Where To Invest In Houston Real Estate Right Now

Backstory, I grew up in houston, lived in west u my whole life until I moved to miami for work 7 years ago. Been in miami ever since, now my dad is very sick, so I left my job and have just moved back to houston to help him out/spend time with him. For right now, wife and I are living in my parents garage apartment till our condo in miami sells which hopefully will be soon. Although I'd love to stay here with my parents, this garage apt is 500 sq ft and not really a long term solution. So I've been looking around and am a bit scared bc how much real estate has risen since I left, so I wanted to ask a few questions.

1) We would like to be around $1-1.2M tops, we don't have kids, its just us two, I have a good friend that lives at 2727 kirby and that's by far the nicest building I've seen in houston, but its $650/sq ft which honestly is not far off where you can buy an oceanfront condo in mid beach in miami right now. That seems a bit excessive being in houston where great areas like West U are $350/sq ft......so are there any other condos that are on par with 2727 kirby? If not, at $650/sq ft it probably wont appreciate much if at all right?

2) We would like to be close to west u bc we'd like to be close to my parents, I've looked in west u, we just don't want a big house for just the 2 of us, and there don't seem to be any nice condos in the area, do you know of any that im just not seeing on HAR?

3) In general with where prices are now, yes they're a lot more than they were when i left in 2011 but they're still incredibly cheap on a national scale, but oil has fallen alot and interest rates are up, do you see any damage from this to the market? I've only been looking for a little while but if you think I should wait we can suck it up for a few months with my parents for a months but I was told to buy before summer bc then everyone starts looking and it gets messy.....but I think thats more for people with kids not condos.

4) Basically wife and I have gotten used to 1200 sq ft in miami which is a major luxury out there, these townhomes are all so cheap in comparison per sq ft $800k-$1m for 3500 sq ft, but we don't need that kind of size. The townhomes look great but they're all 3 or 4 floors and my dad has lung issues so he could never come visit us as he can't go up stairs.

5) We will prob be in houston 3-4 years now, so we'd like to buy and not rent, so basically just looking for advice on how and where you'd invest at this juncture ideally inner loop. I hear the heights has really taken off since we left in 2011 but I honestly as a native houstonian have only been there once or twice and dont know the area at all.

6) As for negotiating, in miami its very common to see 20-30% off asking prices on closing. In houston, the realtor i spoke with said its a bit insulting to offer even 5% off the asking prices, is this true? The realtor was a friend of a friend and pretty well known realtor in town with lots of pricey listings, just shocked me when he said that.

Thanks for any advice you can give and I don't know what happened, houston used to always be cheap, but damn the inner loop has gotten pricey!

 

pm sent

 

Subscribed as I’m also looking to buy something in Houston.

OP: Good luck with your search and to your father.


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I used to own a town house in 77019 and there are plenty of things close by which makes it quite convenient; also you can go to West U thru side streets like Dunlavy, etc. which takes about a few mins.

If holding value is key then I don’t think you can go wrong with the Heights or Memorial. We are also in the market and I noticed there are quite a few listings out there that are well over 100 days, I would think you can probably expect more than a few percent off asking.

BTW, I believe high rise / mid rise condos have a difficult time re-selling, so I would stay away from those.


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Houston traditionally has been a single-family home kind of town as far as holding their value. Townhomes are next, and condos are still newcomers. Granted, times are changing. As people become more transient, particularly athletes and high end executives, the high-rise condo market has gotten stronger, but it is a fundamentally different market than say Miami. There aren't many people buying second home/condos in Houston. Moreover, inside the loop used to be the key to holding value, but the offset is the better school systems can be in the outlying areas such as Sugar Land, The Woodlands, and so on.

 

Are you planning on having kids anytime soon? Any chance you stay in Houston longer?

I live in the Heights. I love it. Let me know if you are interested and I can send you a map of the better areas.

 

Hey Will I just saw this, sorry for the late reply.

No plans for kids, just wife and I, we're mid 30s. My parents live in shadyside, its west u area, its this small neighborhood right by the med center basically right infront of rice university. For now we are staying in their pool house until our condo in miami sells and then we're planning on using the money from that to buy something in houston. I spoke with a really bigtime realtor in town, a friend of a friend, and they basically told me aside from 2727 kirby, the rest of the condos are overpriced and fairly low quality. We would like to be close to my parents as thats the reason we moved back, the thing is I'd love a home in west u, but they're all 3500+ sq ft and just suited for families with too much wasted space in all the bedroom. We're coming from a 1200 sq ft condo that was a 1 bedroom so it was perfectly suited for people without kids ie huge master bedroom,huge shower, big kitchen, etc.

The town homes all look incredible, they do, but they're also 3-4k sq ft where most of it would be empty + with my dad doing a lung transplant, we were hoping to get a condo bc when he does the actual transplant, he can't stay at his house bc there is no elevator, nor is there a first floor bedroom, although we've been meaning to get around to getting quotes for an elevator if you know anyone in that field.

