Walter Bering with Martha Turner’s Sotheby’s sold this property at 3920 Inverness for more than $10 million this spring.
River Oaks
Walter Bering with Martha Turner’s Sotheby’s sold this property at 3920 Inverness for more than $10 million this spring.
At first glance, home prices in River Oaks appear to remain rather flat: The average sales price of homes closed during the first five months of 2023 was just over $3 million, pretty much a carbon-copy of the stats from the first five months of 2022. But looking at the latest data might provide a clue as to where the neighborhood is heading next: The average price of homes sold in June 2023 was $3.2 million, up 15 percent from the June prior. Interestingly, the months inventory — how long it would take to sell all of the homes on the market if sales continued at the current pace, and no more were listed — has climbed to 4.8. The months inventory in all of Houston is just 3.1.
Montrose
Listed by Kellie Geitner with Martha Turner Sotheby’s, a funky townhome at 1101 Missouri St. is asking $575K.
Once upon a time, Montrose was considered rough around the edges, even gritty. But, the slew of tattoo parlors, funky thrift stores, gay bars and semi-edgy coffeeshops that remain in the well located district — roughly halfway between the Galleria and Downtown, and a stone’s throw from Rice — can’t hide the truth: Montrose is a stable, solid bet for buyers seeking a dependably appreciating neighborhood for the long haul.
After a season of less showy growth than other areas during the Covid years, the quirky queen of the inner-Loop — unabashedly eclectic with its mix of classic bungalows, townhomes and mod new builds — is back! The average sales price for the first five months of ’23, $853,000, is up nearly 13 percent over the same period last year. This occurs as other inner-Loopers like the Galleria area, Midtown and the Washington Corridor are flat.
And Montrose homes are, at the moment anyway, selling a week faster than last June, just 44 days on average.
Memorial
Morad Fiki’s listing at 11103 Memorial Dr. is under contract for around $4 mil.
As Memorial winds and weaves through West Houston, homes on idyllic cul-de-sacs and with big, rolling yards beckon buyers. During the pandemic, homes in Memorial were coveted for amenities like resort-style pools and plenty of room for guests. Prices rose rapidly, and inventory dwindled. And as the Covid-supercharged market cools off citywide, the Memorial Villages ’hood reflects many of the same patterns: The average sales price so far this year is down around 6 percent, and homes are taking about 7 percent longer to sell, compared to the first part of 2022. But real estate experts say that a return to a balanced market, especially in the pricier parts of town, coupled with falling mortgage rates, will actually provide ongoing momentum.
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Memorial Park
Memorial Park is a popular ’hood thanks to its walking and biking trails.
Memorial Park and its surrounding streets have changed dramatically over the last year or so, from the completion of the golf-course reno to the neighborhood-defining land bridges. Perhaps that might help explain the equally dramatic increase — 17 percent! — in average sales price of homes in this area in January through May compared to the same timeframe last year. They’re selling more quickly, too. The average number of days on the market was down 7 percent year-over-year.
The Heights
Bill Baldwin of Boulevard Realty is listing this Garden Oaks property at 847 Lamonte Ln. for $1.8 mil.
For years, the Heights has been one of the most popular hubs for young professionals, couples and families alike. Heights-adjacent neighborhoods like Timbergrove, Cottage Grove, Shepherd Park Plaza, Garden Oaks and Oak Forest have been steadily rising in popularity — and cost — over the past decade, too; in fact, Garden Oaks will soon become the latest area to hit the milestone of a $1 million average sales price. Over the first five months of 2023, homes here sold for an average of $996K, up by more than 23 percent year-over-year — the highest rate of growth in all of Houston. And while the number of transactions is down in Garden Oaks, as is the case in most H-Town neighborhoods so far this year, homes are selling just as quickly as they did in 2022.
The Woodlands
This home at 51 Grand Regency Circle in The Woodlands is one of the area’s most expensive listings.
In The Woodlands, homes are selling at one of the fastest rates in the region. On average, a home listed in January through May of this year sold in just over three weeks. (Homes in Upper Kirby or Spring Branch, by comparison, sat for about two months.)
But homes flying off the shelves isn’t new for the master-planned community. Last year, the same five-month timeframe produced an average days-on-market value of 15 — also a region-topping figure! All the while, home prices have remained steady, at around $700,000, over the past year.
The demand for higher-end, suburban homes with access to great amenities and public schools is unlikely to waver any time soon. The Woodlands landed at No. 3 on this year’s list of Best Cities to Live in America, per Niche.com.
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Apartment occupancy is stable, and prices have cooled oh-so-slightly. Photo: Us Bayou in Montrose (photo by Julie Soefer)
Rent Control
Us Bayou in Montrose
The story of H-Town’s rental market so far this year echoes that of the housing market: Apartment occupancy is stable, and prices have cooled oh-so-slightly. For the month of June, 89.6 percent of Houston apartments were occupied — exactly the same percentage as the national average, and down from a peak of 91.7 percent in April 2022. Monthly rent has eked up by 1.2 percent over the last 12 months, according to MRI ApartmentData, to an average of $1,272 for a one-bedroom. This nominal increase is a far cry from the mega rent hikes deployed throughout 2021-2022, even though submarkets — such as unexpected hot spots Clear Lake and Friendswood — are seeing annualized growth of nearly 15 percent so far this year. ApartmentData also reports that more than 21,000 units are currently under construction, and another 31,000 units are in the proposal stage.
Future Perfect
A progress shot of Hive 3D’s Round Top project.
Construction of 3D-printed homes is on the rise nationwide, and one Houston-based company is at the forefront of the trend. Hive 3D has teamed up with Eco Material Technologies to build a community of homes in Round Top utilizing an eco-friendly, near-zero-carbon cement mixture. Ranging in size from 400- to 900-square-feet, the sustainably built houses began printing in March.
Glam Slam!
The living room of Yuli Gurriel’s Memorial home
A Houston real estate company has launched a new division that caters to some of the city’s highest-profile residents.
Nan & Company’s new Sports and Entertainment group will provide concierge-style services to athletes and entertainers wishing to lease or sell their Houston properties.
One of its first listings is the Memorial home belonging to former Astros fan fave Yuli Gurriel, who now plays for the Miami Marlins. The nearly 4,000-square-foot ranch-style property hit the market in June, listed at $1.7 million. The Gurriels heavily renovated the kitchen, incorporating a nine-foot waterfall-edge island and sleek, hardware-less cabinets. The double-sided fireplace warms the mod space in more ways than one.
And the Galleria-area residence of Garrison Matthews, a.k.a. Garry Bird, the Atlanta Hawks forward who used to play for the Rockets, was another of the Sports and Entertainment division’s first listings. It sold after seven days on the market, for around $1 mil. Between the rooftop plunge pool and the Tiger Woods Golf Simulator in the living room, we can think of a couple reasons why it sold so quickly.
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