Despite an economic downturn brought on by corporate economic problems such as Enron, profitable companies are starting to hire again and houses are continuing to be built, say local Realtors.

"Houston is a great place to live. Close to lots of other fun cities. Take a day trip to San Antonio, Austin, or Galveston. Houston is home to the NASA Space Center," invites Realtor Margie Kaplan. "Houston will top 30,000 home starts in 2003, say some. While that figure represents an eight percent decline from the 32,750 home starts in 2002, Houston has only hit the 30,000 mark once before. That was in 1982, when the city had 30,057 home starts."

Kaplan explains, "A drop in interest rates is responsible for creating a sizable pool of potential new home owners. Since these first-time buyers are flooding the market, it's the low-to-moderate priced homes that are expecting strong sales. Builders often have to develop their own lots on order to make a profit from the lower-priced products. Continued strength also is dependant on job growth. Analysts predict between 21,000 and 40,000 jobs will be added in Houston during 2003."

She advises, "The Woodlands continues to lead the Houston area with the most new housing starts. In 2002, 1,440 new homes were started here. Cinco Ranch was second, with 731 starts, according to Metrostudy. The top two builders in the area were Lennar Corp., which built 3,339 homes in the area, and KB Homes, with 2,229 new homes. Lennar Corp. encompasses Lennar Homes, Village Builders, U.S. Home and NuHome. Land Tejas Co. has started its fourth new project, Park Lakes, a gated community that will have more than 5,000 homes. The project is planned for a tract at Beltway 8 and Wilson Road near Lake Houston. Home sales will begin in 2004. The developer also has plans for a 1,700-home community in Montgomery County near Rayford Road, a 2,000-home community at FM 723 and FM 1093 in Fort Bend County and a 800-home community at Fry Road and FM 529 in west Harris County.

"Trend Development is planning a 2,800-home project, Long Meadow Farms, near the Grand Parkway and Beechnut. The first homes should be ready in early 2004. Builders include David Weekley Homes, Newmark Homes, Trendmaker and MHI. Lumbermen's Investment Group of Austin and Cousins Properties of Atlanta are backing the project. The Cinco Ranch master-planned community has launched an "active adult" project to appeal to the mature home buyer. The 200-acre Heritage Grand will feature 600 homes, and sales will be limited to buyers 55 and older. The 7,200-acre Cinco Ranch south of Interstate 10 near Katy has 6,000 completed homes.

"Lakemont, a new master-planned community in Fort Bend County, is being developed by Friendswood Development Co. Home construction in the 877-acre project will begin shortly and the first residents will move in this spring. Lakemont will have homes priced from the low $100,000s to more than $200,000. The roster of builders will be Lennar Homes, Perry Homes, US Home, Legacy Homes and Brighton Homes. The Lakemont project will benefit form the planned Westpark Toll Road, which will link it to the Galleria area when the road is completed in about three years. Lakemont is near the Grand Parkway, just south of FM 1093 and Cinco Ranch. Mason Road will be extended through the middle of Lakemont. The community will have about 2,500 homes and the developer hopes to be done with it in eight years. Houston-based MHI, which operates Pioneer Homes, Plantation Homes and other residential ventures, recently bought 563 acres on the eastern Lakemont boundary. About 1,500 homes will be built on the MHI site. And in another deal in this area, Land Tejas recently bought about 600 acres west of the Grand Parkway, near FM 1093 and FM 723, for a new community called Westheimer Lakes."

Kaplan advises, "Total sales for single-family homes increased to 3,053, representing 27 more listings sold than last year's figure of 3,026. The median price of single-family homes in January reached $129,000, representing a 3.3 percent increase over last January's $124,900.

"Activity has definitely picked up!" says Realtor Shirley Taylor. "Hewlett Packard is currently moving people in. This is great news for sellers whose homes have been sitting for awhile! Halliburton is also moving people in from the Dallas area. Interest rates continue to be at all-time lows, but are vacillating back and forth a bit. Builders are still offering tons of incentives on their new homes!"

Taylor advises, "Resales are also moving very well now, so if you have been thinking about putting your home on the market, now is a very good time to take advantage of all the buyer activity."

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Published: May 1, 2003

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