Carillon in Manor: Four Builders, RV Garages and a Split School District

At a glance

Location

East side of Manor off US-290, outside city limits

Builders

D.R. Horton, Chesmar, Brightland, Richmond American (as of Mar 2025)

Price range

Mid $300,000s to the $500s and $600s (as of Mar 2025)

Schools

Split between Manor ISD and Elgin ISD by section

Tax rate

2.3% to 2.7% depending on section (as of Mar 2025)

Amenities

Clubhouse, shaded pool, pickleball, covered playground, trails

Amenities

Carillon's amenity center has:

• A clubhouse with indoor and outdoor hosting space
• A pool with shade covers. I love the shade, especially if you have small kids.
• Pickleball courts
• A covered playground
• Pocket parks, sidewalks and walking paths

At the back there's preserve green space with a dry creek, and the trail system is now open.

Where Carillon is and how Manor is changing

Manor is about the closest suburb with an easy commute into Austin for the value. Carillon is on the east side, off 290.

Manor is changing very rapidly. When I filmed in February 2025, the nearest grocery was still Walmart, but the new development with H-E-B and Chick-fil-A had gone vertical. Give it a year and Manor won't live anything like it does now.

The real con is traffic. 290 can be rough at rush hour. Manor is working on more routes in and out, and the proposals are on the City of Manor website. Map your commute before you commit. It's farther than it looks on a map.

Builders and homes

Carillon has four builders, each with its own take on design, colors and materials:

• D.R. Horton
• Chesmar
• Brightland
• Richmond American

You'll find large single-story homes and easy three-car garages.

The standout is Richmond American's RV garage, designed to fit a Class A RV bus. Most people use it as a gym, an office or a place for car lifts. When I filmed in February 2025, it was one of very few places around Austin offering anything like it, and as far as I knew Richmond American was the only production builder building them in Texas.

Prices

One of the bigger selling points here is value. As of my February 2025 tour:

• Brand-new homes in the mid $300,000s
• Larger homes selling in the $500s and $600s, with heavily upgraded Chesmar homes at the top end

There's something for most budgets.

Schools: the Manor ISD and Elgin ISD split

This is the most important thing to understand about Carillon. The neighborhood sits on the line between Manor ISD and Elgin ISD. In February 2025, a little less than half went to Manor ISD and the rest to Elgin ISD.

Transferring districts generally isn't possible, so we need to know which house before you decide. Funny enough, the neighborhood I grew up in was the same: three houses down, you were in a different school district. Confirm zoning for the exact address.

Property taxes

Carillon is outside city limits, and the tax rate depends on which section you're in. As of February 2025 it ranged from 2.3% to 2.7%. 2.7% is on the upper end of anything around the Austin area, so factor it into your payment. Texas has no state income tax, which helps offset it.

What's in the video

• 0:00Intro: Carillon and the ISD line
• 1:23Amenity center, pool and pickleball
• 2:11Main entrance and model homes
• 2:36Where Manor is and what's changing
• 3:39Traffic on 290
• 4:39Four builders and home options
• 5:12Richmond American RV garages
• 5:51Preserve green space and trails
• 6:22Pricing and value
• 7:02Manor ISD vs Elgin ISD split
• 7:57Property tax rates
• 8:37Wrap-up

Common questions