Welcome To Houston Short Guide

AN INTRODUCTION TO OUR GREAT CITY

W EL CO ME

W W W . B E T H W O L F F. C O M

TO HO USTON

CONTACT

I N F O @ B E T H W O L F F. C O M 713.622.9339

FUN FACTS

The Greater Houston market area encompasses 8 counties spanning over 1It covers 9,444 square miles, an area slightly smaller than Maryland and larger than Massachusetts.

7.1

5,000+

million

Houston companies

residents in the 9-county Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land MSA

doing business abroad

78

nations

have consular representation in Houston 3rd largest representation in the nation

15

Metro Houston’s GDP has grown at a

foreign governments

2.4 percent

maintain trade and commercial offices in Houston

compound annual growth rate Since ’01

7TH largest

U.S. metro economy

41 active foreign chambers of commerce

The Texas Medical Center is the world’s largest medical complex.

Industry Share of Houston MSA Employment 20% Trade, Transportation, and Utilities 16%

Professional and Business Services

13%

Government

billion

13%

Educational and Health Services

in construction projects underway

10% 8%

Leisure and Hospitality Construction

7%

Manufacturing

3%

Finance and Insurance

3

$

50

million

developed square feet

10

million

annual patient visits

180,000+ annual surgeries

Houston employs 26% of the nation’s oil and gas extraction jobs

W W W . B E T H W O L F F. C O M

2%

Mining and Logging (Upstream Energy)

2%

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

1%

Information

4%

Other Services

Source: Texas Workforce Commission

Houston is home to 84,560 engineers and architects.

ARTS & CULTURE Houston is ranked second in the country behind New York with over 12,000 theatre seats in the Downtown area.

The theatre district is home to Houston’s 9 world class performing arts organizations, the city is one of the few in the United States with resident companies in drama, ballet, opera and orchestra.

Alley Theater http://www.alleytheatre.org Houston Symphony http://www.houstonsymphony.org The Hobby Center http://www.thehobbycenter.org Houston Ballet http://www.houstonballet.org Miller Outdoor Theater http://milleroutdoortheatre.com Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion http://www.woodlandscenter.org Houston Grand Opera http://www.houstongrandopera.org Houston Friends of Music http://chambermusichouston.org Houston Masterworks Chorus http://www.houstonmasterworks.org Theatre Under the Stars http://www.tuts.com Moores School of Music http://www.uh.edu/class/music/ Shepherd School of Music http://music.rice.edu/

MUSEUMS

Houston has more than 150 museums and cultural organizations in the Greater Metro Area. The following are just a few:

SPORTS HOUSTON ASTROS ’17 World Series Champions Major League Baseball’s American League Minute Maid Park HOUSTON DASH BBVA Compass Stadium

Houston Museum District Houston Museum of Natural Science Museum of Fine Arts Houston The Bayou Bend Collection Contemporary Art Museum Houston Children’s Museum Houston The Health Museum The Houston Zoo

Holocaust Museum Houston Asia Society Center of Texas Buffalo Soldiers National Museum Houston Museum of African American Culture The Rothko Chapel The Menil Collection The Art Car Museum Lawndale Art Center

http://houstonmuseumdistrict.org http://hmns.org http://mfah.org http://mfah.org/bayoubend http://camh.org http://cmhouston.org http://thehealthmuseum.org http://houstonzoo.org http://hmh.org http://asiasociety.org/Texas http://buffalosoldiermuseum.com http://hmaac.org http://rothkochapel.org http://menil.org http://artcarmuseum.com http://lawndaleartcenter.org

HOUSTON DYNAMO Major League Soccer’s Western Conference BBVA Compass Stadium

HOUSTON TEXANS American Football Conference in the National Football League NRG Stadium

HOUSTON ROCKETS Western Conference in the National Basketball Association Toyota Center

SUGAR LAND SKEETERS ’18 Atlantic League World Champions Atlantic League of Professional Baseball

Elementary and Secondary Education

ED U C AT I O N

SELEC TED HOUSTON-ARE A INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRIC TS (ISDS) AND CHARTER MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS (CMOS) 2018-2019 ISD OR CMO

