News

Houston ranked no. 6 in a list of the top 10 market for real estate investing as rebounding energy prices bolster the employment outlook, according a new study.

The region added more than 80,000 jobs over the past year, growing 2.7 percent and and exceeding the national employment rate of 1.6 percent. The growth follows a two-year oil bust slump.

“Higher energy prices are brightening the employment outlook in Houston,” Oakland, Ca.-based Roofstock, a marketplace for the single-family rental market, noted in its list of highest-growth markets, released this week at the National Association of Real Estate Editors Conference in Las Vegas.

LISTEN: Investors flock to post-Harvey Houston

The study was based on employment growth rates and the expanding millennial rental cohort.

Millennial-loving Austin ranked no. 3 on the list with Roofstock citing the demand from the University of Texas and the Apple campus.

“As the single-family rental sector continues to mature and the demand for housing remains strong, there will be more of a focus on single-family than multifamily housing because it constitutes one-third of the U.S. housing stock right not, Roofstock’s chief development officer Rich Ford said at the conference.

A new political action committee is coming to the Houston area from agent and Houston Planning Commission member Bill Baldwin. According to the Houston Chronicle, Your Houston will work with local advocacy groups to help improve schools, neighborhoods and local government. “All of these groups are doing great advocacy work, but they don’t have money. They don’t have political power. I’m going to add money and political power to advocacy, and elect amazing officials that think of our city as a 21st century city,” Baldwin said.

Baldwin is forming a 15-member advisory board full of well-known names  to aid with the PAC and represent every part of the city. The group will begin their advocacy by helping with Harris County’s flood bond measure.

In other Houston real estate news:

• Swamplot found that Sugar Land has a few chunks of undeveloped land. The website reported that 7 percent of the 32.2 square mile town is undeveloped, according to Sugar Land’s 2018 land use plan. The underdeveloped areas include land west of the Sugar Land Regional Airport, land off Southwest Highway and Highway 90 and a spot along the Brazos River. Swamplot also noted a few vacant spots in the northeast corner of town between industrial buildings.
• The U.S. Housing and Urban Development approved a plan to help provide relief and recovery to areas affected by Hurricane Harvey. The Texas General Land Office announced the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery will provide $5.024 billion for areas outside Houston and Harris County.
• First Centennial Mortgage opened its first offices in Texas, starting off in Houston, as well as Austin and Bastrop. Darryl Crawford is set to lead the new offices. “The decision to expand into Texas is a logical step in our business growth strategy as the demand for housing has remained strong here,” said President of First Centennial Mortgage Steven McCormick.
• The Howard Hughes Corporation is adding another building to the Hughes Landing project. The second apartment building will open five years after the first in 2020, according to The Houston Chronicle. The 386-unit building will offer one and two-bedroom options for residents on Hughes Landing Boulevard. “Our design concept takes full advantage of the surroundings with views of the lake, nearby shopping and dining, and outdoor recreation, all within a walkable setting,” said The Howard Hughes Corporation National Multifamily Asset Manager Crystal Bledsoe.
• The Praedium Group bought the Discovery and Mandolin Apartments, according to Realty News Report. The 260-unit apartment in northwest Houston is near Cypresswood on Highway 249. “The Houston market is experiencing a significant deceleration in multifamily deliveries, and the Cypress/Fairbanks submarket in which Discovery is located has no projects under construction in the near term. As a result, the area is expected to see above national average rental growth over the next five years,” said Peter Calatozzo, managing director of The Praedium Group.