Houston Real Estate News

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2009-06-13T20:35:00.001+03:00

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Houston real estate transactions

2008-11-11T12:12:00.000+02:00

NDUSTRIAL: Global Tech Motors has leased a 30,000-square-foot building at 2510 Beltway 8. The landlord, 2510 Sam Houston Parkway, was represented by Greg Williams of Qualified Properties. John Clark and Darren O’ Conor of NAI Houston represented the tenant.

RETAIL: Cato Fashion has leased 3,886 square feet of space in the Shopping Center on Texas 35, just north of FM 518, in Pearland. Mark Davis of Davis Commercial represented Cato Corp. and Nash Daswani represented the landlord, CCND.

RETAIL: Kate’s Water & Ice has leased 1,250 square feet in the Shops at San Felipe at San Felipe and Voss. Eric Walker and Anderson Smith represented NewQuest Properties. David Wise of Page Partners represented the tenant.

Liberty Hill ranch sold to McAlister Real Estate of Houston

2008-09-05T21:05:00.000+03:00

A Houston company has purchased the 865-acre River Oaks Ranch in Liberty Hill.

McAlister Real Estate Co. closed on the deal in mid-August. The seller was ASC River Oaks Ranch Ltd. The price was not disclosed but the property was listed for just under $14.3 million.

Located 3.5 miles north of the intersection of U.S. Highway 183 and State Highway 29, the ranch has about 1.2 miles of frontage on the North San Gabriel River.

McAlister Real Estate purchased the property as an investment.

Tim Riley with Land Advisors Organization represented the seller.

Strong Houston Economy and Demand for Waterfront Homes

2008-07-11T00:25:00.000+03:00

Houston-based real estate developer, Historic Real Estate Inc., introduced its newest development this week, The Peninsula Clear Lake(TM). The Peninsula is a private Mediterranean-styled, waterfront village featuring 35 single-family homes and homesites and four family compounds with direct channel access to Clear Lake, Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

"This is a very rare development," said Richard Browne, Principal, with Historic Real Estate Inc. "Given the national real estate market, you better have something really special to bring to the market...and we do. The Peninsula is a gated, waterfront boating village approximately 30 minutes from downtown Houston. We are attracting affluent boating enthusiasts from Houston, California, Florida and Mexico."

Houston broker elected to lead global real estate association

2008-06-19T16:10:00.001+03:00

Lisa Kurrass, chairwoman of Real Estate Connection International, has been elected president of the International Real Estate Federation.

She is the first woman president in the organization's 60-year history.

Kurass will assume the top spot in May 2009 at a Beijing ceremony and will operate from her Houston offices.

Zoning's not the issue in Houston

2008-05-10T03:49:00.000+03:00

Only 23 percent of residents think "more land-use planning would be bad for Houston because it will slow economic growth and increase the cost of housing." On the other hand, 61 percent say "More land-use planning would be good for Houston because it will improve the region's quality of life and long-term prosperity." That is, even considering possible negative outcomes, most of us consider planning beneficial.

But the question that has stirred debate was "Are you in favor or opposed to zoning in Houston — that is, citywide control over the uses of the land in different areas?" Fifty-four percent favored this idea, 29 percent did not. Almost twice as many favor zoning as oppose it.

Harbor Group buys Houston land from baseball player

2008-04-17T13:25:00.001+03:00

US-Israeli real estate investment firm Harbor Group International LLC has bought three residential communities located near the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston for $41.2 million from a well-known baseball player. The company declined to disclose his name.

The communities have 920 homes altogether. Harbor Group will invest an additional $3.2 million in renovations. The company said that the seller had purchased the properties in 2006, but decided to sell them at a loss because he was unable to manage them.

Houston good for real estate investors

2008-04-06T01:39:00.000+03:00

HomeVestors of America, Inc. has ranked Houston as the second-best market in the United States for real estate investing in the first quarter of 2008.

Dallas took the No. 1 spot while Fort Worth was ranked fourth and San Antonio was ranked seventh.

HomeVestors, the company famous for its "We Buy Ugly Houses" billboards, bought more than 34,000 homes in the U.S. over the past 11 years and based the findings on the number of houses bought in each market by the franchise network in the first quarter of 2008.

Inventory In Houston Real Estate Market Continues to Rise

2008-03-25T10:51:00.001+02:00

Michael Levitin is set to preside over a dismal year in Houston Real Estate if For Sale signs keep popping up.

We assure you, its not his fault.

But the decline in sales continued for a sixth straight month in February according to the recent report released by the Houston Association of Realtors.

Sales are down but not as bad as they were last month.

At some of downtown Houston’s most desired addresses, high-rise condos sit empty

2008-03-17T12:48:00.000+02:00

Parts of suburban Houston and other outlying communities have also witnessed rising foreclosure rates and falling home prices.

For example, a 24,000-square-foot mansion in The Woodlands appraised at more than $7 million recently sold for roughly a third of that price.

For buyers like Dennis Murland, a long-time real estate investor, new foreclosures bring new opportunities.

Westheimer's High Street 'is real'

2008-03-10T11:07:00.000+02:00

Trademark Property Co. has locked in financing for High Street, the $105 million real estate development designed to include apartments, shops and offices in an urban, walkable setting east of the Galleria.

Investment management firm Coventry Real Estate Advisors of New York has joined the deal as an equity partner, and Kosene & Kosene Residential of Indianapolis is partnering as the residential developer.

"We're financed. We're under construction. It's real," said Terry Montesi, founding partner of Trademark Property, a Fort Worth-based developer.

