Houston Development: Real Estate Growth Tied to Suburban Market

Written by: Northspyre

Houston has always been known for its outstanding commercial real estate developments. The future of Houston is in its growing and expanding suburban towns. Cities near Houston, like League City & Riceland, are rapidly growing.

Houston is also transitioning to renovations rather than ground-up developments due to the evermore rising construction costs.

What’s New?

League City, located between Houston and Galveston, is looking to increase commercial real estate development after experiencing a recent slowdown. The number of new commercial real estate projects has dropped from sixteen in 2018 to five and six properties per year since.

The cities of Tomball and Magnolia are expanding. Occupancy surpassed 90% for office, industrial and retail properties as of mid-November.

Due to rising construction costs, Houston real estate firms are becoming increasingly acquisitive. Notably, Fidelis Realty Partners purchased their sixth retail center this year.

Impact on office rentals will likely persist moving into 2022. Kastle Systems’ back-to-work barometer showed a 48.7% average occupancy rate in Houston at the end of August compared to the multi-city average of 33.1%.

Exciting Projects Transforming Houston

Department of Wonder, Planned Community Developers, a 10,000 square foot venue offering a mixed-reality fantasy, is coming soon to Sugar Land Town Square. The location will serve as an anchor in the 32-acre Sugar Land Town Square, which according to Community Impact, is in the midst of major upgrades to retail tenancy, event programming and the physical environment.

Riceland, McGrath Real Estate Partners, a new community planning in Mont Belvieu, has the potential to double or triple the county’s population. McGrath Real Estate Partners said it plans to break ground on the 1,400 area Riceland in March - envisions 3,800 to 4,000 homes. The increase in population will certainly have read-through effects on CRE in the area, and part of the plan includes a town center that McGrath is developing in collaboration with the city of Mont Belvieu.

Post Houston, Lovett Commercial, a concert hall, wedding venue, restaurant & retail row all-in-one. It should increase traffic to Houston as it offers live music and other events. It also contains a 6 acre rooftop farm and park with panoramic skyline views. The beautiful architecture is done by no other than OMA, a famous architecture group.

Bolivar Beach Club and RV Resort, NewCoast Properties, located on the Texas Gulf Coast, is a beautiful beachfront project of 150 acres. It’ll contain a grocery store, cabanas, pools, luxury bathhouse, and fitness center along with the resort. It features direct access to 27 Texas beaches.