Van Alstyne, Texas
What it actually costs to own in Van Alstyne, TX
Two homes here can carry the same price, the same Van Alstyne mailing address, the same school district, and tax bills about $186 a month apart. That gap is not in the listing. It comes down to which side of the city limit line the house sits on and whether a utility district levies on it. Before you compare anything else in this town, compare that.
On the county seam
Van Alstyne is a Grayson County town absorbing a Collin County growth wave, and the seam runs right through the pricing.
Van Alstyne sits on US 75 about 16 miles south of Sherman, at the point where Collin County's northward push crosses into Grayson County. The 2020 census counted roughly 4,400 residents. In August 2024 the city's director of development services told KXII that Van Alstyne expects to pass 30,000 by 2030 as approved communities build out. That is the city's own projection rather than a measured figure, and I treat it that way, but the entitlement pipeline behind it is real.
Most of what is written about this town describes one giant development. There are two, and they have different owners, different builders and different footprints. Mantua is Risland US Holdings' roughly 3,000 acres straddling the Grayson and Collin county line, planned for about 6,000 homes across Van Alstyne and Anna. Highpoint Village is Centurion American's 667 acres, planned for 2,200 homes plus 300 townhouses, on land Centurion bought from Risland in August 2024. They border each other, and Highpoint calls one of its districts the Mantua Lake District, which is why almost everyone merges them. If you are comparing builder incentives, you need to know which community you are standing in.
The four Van Alstynes
Four different buys under one city name
The tax treatment, the utilities and the rules change depending on which of these you are looking at. That is the practical map I use with buyers here.
- Mantua Point Risland's actively selling phases, north of the Collin line along US 75, with David Weekley, Highland, Perry and Risland Homes building. I pulled the appraisal district's parcel records for closed homes in Phase 1 and Phase 2A: neither carries a City of Van Alstyne tax line, and both carry Van Alstyne MUD No. 1 at $1.00 per $100. You are outside city limits and inside a utility district. That is not a knock on the community, it is a number that belongs in your payment math from day one.
- Highpoint Village The other master-planned community, and not the same project. Centurion American's 667 acres, with its own builder roster including D.R. Horton, Lennar, Pulte, Mattamy, Ashton Woods, First Texas and Pacesetter. Plans include two amenity centers, over 110 acres of green space and a 20-acre athletic field the City of Van Alstyne is to maintain. Verify the tax entities on any specific lot here the same way, because a neighboring project does not guarantee the same entity set.
- In-town Van Alstyne The original grid around the historic downtown and the older established streets near it. These are the addresses that generally do sit inside city limits, which means a city tax rate and city water and sewer, and generally no utility-district levy. Larger established lots, older housing stock, and the main street the rest of the growth is named after.
- Acreage outside the city Land toward the Grayson County countryside, where the questions stop being about floor plans. Whether a tract can be built on at all depends on platting history, septic feasibility and the ag valuation already on it. This is the part of the market I spend the most time in, and the part where a bad assumption costs the most.
One city name. Four very different buys.
Worth knowing up front
What I check before a client writes an offer here
- The tax line not on the listing
-
On a $500,000 home, a Mantua Point address runs about $186 a month more in property tax than an in-town one. Roughly $13,129 a year against $10,898, before exemptions, on two houses at the same price.
In-town rates total 2.179593 per $100 for 2025. Mantua Point drops the city rate and adds Van Alstyne MUD No. 1, totaling 2.625880. I check the parcel's entity list rather than assuming, because it varies by phase.
- US 75 relief is funded, not near
-
The US 75 and FM 121 interchange reached Tier One in TxDOT's 10-year plan in July 2026, a $67.2 million rebuild with a new bridge and two lanes each direction. Engineering finishes in early 2027 and construction could start late that year, running about two years. The mainlanes north of the Collin County line are already being widened. You live through the construction before you get the improvement.
- The school bond failed in 2025
-
Van Alstyne ISD voters rejected a $550 million bond in November 2025 by roughly 57 percent, and no replacement had been called as of the May 2026 ballot. For a buyer that matters as a future tax-rate and attendance-boundary question in a district adding rooftops fast. Williams Elementary still opens for 2026-27; it was funded by the 2021 bond. I confirm campus assignment by address.
- On acreage, buildability comes first
-
Grayson County requires a septic permit regardless of tract size, and any lot under 2.5 acres needs an aerobic system, which costs more and carries a maintenance contract. The one that catches people: tracts split off under the county's phased or agricultural platting exemptions cannot get a 911 address or a septic permit, so they cannot be built on until properly platted. I check that before a client commits.
What it costs
Two homes at the same price in this town can carry very different tax bills. Start there, then talk about the house.
For tax year 2025, an in-town Van Alstyne home is taxed by four entities totaling 2.179593 per $100 of value. A Mantua Point home is taxed by the county, the junior college, the school district and Van Alstyne MUD No. 1, with no city rate, totaling 2.625880. The utility district has levied a full $1.00 per $100 every year from 2020 through 2025. That levy funds the infrastructure the community was built on, and it is normal for a development of that kind. It is also about $186 a month on a $500,000 home, and it is the single most common thing buyers here find out too late.