This is the second high-density, mixed-use project to start construction in recent months.

Work has begun on Ed Wulfe's BLVD Place on Post Oak Boulevard and San Felipe, and the first phase is expected to open by the end of the year.

Other than Whole Foods Market and some existing retailers in the properties being demolished for the project, Wulfe hasn't announced any other tenants.

But he's betting that some luxury stores in the Galleria mall will consider a street-level location, as well — even if it's just down the street.

NAIOP honors Houston real estate professionals

2008-03-03T19:17:00.000+02:00

Top real estate professionals were honored Tuesday night at the Houston Country Club by the Houston Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties during the group's annual awards presentation.

Louis Cushman with Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc. was named Office Broker of the Year, while Billy Gold with CB Richard Ellis Inc. was named Industrial Broker of the Year. The brokers were selected for their leadership, community service, professionalism and production during the last year.

Investors Move In As Overall Market Inventory Increases

2008-02-25T13:27:00.000+02:00

The Houston real estate investor market heated up in January. December's 83 listings were a low point for the wholesale market, but investors added another 52 deals, making a total of 135 deals in the first month of 2008.

In January, 40 listings sold, up from only 19 properties in December.

That according to an analysis of Houston Real Estate wholesale listing site MyHouseDeals.com.

In December, that left 64 up for sale and in January, that number grew to 95 homes.

Houston-area market sees a decline in home prices and sales

2008-02-20T11:56:00.000+02:00

Experts linked the slowdown to a tightening in subprime lending, combined with consumer jitters about a possible recession, an uncertain presidential election and a national real estate crisis.

Some would-be home buyers are "taking a bit of a wait-and-see approach," said Mike Gray of Exit Complete Realty. "They think they may get a better deal or that rates are going to go lower."

Single-family home sales in the Houston area fell 12 percent last month compared with a year earlier, the Houston Association of Realtors reported Tuesday. Realtors sold 3,620 homes through the Multiple Listing Service.

Invesco Sells City Park East in Houston

2008-02-16T20:04:00.000+02:00

Dallas-based Invesco Real Estate sold City Park East, a 882,232-square-foot portfolio of five industrial buildings in Houston, to an unnamed pension fund advisor. The exchange was made free and clear of debt.

The portfolio includes five properties at 8503, 8607, 8609, 8711 and 8833 City Park Loop on 36 acres. Exel Logistics, a 20-year tenant, fully leases the property. The logistics firm recently signed a 472,600-square-foot lease renewal at 8833 and 8711 City Park Loop. For more on the renewal, see Exel To Stay in Combined 472,600 SF.

Over the long term, the outlook for Texas is bright

2008-02-12T01:01:00.000+02:00

Real estate agents and brokers applauded when Gaines said that Texas is the fastest-growing state in the country. "From 2000 to 2007, Texas added a little ...

Despite sub-prime mortgage issues and concerns over the national housing market, data indicated that the Houston, Texas real estate market is holding its..

Houston Real Estate Investing Trends Report

2008-02-06T01:05:00.000+02:00

Despite sub-prime mortgage issues and concerns over the national housing market, data indicated that the Houston, Texas real estate market is holding its own.

In an effort to provide a more in-depth look into the housing market in Houston, the 2008 Houston Real Estate Investing Trends report analyzed over 10,000 single family home sales in the Central Houston area since 2002.

Houston Homes Prices Continue to Rise Despite National Housing Crisis

2008-02-02T11:24:00.000+02:00

"As we continue to hear the stories of "gloom & doom," it's really important to understand what the local market trends have been so that buyers & sellers can make the appropriate decisions when it comes to a real estate transaction," said Paige Martin, Houston Realtor with Martha Turner Properties.

Would more housing rules raise Houston costs?

2008-01-28T08:28:00.000+02:00

A group of developers, builders and others fighting to preserve Houston's freewheeling approach to growth and development often cites Portland as a prime example of the problems caused by excessive regulations.

The central argument advanced by the group, Houstonians for Responsible Growth, is that every new rule adds costs that are passed on to consumers, gradually eroding the competitive advantage they say Houston enjoys because of its low housing prices.

Record Year for Houston Real Estate Doesn't Resonate, Whopping Decline in Sales

2008-01-22T23:05:00.000+02:00

With volume softening, a near collapse of the affordable property market, Houston realtors were surprised to read their association's recent pronouncement:
The year 2007 shaped up to be one of the best on record for property sales in Houston.

Realtors can succeed in this environment by catering to the high-end. The liquidiy crisis affecting large banks and their investors is hitting the average middle-class homeowner the hardest.

Houston, Texas Has An Exciting New Internet Portal For Real Estate

2008-01-21T18:12:00.000+02:00

Houston, Texas – Real Estate Brokers Meg and Jim Zoller with The Zoller Group and Keller Williams Realty offers to Houston real estate consumers the ultimate online real estate resource with the recent unveiling of their new blog site at FineHomesHouston.com/Blog. This beautifully designed new Houston real estate blog site was developed by Dakno Marketing of Raleigh, NC.

Don't hobble Houston with land planning

2008-01-21T09:57:00.000+02:00

The national real estate firm Coldwell Banker reports that, in 2007, a Houston family could buy a four-bedroom, two-and-one-half bath, 2,200-square foot home for $170,000. The same house would cost more than twice that much in Portland and more than eight times as much in San Jose.

Such huge variations in the cost of housing from city to city did not exist 50 years ago. Today, they are mainly due to artificial housing shortages created by heavy regulations and land-use planning.