2024 News Archive

In 3Q24, Houston's urban land market remained constrained with limited transaction volume. The scarcity of desirable urban infill land combined with high prices and elevated interest rates discouraged potential buyers. This environment allowed well-capitalized investors to close deals on premium urban parcels, while suburban areas saw more viable development, particularly for industrial and single-family projects. Notable transactions in town included purchases for industrial and mixed-use projects on the northwest side and the Uptown area, where prices per foot vary widely based on location, ranging from $200-300 per SF for prime plots within urban zones.

In 2023, the Houston regional land market was marked by a steep decline in sales activity and a slowdown in price growth, but market conditions in 2024 have improved some. In 2Q24, the situation became more complex, with price trends showing mixed results and the rate of decline in total sales volumes starting to level off again. Moreover, the housing inventory now stands at 4.3 months of availability, reflecting a recovery from the critically low levels experienced in recent quarters. Houston's inventory is improving and will lead to more balanced market conditions.

Throughout 1Q24 the Houston Land market continued to be active with a healthy slate of development projects. Most of these projects are single-family residential projects and several are large, master-planned, mixed-use developments. As a result, single family home sales rose from 7,256 in March of 2023 to 7,926 in March of 2024. The inventory in Houston's housing market remains tight, but is gradually increasing towards more balanced levels. As of early 2024, the housing inventory stands at about 3.3 months, which is an improvement compared to the extremely low levels from previous years. These statistics indicate we are still in a seller's market.