Houston, located on the Texas coastline, is America’s fourth largest city. The metropolitan area is officially designated as Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land. The MSA features a very strong economy with deep roots in the energy industry, as well as space and industrial manufacturing. However, it’s also in the crosshairs of powerful hurricanes and has suffered billions of dollars in damage over the past few years alone. In turn, insurance has skyrocketed in the area, hurting the ability to cash flow in an otherwise affordable real estate market.
This article covers all of the key stats you need to know about Houston’s real estate market and whether you should invest in it or not.
Houston Population and Labor Market
Houston has added over 1.1 million residents over the last decade, making it the fourth largest city in the U.S. One of the reasons Houston has become such an inviting destination is the lure of good job opportunities with several Fortune 500 companies and a relatively low cost of living. Compared to its neighbor down the road, Austin, Houston’s housing prices are significantly cheaper and offer just as good of a lifestyle. As real estate investors, this is a great sign for continued growth.
As far as what the labor market looks like, Houston is home to energy giant ExxonMobil, as well as food distributor Sysco, tech-giant Hewlett Packard, and several other smaller energy companies like Occidental Petroleum and NRG Energy. There’s also a NASA Space Center.
The unemployment rate is currently trending higher than the national average, especially since the pandemic years, but historically, it has trended below, which shows that the underlying economy is strong.
Houston Home Prices
Home prices in Houston have grown tremendously since the beginning of 2020 but…