In a sign the local home building machine may be cranking up again, Taylor Morrison Communities has purchased nearly 1,200 lots in one of Central Texas’ largest master-planned communities — Crystal Falls in the Leander/Lake Travis area.

The company closed on the estimated 440-acre parcel, in the Highlands at Crystal Falls section, for an undisclosed cash price on June 30.

Tim Towell, who heads Taylor Morrison’s Austin division, said that although he could not disclose the purchase price, “I will say it is the largest transaction of any homebuilder in Central Texas in several years that we are aware of and the largest single purchase Taylor Morrison has made in the U.S. for the past several years. And it was a cash purchase which gives you some significant insight of our company’s confidence with the Austin market.”

The purchase marks the next chapter in the 5,000-acre Crystal Falls development, where about 1,400 houses have been built and a total of 9,000 to 13,000 ultimately are expected to be constructed during the next decade, said Bill Hinckley, president of The Lookout Group, Inc., a Texas-based real estate and investment company that is Crystal Falls’ master developer.

The acquisition also represents a new trend in the market, whereby builders who had pulled in their horns during the recession are now scrambling to acquire lots to position themselves for a housing rebound, Hinckley and other real estate observers say.

Joe Duncan, owner of Duncan Commercial Properties, which represented The Lookout Group in the land sale, said there’s no question there’s a shortage of lots ready to build houses on (with utilities and other approvals already in place), at a time when low mortgage interest rates and population growth in Central Texas are revving up housing demand.

“If you were a builder coming in looking for lots, it would be slim pickings,” Duncan said.

At Crystal Falls, about 1,000 acres have been developed so far. Initially started by The Lookout Group in the mid-1990s, Crystal Falls is the last undeveloped area of Hill Country in the region’s booming Northwest corridor, Hinckley said.

“We pretty much had our choice of partners for this portion of our community,” and Taylor Morrison was the best match,” Hinckley said.

Taylor Morrison plans to build four new communities at Crystal Falls, with at least three of them offering new housing types, Towell said. Working with other local builders also is an option, he said.

Towell said the company hopes to begin development by September.

“We plan on starting our models in the existing model home park later this month and start pre-sales this fall,” he said. Prices are expected to range from the $200,000s to more than $600,000, he said.

Jim Plasek, vice president of land resources for Taylor Morrison, said that as Taylor Morrison’s Steiner Ranch off RR 620 nears completion, “we’ve been looking for the next logical step in Austin.” And Crystal Falls, with its amenities, proximity to Lake Travis and shared school district (Leander) with Steiner Ranch, “fits the bill perfectly for Taylor Morrison.”