TOTAL STUDENTS

CAMPUSES

RATIO

HOUSTON

COUNTY Harris Harris

KATY

Harris

FORT BEND

Fort Bend

ALDINE

Harris

CONROE

Montgomery

KLEIN

Harris

PASADENA

Harris

ALIEF

Harris

HUMBLE

Harris

SPRING

Harris

SPRING BRANCH

Harris

LAMAR CISD*

Fort Bend

ALVIN

Brazoria

GOOSE CREEK CISD*

Harris

GALENA PARK

Harris

PEARLAND

Brazoria

TOMBALL

Harris Harris

NEW CANEY

Montgomery

MAGNOLIA

Montgomery

DEER PARK

Harris

BRAZOSPORT

Brazoria

YES PREP PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Harris

Source: Texas Education Agency, Texas Academic Performance Reports, 2018-19

PARKS & NATURE The city of Houston contains 38,412 acres of parkland and 604 parks, according to The Trust for Public Land’s ’19 Houston, TX report.

The Houston Parks and Recreation Department maintains

Asphalt

80.3 miles

173 spanning

Concrete

54.3 miles

surfaced running and hiking trails

163 .1

Granite

16 . 0 miles

W W W . B E T H W O L F F. C O M

miles

Gravel/other

16 . 0 miles

The 11-county Greater Houston area contains more than 60 independent school districts (ISDs) and 40 stateapproved charter management organizations (CMOs). Charter schools and ISDs in the Houston metro area enrolled more than 1.3 million students, approximately one out of every four school-aged children in Texas, in fall ’18.

Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the seventh largest public school system in the nation and the largest in Texas. In the ’18-19 school year, HISD operated 279 campuses and enrolled more than 209,000 students.

Higher Education Houston area colleges and universities enrolled more than 440,000 students across more than 35 academic institutions in the fall of ’18, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Undergraduates comprised 87.1 percent of enrolled students in the region.

Houston benefits from three Tier I research universities in close proximity. Rice University and the University of Houston are located directly within the Houston MSA, while Texas A&M University in College Station is within 100 miles of Metro Houston. The three universities have the highest ranking under the Carnegie classification system for research activity.

The Official Visitors Site

http://www.visithoustontexas.com The Greater Houston Partnership http://Houston.org Houston Arboretum & Nature Center http://houstonarboretum.org/ Houston Outdoor Guide http://www.getoutherehouston.org/ Houston Parks Home Page http://www.houstontx.gov/parks/ The Buffalo Bayou Project http://www.buffalobayou.org/ Hermann Park Conservancy zhttp://www.hermannpark.org/ Houston Parks Board http://houstonparksboard.org/ Memorial Park Conservancy www.memorialparkconservancy.org/ Discovery Green http://www.discoverygreen.com/

AREAS & HOUSING IT’S COMPLICATED: THERE MAY NOT BE ZONING BUT THERE ARE RESTRICTIONS While it’s true the city has none, it still regulates development using a complex system of codes. These codes, however, don’t govern land use. At its core, however, Houston’s land-use boils down to three separate types of efforts:

1 2 3

Large-scale initiatives to shape the public realm, usually undertaken by philanthropists and civic groups. (Alongside these are some public-sector efforts to create plans around specific topics.)

A series of planning tools that act as zoning workarounds, ranging from deed covenants to historic districts.

A complicated development code that contains everything you’d expect except use zoning — and, in some cases, density and height restrictions as well. The biggest difference, of course, is the lack of zoning — but what that really means in Houston is that there is no zoning for use. Under the city’s development code, no parcel of land is restricted for any particular land use. However, that being said, the city is not entirely without zoning-type regulations.

RESTRICTIONS A large number of residential neighborhoods in Houston have strict private deed restrictions and, remarkably, many of those deed restrictions can be enforced by the city.

M A R K E T- D R I V E N DEVELOPMENT IS THE REALITY IN HOUSTON The result of the lack of zoning is a market-based approach to development.

For example, two 30-story apartment towers have recently been built in a traditionally one- and two-story neighborhood, adjacent to duplexes and onestory retail and restaurant buildings.

Deed restrictions are not enforced unless complaints are reported, meaning that some neighborhoods often see covenants violated if the residents are not vigilant. Developers are constantly on the lookout for the one parcel in a desirable location that isn’t covered by the deed restrictions.

