A Cordillera Ranch contract has two prices. One is on the first page. The other is buried in a paragraph about Club membership, and most buyers do not read it until the title company is already running numbers.
That second price is the one that matters. A home that conveys a Master Full Golf Membership is a different asset than the identical home next door that does not, and the gap between them can swing well into six figures by the time a new owner pays initiation, joins the waitlist for a recallable membership, or settles for something less than what the listing implied.
The clause that moves more money than the inspection report
The Clubs of Cordillera Ranch sell three categories of membership, in two classifications. The categories describe what you get to do. The classifications describe whether you get to keep doing it after the seller signs the deed.
"Conditional Memberships are not transferable to the subsequent purchaser of the Member's property within Cordillera Ranch and may be recalled by The Clubs."
That sentence is the entire game. A seller can hold a Conditional Full Golf Membership for a decade, host every Wednesday Wine Tasting at the Clubhouse, and then sell the home to a buyer who walks in on day one with no Club access at all. Master Memberships behave differently. They can be transferred with the property at sale, but the operative word is can, not must. Transferability is a negotiated term of the purchase contract, and if nobody negotiates it, nobody gets it.
The Membership Plan goes further. Membership is by invitation only, and The Clubs are not obligated to offer an invitation to the buyer of a resale property. A buyer who assumes the lifestyle conveys with the deed is assuming a contract right that does not exist by default.
What actually transfers, and what only sometimes transfers
Here is the matrix worth keeping in front of you at the offer stage.
| Category | Club Access | Refund Profile | Transfers with Property Sale? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Golf (Master) | All seven clubs, unlimited golf | Partially refundable | Yes, if the contract specifies it |
| Full Golf (Conditional) | All seven clubs, unlimited golf | Partially refundable | No, recallable by The Clubs |
| Limited Golf (Master) | All seven clubs, golf Tue/Wed/Thu and Fri before noon | Partially refundable | Yes, if the contract specifies it |
| Ranch (Master) | All clubs except Golf | Non-refundable | Yes, if the contract specifies it |
| Ranch (Conditional) | All clubs except Golf | Non-refundable | No |
Seven clubs sit behind a single membership: Golf, Tennis and Swim, Spa and Athletic, Social, Equestrian, Rod and Gun, and the River Club. Restricting golf to weekdays before noon is not a small carve-out for a buyer who is a weekend player, and a Ranch Membership at a home priced like a golf-course estate is a value mismatch the price tag will never show.
When a Master Membership is properly transferred at closing, the new owner steps into the existing financial position. When a buyer instead has to acquire a fresh membership, a new thirty-year clock starts on any refundable deposit, which has real present-value consequences for anyone planning to resell inside the next decade.
Why the 2026 market hands buyers the pen
This is where the second price stops being academic.
As of late May 2026, Cordillera Ranch was carrying 46 active listings, a median list price of roughly $2.5 million, average days on market of 141, and an average list price around $492 per square foot. Sale data through early 2026 points to a median sale price near $1.6 million, with homes typically closing about 5 percent under list.
Read those numbers together. A luxury submarket sitting at 141 days on market, with sellers generally accepting offers below list, is not a market where the seller dictates ancillary terms. It is a market where a prepared buyer can write the Club membership transfer into the purchase contract as a non-negotiable, the same way they would write in a survey, a septic inspection, or a well-yield contingency. A seller staring at month five of marketing is rarely going to blow up a deal over a clause that costs them nothing to grant if the membership is theirs to give.
The corollary, for sellers, is that a Master Membership is a marketing asset. A listing that affirmatively states "Master Full Golf Membership available for transfer" is not selling the same product as one that stays silent. Silence reads as Conditional, and a smart buyer's agent will price the home accordingly.
What a Cordillera Ranch purchase contract should specify
A clean contract does five things that a generic TREC form does not.
- Names the exact membership tied to the property. Category and classification, in writing. The seller should disclose this in plain language, and the buyer should verify it independently with the Cordillera Ranch Visitors Center at 830-336-3570, or with Brianna Botine, Director of Membership and Lodging, at 830-336-9162.
- Conditions the contract on Club confirmation. A short addendum stating the sale is contingent on The Clubs' written confirmation of the membership type and the transfer terms.
- Allocates the transfer cost. Membership transfer involves resignation by the seller, reissuance to the buyer, and any associated fees. The contract should say who pays what, and when.
- Identifies refundable deposit treatment. For Full Golf and Limited Golf categories, partial refundability and the thirty-year refund period are real dollars. The buyer should understand whether they are stepping into the seller's clock or starting their own.
- Addresses POA closing costs separately. The resale certificate from the Cordillera Ranch Property Owners Association runs $300, and architectural review and HOA transfer fees at closing typically land somewhere in the $500 to $2,000 range for buyers planning to build or remodel. These belong on the closing disclosure, not in a post-close surprise.
The other line items that show up at the closing table
Membership gets the headline, but Cordillera Ranch has a handful of carrying costs and one-time charges that buyers from other Texas luxury markets do not always anticipate.
- POA dues. Annual assessments generally run in the $2,400 to $2,700 range depending on which neighborhood unit the home sits in. Club dues are separate and additional.
- Kendall County property tax. The county's all-in rate sits at roughly 1.7 percent, which is meaningfully lower than most Bexar County addresses. A homestead exemption and an over-65 valuation freeze are available for primary residences.
- Utilities by unit. Most of Cordillera Ranch is on private well and septic, with permits issued through the Kendall County Development Office. Sections inside The Springs of Cordillera Ranch are served by Kendall County MUD 1 through GBRA. Fiber internet runs through GVTC. A buyer comparing two homes on different sides of the community is comparing two different utility cost profiles.
- ARC submittals. Any future construction, including pools, casitas, fencing, and landscape changes, runs through the Architectural Review Committee. The committee meets Tuesday afternoons, and submittals require completed documentation, exhibits, and fees before review. Buyers planning to renovate should treat ARC timing as a real schedule input.
A short FAQ on the friction points that catch buyers off guard
If the seller has a Master Membership, do I automatically get it? No. Master Memberships are transferable when associated with a property sale, but transferability is negotiable, not automatic. The Clubs reserve the right to invite, and your purchase contract has to make the transfer an express condition of the sale.
What if the seller only has a Conditional Membership? Then nothing transfers at closing. You can apply for your own membership separately, but you are entering as a new member under whatever terms and waitlist conditions The Clubs are offering at the time. Price the home as if you are buying access at sticker.
Does the developer still attach Master Memberships to certain lots? Yes, for select releases. The recent Unit 201C release of six homesites in Clubs Village, sitting on roughly one to two acres near the Clubhouse, includes an option for Master Full Golf Membership. That is a deliberate developer lever, and it tells you the Master designation is treated as a real-dollar feature of the lot.
What if I am building rather than buying an existing home? Plan for the ARC process in parallel with Kendall County permitting. Design Guidelines drive minimum square footage, setbacks, roof pitch, exterior lighting under dark-sky rules, and approved builders. None of that is optional, and none of it is fast.
Are there closing costs unique to Cordillera Ranch I should ask about up front? The POA resale certificate, HOA transfer fees, and any Club transfer charges associated with the membership change. Ask for these in writing during the option period, not at the closing table.
Cordillera Ranch rewards the buyer who reads the second contract before signing the first. If you are evaluating a home inside the gates, under contract on one, or preparing to list, Evoke Realty can walk the membership question, the POA mechanics, and the current market position with you before the numbers are set. Contact us to start that conversation.