I am also careful with the citywide median, because it misleads in a town like this one. The widely quoted figures exclude newly built homes, and with this much builder supply a resale-only median can fall while the overall market holds. So rather than hand you a portal number, I price the specific community you are weighing against recent closings in that same community, read the builder's current incentives against nearby resale, and put the correct tax entities into the payment. Filing your homestead exemption and protesting your appraisal both bring the bill down, and I help with both.
how I value land and acreageprotesting your Texas appraisalyour own agent on a builder contractAnna, the Collin County side
Common questions
Van Alstyne FAQ
Do homes in Mantua Point pay a MUD tax?
Yes. Van Alstyne Municipal Utility District No. 1 has levied $1.00 per $100 of valuation every year from 2020 through 2025. I confirmed it directly on Grayson Central Appraisal District parcel records for closed homes in both Phase 1 and Phase 2A. On a $500,000 home that levy by itself is about $5,000 a year. It does not all land on top of your bill, though, because a Mantua Point address pays no city tax: net against a comparable in-town home, the difference works out to about $186 a month. A MUD is a normal way to finance the water, sewer and roads a large new community needs, and the rate is set annually rather than fixed, so it can change. The thing to avoid is discovering it after you have set your budget.
Is Mantua Point inside Van Alstyne city limits?
Based on the appraisal district's parcel records, no. I pulled closed homes in Phase 1 and Phase 2A and the taxing jurisdictions listed were Grayson County, Grayson County Junior College, Van Alstyne School District, the appraisal district, and Van Alstyne MUD No. 1. There is no City of Van Alstyne line on either. In practice the MUD takes the place of the city rate rather than stacking on top of it, which is why the total lands near 2.63 per $100 instead of the 3.18 you would get if both applied. Entity sets can differ by phase and by lot, so I verify the specific address rather than generalizing about the community.
What are the property tax rates in Van Alstyne, TX?
For tax year 2025, a home inside Van Alstyne city limits in Grayson County is taxed by four entities: City of Van Alstyne 0.553713, Van Alstyne ISD 1.174800, Grayson County 0.305100, and Grayson County Junior College 0.145980, totaling 2.179593 per $100 of valuation. Note that Grayson bills the county and the junior college as separate line items. Several tax-estimate sites combine them into a single 0.451080 county figure, which adds up correctly but will not match the line items on your actual bill. A home in a municipal utility district, such as Mantua Point, carries a different set of entities.
What is the difference between Mantua and Highpoint Village?
They are two separate developments that border each other, and nearly everything written about Van Alstyne blurs them. Mantua is Risland US Holdings' roughly 3,000 acres straddling the Grayson and Collin county line, planned for about 6,000 homes across Van Alstyne and Anna, currently selling through David Weekley, Highland, Perry and Risland Homes. Highpoint Village is Centurion American's 667 acres, planned for 2,200 homes plus 300 townhouses, on land purchased from Risland in August 2024, with builders including D.R. Horton, Lennar, Pulte, Mattamy, Ashton Woods, First Texas and Pacesetter. Highpoint calls one of its own districts the Mantua Lake District, which is where much of the confusion starts. Different developers means different lot premiums, different incentives and potentially different taxing entities.
How many acres do you need for an ag exemption in Grayson County?
Grayson Central Appraisal District's published guideline is at least 10.00 acres, set by resolution of the county's Agricultural Advisory Board effective January 1, 2005. It is a guideline rather than an absolute bar, and the district handles exceptions case by case through the Chief Appraiser. Beekeeping is the notable exception written into state law, qualifying between 5 and 20 acres, with Grayson expecting six hives on the first 5 acres and one more per additional 2.5 acres. Keep in mind this is an agricultural valuation rather than an exemption in the usual sense: it taxes the land on what it produces instead of its market value, and it has to be applied for and maintained.
What triggers rollback taxes on Grayson County land?
Ending the agricultural use or converting the land to a non-agricultural use triggers it, and the appraisal district specifically lists platting land into a subdivision as a triggering change of use. Simply selling the property does not trigger rollback, but the new owner has to file a new application to keep the valuation, with an April 30 deadline. Get the current numbers right on this one, because a lot of published material is out of date: Texas cut the rollback period from five years to three in 2019, and then eliminated the rollback interest entirely under House Bill 3833, effective June 15, 2021. So the current exposure is three years of tax difference with no interest added. I have seen the obsolete five-year and seven-percent figures still in circulation, including in some official-looking guidance, so verify against the Tax Code before you rely on any number.
What should I check before buying land near Van Alstyne?
Start with whether it can legally be built on. Tracts that were split off using Grayson County's phased or agricultural platting exemptions are not eligible for a 911 address or a septic permit, which effectively makes them unbuildable until properly platted. Then work through septic feasibility, since the county requires a permit regardless of tract size, requires an aerobic system on anything under 2.5 acres, and requires connection to public sewer if it runs within 100 feet. Confirm who actually provides water, because service around here is split between the City of Van Alstyne, South Grayson Special Utility District and private wells, and the boundaries are shifting as the city extends service. Check the ag valuation status and your rollback exposure, and get will-serve letters from the utilities in writing. Floodplain, easements, pipeline corridors and legal access round it out. This is the work I do before a client writes the offer, not after.
Nearby areas
Also serving Grayson County & beyond
Let's talk Van Alstyne
Thinking about Van Alstyne?
Send me the address or the community you are weighing and I will pull the actual taxing entities on that parcel, the recent closings around it, and what the payment really looks like with the utility district included. If it is land, I will tell you whether it can be built on before you spend money finding out.