As far as my knowledge of inner loop houston, im constantly searching HAR, I lived there 25+ years and Im looking currently in these zip codes if you have any to add: 77005,77019,77098,77006,77056,77027. I really do not know the heights at all, but I understand it has boomed in the near decade I've been gone. Im not opposed to it, I just honestly do not know it at all, my trips to houston the last decade have been 3-5 days and im always in the west u area.

So basically we've gotten used to living in a small space and we want something tops around $1-1.2M and there are plenty of great places, but they're all unnecessarily large bc everything is bigger in texas haha. 2727 kirby has some great spaces my only issue is they're over $650/sq ft which isn't expensive compared to other major cities, but in houston its by far the highest price per foot and almost double the nice areas like river oaks and west u homes cost, so my only fear is we'd be really overpaying even at $1.1M for a condo.

I definitely would love your insights on where you think a decent investment is as well as the new cool stuff in town as we will probably be in town a couple years, the reason I said we'd prefer a condo is bc we've talked it over with my parents and their thinking is one day when my dad is gone, my mother doesn't need a 10,000+ sq ft home so we would sell that and she could move into whatever condo we bought and we would then go back to miami. So townhouses are great, but not ideal for a woman who will be in her 70s by then with the whole 4 floor thing.

 

Well, it's complex....

The Realtor is right about one thing, you won't be bartering DOWN, in hotter areas Garden Oaks/Oak Forest you will be offering UP, on what might be a "tear down" for the lot.

I rent in a cool inner loop spot, and across White Oak Bayou is Timbergrove/Lazybrook, which is kind of a sleeper little hood, west of the Heights.
But it's inside the Loop 610

There's gated communities all over in the suburbs, full of Chinese money and executives.
Bellaire is another spot where you might buy a tear down and build exactly what you want.

There's a lot of high rise condos coming on line at Galleria, but they are $$
In that same neighborhood I recently renovated the WS&D in a cool little complex: Raintree Townhomes. It's in between River Oaks and the Galleria...

They have recently renovated some high rises in the heart of Rivers Oaks too.
I would expect comps to 2727 Kirby there...

A townhome like that kind of splits the difference between free standing single family, and a Condo complex.
They were varied in architectural appearance and when one sold it was updated inside.

Fun shopping, but I don't envy you.
Oil boom or bust there are NEVER Fire sales, in the Houston market.
Medical center and other ventures have the market supported all the time, in my experience.

Even EaDo, east of downtown is booming with redevelopment.

 

Thanks for the insights, I wish we had time to buy a lot and build what we want, but we're already here now and really need to move soon. My parents of course have room, but cmon we're mid 30s, we can't "live with my parents" haha. Of course it is nice not having bills for the last couple weeks like groceries or eating out and I could definitely get used to the maid doing laundry and not me haha but we need something sooner than later. We're actually fairly close to selling our apartment in miami we're just a couple dollars apart with a buyer now and he's actually looking for a 10 day close so if we can agree here we will be looking harder in the next few days. I wish we had more condo options here, but with how cheap land is on a national scale vs other big towns, I understand why less prefer to live like that.

 

If... if I was going to move back into Houston, which will never, ever, happen, the first thing I would do is define where I'm going to be spending most of my time during the day. In your case, I'm thinking this will be near your dad or the Medical Center as his health gets worse. I would then look for housing within a 15-20 minute drive. I moved to Houston over 41 years ago, traffic sucked then and has only gotten worse and worse. A local radio station used to have a contest to see what was the strangest thing that ended up on the freeway that morning. Typical winners would be a refrigerator, kitchen sink, animals, you name it. In other words, driving around Houston sucks big time. That and pay attention to school districts. Houston is still a public school town.

 

If you want to "park" money in a home, condo, whatever for 3 or 4 years I'd buy something in River Oaks, Memorial, or West U. If you want to buy something with appreciation in mind there is only one thing to do; buy a condo downtown, the appreciation rates there are insane.
From a lifestyle perspective there is no way I'd live in a condo downtown over Memorial or West U but your mileage may vary.

 

He does not mention children but HISD is in huge, huge, trouble.......so figure on KIPP or Awty, or both Lutheran and Catholic operate full 1st thru 12 systems.

When married we were far enough west mine used Cy Fair ISD and did very well.

 

Going south it would be someplace like Meridiana development, which is Alvin ISD.
That's quite a stone's throw, down 288 and you specifically said Houston, which to me means that, or maybe Bellaire.
We did a solar job last month in Bellaire and the new home next door was For Sale.

 

I was going to suggest Bellaire also since you need access to the Med center, just make sure you research the flood map before you buy, many have flooded over the last few years.

 

What about Briar Grove? Smaller homes. Good area. High demand.

 

Man, that area has changed so much in the last 15 years. All those upper middle class homes from the 1960s have been bulldozed for McMansions and same era apartments for condos.

 

Can I ask you locals something, so having grown up in West U, I fully understand the appeal of it, but what is the deal with Bellaire, and why is it so much cheaper when its right next door? Growing up I had lots of friends living in Bellaire and I always thought it was on par with West U?

