A new report entitled Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2014 from the Urban Land Institute predicts that Houston will be the number two market to watch this year, up from number five last year. It’s been no secret that Houston’s real estate market has been on fire the last few years, and the ULI foresees 2014 being even busier. According to the report, “Houston’s booming energy economy has fueled an active real estate market over the past few years, and survey respondents expect that to continue in the coming year.”
Houston ranked just below San Francisco on the list, but took the top spot for investment real estate. Houston ranks second for home building prospects and third for development. The survey ranked Houston as a “buy” in all investment five property types: office, industrial, retail, apartments, and hotel. The city was also top ranked in the apartment category, thanks to a boom in apartment construction to accommodate the thousands of new people flocking to the city due to a strong economy. The luxury apartment market has been particularly robust.
As Houston continues to grow in 2014, the Urban Land Institute expects to see housing, nonresidential construction, and a revival in exploration industries to be key economic drivers. With more and more companies relocating their headquarters to Houston, further employment gains are predicted and above average population growth is expected.
While Houston took top honors, the rest of our fair state also ranked highly on the list, with Dallas-Fort Worth moving up four places to take the number five spot, and Austin ranking seventh, down three places from last year. San Antonio also moved from number nineteen to number fourteen.
With predictions of market growth coming from so many sources, there’s never been a better time to invest in Houston real estate.