Then, there are historic districts. The trend began in the early 2000s (there are now 22 total) with the creation of three historic districts in Houston Heights, where residents petitioned for the creation of historic districts, which require that the scale and character of the neighborhood remain the same. Some neighborhoods are in effect using historic districts as a zoning substitute.

I N S H O R T, H A V I N G A Q U A L I F I E D EXPERT TO HELP IS CRUCIAL

Near North PRICE RANGE OF AVAILABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES 60% $300,000 - $500,000 29% $500,000 - $1,000,000 4% Over $1,000,000

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Downtown PRICE RANGE OF AVAILABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES 11% $140,000 - $200,000 51% $200,000 - $400,000 RENTAL RATES 1 Bed: $1484 - 846 sqft 2 Bed: $1970 - 1311 sqft

RENTAL RATES 1 Bed: $1270 - 703 sqft 2 Bed: $1864 - 1495 sqft

Memorial Inner Loop

PRICE RANGE OF AVAILABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES 13% $400,000-$750,000 13% $750,000 - $1,000,000 73% Over $1,000,000

PRICE RANGE OF AVAILABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES 48% $300,000 - $500,000 36% $500,000 - $1,000,000 13% Over $1,000,000

RENTAL RATES 1 Bed: $1114 - 777 sqft 2 Bed: $1588 - 1170 sqft

RENTAL RATES 1 Bed: $1484 - 846 sqft 2 Bed: $1970 - 1311 sqft

River Oaks

Galleria Area PRICE RANGE OF AVAILABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES 18% $500,000 - $750,000 26% $750,000 - $1,000,000 55% Over $1,000,000

PRICE RANGE OF AVAILABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES 48% $300,000 - $500,000 36% $500,000 - $1,000,000 13% Over $1,000,000

RENTAL RATES 1 Bed: $1241 - 755 sqft 2 Bed: $1649 - 1032 sqft

RENTAL RATES 1 Bed: $1484 - 846 sqft 2 Bed: $1970 - 1311 sqft

For a Full Guide VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.bethwolff.com/houstonguide

W W W . B E T H W O L F F. C O M

The Woodlands

Kingwood/North

PRICE RANGE OF AVAILABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES 56% $200,000 - $400,000 18% $400,000 - $750,000 5% Over $750,000

PRICE RANGE OF AVAILABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES 30% $140,000 - $200,000 49% $200,000 - $400,000 10% $400,000 - $750,000

RENTAL RATES 1 Bed: $1053 - 765 sqft 2 Bed: $1503 - 1198 sqft

RENTAL RATES Average: $1689 - 2135 sqft Median: $1600 - 2032 sqft

Energy Corridor Medical Center

PRICE RANGE OF AVAILABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES 25% $300,000 - $500,000 36% $500,000 - $1,000,000 24% Over $1,000,000

PRICE RANGE OF AVAILABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES 32% $300,000 - $500,000 13% $500,000 - $1,000,000 2% Over $1,000,000

RENTAL RATES 1 Bed: $935 - 776 sqft 2 Bed: $1159 - 1100 sqft

RENTAL RATES 1 Bed: $1723 - 808 sqft 2 Bed: $2297 - 1249 sqft

Katy/West PRICE RANGE OF AVAILABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES 61% $200,000 - $400,000 24% $400,000 - $750,000

Bay Area PRICE RANGE OF AVAILABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES 21% $160,000 - $200,000 41% $200,000 - $400,000

RENTAL RATES 1 Bed: $935 - 776 sqft 2 Bed: $1159 - 1100 sqft

RENTAL RATES 1 Bed: $791 - 660sqft 2 Bed: $975 - 908sqft

Sugar Land

Pearland/South

PRICE RANGE OF AVAILABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES 52% $200,000 - $400,000 28% $400,000 - $750,000

PRICE RANGE OF AVAILABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES 20% $160,000 - $200,000 46% $200,000 - $400,000

RENTAL RATES Average: $2011 - 2342 sqft Median: $1850 - 2263 sqft

RENTAL RATES 1 Bed: $833 - 771sqft 2 Bed: $1370 - 1112sqft