it was a lesson in efficiency.
While building a custom home in a place like Broward County can be a years-long odyssey of red tape and rising insurance premiums, Lepoutre saw his 11-acre Texas estate go from groundbreaking to move-in ready in just over 12 months.
With an initial property tax bill of just $8 on his land and an insurance cost that is one-fifth of what he has paid in the Sunshine State for decades, Lepoutre is part of a growing wave of high-net-worth individuals who are proving that the Lone Star State is winning not just on taxes in 2026, but on speed.
“I think that will be the case, if it isn’t already,” Lepoutre’s wife, Lynn Lepoutre, also said.
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Growing wealth and population migration to Texas “doesn’t feel episodic,” said Jennifer Wauhob, president of Texas REALTORS. (Getty Images)
Recent data from Texas REALTORS shows that a third of new residents come from California, Florida, New York and Colorado, with 30% of interstate movers choosing to move to Dallas. The average home price in Texas is currently $335,000, below the national average of about $415,000.
As younger workers and families flock to larger cities and their suburbs, the semi-retired Lepoutres — who oversee the nation’s textile and apparel industries and invest in oil and gas — bought their land in a remote area near Bandera and Kerrville, a few hours’ drive west of San Antonio. They were required to purchase at least 10 acres per district minimum mandate, and bought the land three years ago for $26,000 per acre.
Plans for a second home had long been in the works, and not only did Texas provide sufficient land for their project, but Lepoutre claimed that the initial tax bill with agricultural exemptions was $8 per year (while the house itself awaits formal assessment) and that regulations allowed for a quick turnaround on construction.
“It takes three years to build a house here. It took us a year to literally get the land ready to move in. In Texas it took us a year, and the only permit we needed was for the well and the sewer system,” Lepoutre said. “It’s the opposite [of Florida]. There are 180 in total.”
“The highways, the infrastructure, they’re fast. They’re moving fast. There’s no resting on their laurels,” Lynn said. “When they build a highway, it’s done. They get it from start to finish quickly.”
“We were looking for peace, quiet, tranquility, privacy and a slower pace,” Lynn added. “When we were searching online [at homes]it’s either an older house, and we wanted to build a house together. We already knew almost exactly what our design would be. You couldn’t find that [anywhere].”
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Their new home is so off-grid that they had to build a 600-foot private well and mountain-style driveway, which makes package delivery a “nightmare” as items are often left at the bottom and have to be retrieved by four-wheel drive. Additionally, a remote specific helicopter ambulance service membership is offered due to their rural location.
Lepoutres’ home in Texas offers hilly views with a visibility of 40 miles. | FOXBusiness
“We wanted to be somewhere where you can look at the stars at night and not see any lights. You can’t see your neighbors. The trees are still low enough that you can see out, the view from our house is now 40 miles,” Lepoutre said. “It’s very rare to see these types of properties in America anymore.”
“I’ve been [in Florida] since ’88, so I’m ready for a change, and I just love the Texas way of life and the people of Texas, and it’s just a fun, refreshing place to be,” Lynn said.” Everything is bigger in Texas.
“What we’re seeing with this migration of all these people moving into our state is that it’s creating a very stable demand for housing, and it extends to all levels. We’re seeing a demand for entry-level housing, and we’re still seeing strong demand for luxury-level housing. So it’s a very balanced, healthy market right now,” Wauhob noted, “and all these people coming here are just creating good things for Texas.”
“If you don’t like sitting in a salon, a bar or a restaurant … and you don’t like being talked to, don’t move to Texas.”
“I’m a native Texan, but I did travel around the country for a while for my husband’s job. And I can say that the people who move here because they have to live in other states are very happy with how far their housing money goes,” she continued.
With more and more companies dual-listing on the NYSE Texas, Texas is also seeing executive moves come in waves. Wauhob briefly discussed how real estate agents are working with the state’s economic development teams to ensure there is enough housing to meet rising residential and commercial demand.
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“We’re really trying to be proactive. We don’t want to try to play catch-up after all these people get here. We want to think ahead, plan ahead and make sure that when people get there, we have infrastructure in place and we have healthy communities for them to move to,” the chairman said.
“I would say this doesn’t seem episodic to me. If you look at the data, this has been going on for several years in a row now,” Wauhob explains. “We have a steady flow of people coming here. We’re not seeing any big spikes, which is great because we want slow, steady growth. So for me, this is something to keep an eye on. I don’t think this is going away anytime soon. People are coming and they’re not leaving.”