Take this house for example, its a mid 90s home, but nice, 3300 sq ft home on a lot 9k sq ft, inside the loop even and they're asking $799k that same home in west u on a standard 5k lot would be $1.2M

https://www.har.com/4502-maple-street/sale_67104965

I was looking around west u this weekend and the realtor showed me some recent comps and one 5k sq ft lot, just lot, sold for $720k just a week ago. In Bellaire, you're in this house' case literally not even 2 miles away and you're getting 2x the lot + a big home for $799k.

Im just trying to understand the discrepancy bc after looking around this weekend, I think Im honing in on Bellaire bc although I didn't want a bigger home, it seems silly to me to buy a townhome for $800k-$1m when you get no land and the condos seem overpriced so Bellaire is standing out to me as a good buy inside the loop.

Would love insights on it bc there are a ton of homes I looked at online that seem like they're 30-50% less than an equal home in West U.

 

Do you have any buildings you recommend? I looked at a few online and this new one the Marlowe looks nice but its also $600+/sq ft which is around what 2727 kirby is in a way better building and location, hell $600/sq ft you can get a nice place in south beach still so its steep for houston imo. Im open to other buildings just curious if you knew any. I see alot that are good values, hell this one is only $275k and in the heart of downtown and the building looks nice and its 1700 sq ft which is absolutely enormous for a condo

https://www.har.com/914-main-street-1012/sale_64613735

but there clearly is a catch when its $160/sq ft in a nice building in downtown houston on main street too. I need to call the realtor and ask. Still when nice stuff like that is $160/sq ft and new construction is $600/sq ft that is the issue im having with 2727 kirby or the marlowe, the marlowe is literally blocks from that link i posted above and they have one 1900 sq ft asking $1.3M

https://www.har.com/1211-caroline-1806/sale_21938555

that is an enormous discrepancy.

 

zip code?

 

I just mentioned bellaire above, it seems like a much better value than west u. Do you live there? Is there a reason for this? As I posted above there's some amazing homes on bigger lots for sale for nearly the price of a smaller lot without a home in west u right now.

 

i lived in bellaire for 3 years, 2 miles due south of the galleria. but bellaire is a big area, so ymmv
good value for money.
most boring neighborhood i ever lived in in my life. although the houses were actually different from one another, they were so alike that when we first moved in, i must have ended up in somebody else's driveway at least 3-4 times. but as you say, it is essentially the same as west u, except mostly outside the beltway, so it drops in value. it will rise at the houston average.

heights. love it. BUT it gets its edgy and hip reputation because there are still crack shacks next door. i considered buying there but cannot get the wife to agree. but that place can be very nice and will probably rise at 30-50% faster rate than average houston.

montrose. we live just outside riveroaks in the west gray area. love the area, hate all my neighbors. its a far more interesting place to live with restaurants and shops within walking distance, parks, views etc. i like it just fine and it is good value for money.

better value and potential for upside is probably fairview area nearby.

river oaks, and all the little neighborhoods hugging it, plus west u, plus tanglewood, are safe bets for single family homes that will track the houston average - which means that they will grow at 2-4% and almost pay you back for your tax bite and maintenance.

if you are feeling courageous then the areas still with some greater upside are the heights, but then edo, and the other formerly very dangerous areas, but i do not feel like taking that chance and the wife refuses anyway.

i went to see places in 2727 kirby this weekend. $600k-700k/sq ft, and $.85/sq ft monthly maintenance, and 2.66% real estate taxes based on valuations that are about 80% of asking price. so, even if you paid the $2 or $3 mil cash for the apartment, you would still end up paying $9-10k/month for maintenance and taxes. which seems insane, unless you are a baller or other mega income guy.

so after dreaming a few minutes, i hit myself with a hammer and decided to do nothing again - which has been my reaction every time i contemplate buying in houston.

IF i were forced to spend money today, i would probably buy something at less than $1.5 mil in the heights.
seems like the least stupid place with potential upside.

 

I’ll send you some maps tomorrow when I get back to the office.

 

Agree with everything except for Eado. I would never spend a dime there. No barriers from the ghetto. It sucks.

I believe heights is best place for increase in value.

 

a friend of mine bought in edo a couple years ago (crazy imo), has doubled her money.
BUT, not for me.

 

ok so for someone who has never even been to the heights really, well I have gone once or twice, just dont remember it, what do I want to be near? Is there an area full of shops/restaurants? Is there a part thats nicer/safer? I know the zip codes to look are 77008/77009 but do i want to be north,south,east,west haha

So even though bellaire is next door to west u and trading for so much less, you think the heights is a better buy?

Just a quick glance at 77008, I notice lots of homes have no garages in the heights? Nice home but where does the F car go?

https://www.har.com/716-e-24th-street/sale_10874124

This second one looks great, but it must be in a bad part bc the lot is huge and its nice and pool and its one of the cheaper ones, am i right on the assessment?

https://www.har.com/1310-guese-road/sale_80532263