Hey Neighbor! 👋

Houston’s housing market is full of contradictions. Builders are desperate to sell, but prices aren’t dropping. More homes are available, but buyers are holding back. And while affordability should be improving, most people still feel locked out.

In this issue:

• 💰 Fulshear’s Boom – The fastest-growing wealthy suburb in the U.S.

• 🚀 Big Developments, Big Moves – New expansion plans.

• ⚡ Market Shift or Market Hype? – Sales are up, but so are price cuts. 

If you’re trying to make sense of this market, let’s get into it.

Danielle Kim, Publisher Hello From Houston & Realtor.

💰 Fulshear Named America’s Fastest-Growing Affluent Suburb

A few years ago, driving into Fulshear felt like stepping into a different world. Wide open fields, plenty of space, and a quiet, small-town feel made it seem like a hidden gem. Now? You can barely tell where Katy ends and Fulshear begins.

It’s no surprise that Fulshear was just ranked the fastest-growing wealthy suburb in America. A recent study found that the population has jumped 237% since 2018, now sitting at 42,600 residents. The median household income is $178,398, and the average home value is $521,157.

With top-rated schools, master-planned communities, and major retail expansion, Fulshear isn’t just growing—it’s thriving. And at the pace things are moving, it’s becoming one of the most sought-after places to live in Texas.

If you’ve watched Fulshear grow over the years, does this ranking surprise you?

🚧 East Montgomery County’s $130M Expansion—What’s Coming?

East Montgomery County just landed a $130 million convention center, a major investment that’s set to reshape Valley Ranch. The 210,000-square-foot facility, opening in 2026, is expected to bring 533 jobs and generate $1.73 billion in local spending over the next 30 years.

Big commercial projects like this tend to attract even more growth. Expect new hotels, restaurants, and retail to follow, turning this area into a business and event hub. And personally? I sure hope this brings my favorite brewery, Ingenious, back to business—it was always worth the drive.

New Caney has been steadily expanding, but could this be the project that finally puts it on homebuyers’ radar? It might not be Houston’s next booming suburb yet—but it’s getting harder to ignore.

📍 Read more → Here

A Brand-New Home… That You’ll Never Own?

Entire neighborhoods of brand-new homes are now built to rent, not buy. Katy, Cypress, and Conroe are seeing more of these build-to-rent (BTR) communities, and Texas leads the country in this trend.

I get the appeal—you get a new home, yard, and driveway without the 7% interest rate, down payment, or homeownership headaches. Low-maintenance living? Sure.

But here’s the issue: you’re building the developer’s wealth, not yours. It’s a glorified apartment in the shape of a house. Fewer homes for sale means fewer homeowners and more neighborhoods controlled by corporate landlords. What happens when investors, not homeowners, decide what housing costs?

This shift benefits investors. But does it benefit Houston?

Is this a smart solution or a long-term mistake? Owning a home is no longer the default.

Would you rent a brand-new house instead of buying? Reply and let me know.

Texas Property Tax Relief: What It Means for You

Texas lawmakers are pushing to increase the homestead exemption from $100K to $140K, which could mean noticeable tax savings for homeowners. Sounds great, right?

For west-side suburbs like Katy, Cypress, and Fulshear, where home values are higher, this is a step in the right direction—but don’t expect it to dramatically lower your overall tax bill. Affordability is still a challenge, and tax rates remain high.

This plan still needs voter approval before taking effect, likely in January 2026.

Read more about the proposal here → Homestead Exemption Increase

The War on Tariffs: Today’s Discounts, Tomorrow’s Price Hikes?

Builders are still struggling to move inventory, which is why incentives are high right now—but that may not last.

Trump just imposed a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum, raising costs for homebuilders. While prices won’t jump overnight, future builds could get more expensive, and incentives may shrink.

What to watch:

• Builders with locked-in contracts may delay price hikes, but that won’t last forever.

• If the economy slows, builders might absorb costs—but not for long.

• If inventory clears, expect incentives to tighten fast.

For buyers, this is a short-term window to negotiate. For sellers, existing homes may become more competitive…and that’s not a bad thing

📈 Houston’s Housing Market is “Recovering”—But Let’s Not Get Ahead of Ourselves

Yes, home sales in Houston ticked up at the end of 2024, with December seeing a 16.3% spike in year-over-year sales. But in January 2025, sales dipped again, proving that this so-called recovery might not be as strong as it seems.

Buyers aren’t flooding back—mortgage applications are at multi-decade lows, and many existing homes are sitting longer unless they’re move-in ready and priced right. High-production builders are controlling the market, using rate buy-downs and incentives instead of actually lowering prices. This isn’t demand surging—it’s builders working harder to sell.

Meanwhile, state and local leaders are pushing to loosen building regulations in the name of affordability. But with Houston already having some of the weakest building codes in the country, will this just lead to cheaper construction and long-term problems?

So yes, sales were up briefly—but let’s not mistake that for a full-blown market comeback. See the segment below on what’s really happening with new construction.

🏡 Too Many Homes, But Not Enough Good Ones?

The more I follow home builder news, the harder it is to ignore the real issues in new construction. Houston is building homes at record speed, but are they actually built to last?

A new survey by Rice University’s Kinder Institute is exposing what homeowners and renters already know—plumbing issues, cheap materials, bad ventilation, and rushed builds are becoming the norm. And now, there’s a push to relax Houston’s already weak building codes, making it even easier for developers to cut corners.

What This Means for You:

• If you’re buying new construction, research the builder and check resale values in their older communities. Cheap builds don’t age well.

• Tariffs are raising material costs, so don’t expect prices to drop. If anything, quality may suffer more.

• If you’re selling an existing home, highlight quality features—buyers frustrated with new builds may see yours as the better deal.

New homes should mean better options, not just more of the same problems.

🚧 Suburb Surge: What’s Coming Next?

Houston’s west-side suburbs are booming with new master-planned communities, town centers, and major retail expansions. Here’s a roundup of some of the biggest developments we’ve covered over the past month:

🌳 Fulshear – 3,000-Home Master Plan → Hines is launching a massive new community near Texas Heritage Parkway.

🏙️ Katy/Waller – Sunterra Lakes → 1,460-acre master-planned community expansion west of Katy.

🛍️ Cypress – Bridgeland Central → 70-acre town center with an H-E-B and retail.

🏢 Sugar Land – Imperial Market Revival → Developers are revisiting the $200M redevelopment of the historic Imperial Sugar site.

🏙️ The Woodlands – Ritz-Carlton Residences → A 15-story luxury condo tower broke ground on Lake Woodlands.

🛒 Magnolia – FM 1488 Growth → A new H-E-B, retail center, and mixed-use development are reshaping the corridor.

🌱 Fort Bend – Indigo Master-Planned Community → A walkable community with a 41-acre farm & amenity lake, with 120 homes sold since June.

🏗️ East Montgomery – Valley Ranch Expansion → A $130M convention center & 115-acre retail hub under construction.

🏡 Waller County – Sunterra Lakes Expansion → 4,000-home master-planned community breaking ground this year.

Thanks!

Thanks for reading Hello from Houston! If you found something useful, send it to a friend who still thinks they can time the market.

Houston real estate is changing fast—more homes, shifting prices, and big developments on the horizon. If you want to stay ahead of it all, I’ve got you.

💡 Who am I? I’m Danielle, a Houston suburb-based realtor who tracks builder incentives, market trends, and new developments so you don’t have to. Need insight or just want to vent about home prices? Just reply—I’m here.