Business continues to hum in the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the area a half-hour’s drive to the north offers both commuters and the hundreds of employees of recently arrived corporations plenty of luxury real estate steeped in upscale amenities and natural beauties.
LRI’s Quick Hits:
- The Houston economy is projected to remain stable in the short- to mid-term, with continued job growth in healthcare and construction, and steady growth in oil and gas.
- Residential build-out is expected in The Woodlands by 2022, but that will boost the market for townhomes and condos.
Warning Shots
- Recent flooding and road congestion are correlated with recent surges in population and solutions are still being worked out.
- Property taxes are high but tax reform talks are ongoing.
In a lot of ways, Texas is similar to Florida. Both impose no state income tax, both have thriving oil and gas markets, and both are among the top 10 fastest-growing states in the nation. While Florida is soaking up many of those abandoning high-tax states on the East Coast, Texas is pulling folks from California, Chicago, Colorado, and yes, also New York. However, in recent years, international migration has outstripped domestic, with locales such as China, India, and Latin America contributing.
Many of these new Texans are heading for Houston to take advantage of its strong jobs numbers and affordable costs of living. Many of them are young, single professionals content with apartment life in mid-town or the Galleria area, but home buying “in the loop” (the boundary created around the city by Interstate 610) is a different story. Homes in the city carry a premium and existing homes are commonly dated and in need of fixing up.
That’s where the suburban sprawl comes in. As Houston’s nexus pushes ever wider, areas such as Pearland and Sugar Land to the south, Katy to the west, and Spring, The Woodlands, and Conroe to the north have exploded in growth, as well. The latter is our “stomping grounds” here at LRI, and we know it well. A dollar–or a million dollars–goes much farther here and can be an ideal spot to invest in a vacation or investment property.
Background on The Woodlands
At the last census, The Woodlands had a population of 110,000 people with a median property value of $351,000. As its name implies, the township is heavily forested and special covenants are in place to protect the trees around homes and businesses. In fact, the area remains so heavily wooded that spotting business signs and landmarks while driving can be a challenge.
The Woodlands is a master-planned community that was created in 1974. Though it was established as residential, it’s become the home of a handful of campuses of major corporations, including Anadarko, Chevron, Woodforest National Bank, Halliburton, Baker Hughes. ExxonMobil and HP have huge campuses just to the south of The Woodlands in Spring. Residential build-out is expected by 2022.
The Woodlands is home to an annual Ironman competition that draws competitors from all over the country, the outdoor 
amphitheater Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, and a rollicking Independence Day festival. Upscale shopping is available at the Woodlands Mall and the adjacent Market Street town center shopping area with cinema, dining, hotels, and live entertainment.
The Woodlands is widely considered an excellent, if not snobbish, place to live. Montgomery County schools–which also includes Conroe–are well-rated, although they come at a cost: Montgomery County property tax rates are some of the highest in the country. The area also boasts The Woodlands Prep International School, which claims students from 34 different countries.
Background on Lake Conroe
Conroe represents the outer edge of Houston outgrowth. You might find a few professionals in downtown H-Town who commute from there, but the majority work and play on the north side of the Grand Parkway. A good number of high-end, waterfront property owners are either retired or work in the C-Suites of those Woodlands companies we mentioned.
Conroe is slightly smaller at 84k people, with a median property value of roughly $200,000. Though that figure is considerably lower than in The Woodlands, the luxury market is robust. Conroe is also much more spread out and feels much more dated in some areas, although its pace of development still makes parts of Highway 105 look unrecognizable from just a few years ago. In fact, it was the fastest-growing city in America in 2017.
The big draw here is the 20,000-acre Lake Conroe, which is surrounded by the equally huge Sam Houston National Forest. Other top attractions are similarly rustic, like breweries and wineries, local theatres, and public parks.
Getting There and Getting Around
George Bush Intercontinental Houston Airport (IAH) is the closest major hub for travel to The Woodlands and Conroe, at 15 miles away. Hobby Airport is a considerably longer trek at 38 miles that run through the heart of the city over several major freeways, and Houston is notorious for its freeway traffic.
Uber and Lyft both operate in Montgomery County and are easily hailed during major events. The Woodlands is an avid bicycling town with a Bike to Work Day, local biking coalition, and numerous bike paths and trails often dotted with enthusiasts.
However, the driving picture is not as rosy. Local authorities have been caught off-guard by the recent influxes of new residents, and many area roads that need to be wider and bridges that need to be up and running today are instead now under construction. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on its current impact on your commute), more than $100 million worth of road projects are underway and will finish within the next 2-3 years.
Also, the 2016 completion of a huge segment of the Grand Parkway opened the area up to commuters to and from as far west as Katy, while the completion of new segments will connect the area to towns on the southeast side of Houston like New Caney and Dayton (as well as make it the longest beltway in the country).
From Houston, I-45 can be a good option during off-peak hours, but the Hardy Tollway is typically a safer, though costly, option.
The Country Club Corridor: Sterling Ridge and Carlton Woods
Some of the newest and nicest homes are to be found in a segment in the northwest side of The Woodlands in the 77381 and 77382 area codes. This section includes Sterling Ridge and Carlton Woods, which experienced no flooding in Hurricane Harvey, an extremely important factor to keep in mind when home-buying in The Woodlands.
The latter is a premium gated community whose star feature is a private club with Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, which–along with its sister course in Carlton Woods Creekside–Golf Digest named one of the best private courses in the state. Residents of Sterling Ridge are eligible for membership also. The area also packs no fewer than 20 parks, including the largest public BMX-style dirt track in The Woodlands at Cranebrook Park and a disc golf course and skate park at Terramont Park.
As may be noted from the HAR heat map of homes for sale or sold within the last 12 months, the area is a hotbed of luxury home activity. The median sales price of homes sold in Sterling Ridge actually fell in 2018 to $432k, according to HoustonProperties.com, so now may be an advantageous time to invest here. Homes on the golf course on the eastern side with serious acreage can run from $3-$7 million, while a 5-bed, 6-bath just a couple streets south can be had for around $1 million.
Lake Conroe Waterfront
If you’re looking for luxury real estate in this part of Montgomery County, look no further than the shores of Lake Conroe. High-end homes may be found anywhere along the 157 miles of shoreline of this 21,000-acre lake, but once you start to move north along the western shore, you’re looking at nearly a half-hour drive to downtown Conroe. 
That hasn’t stopped newer, gated communities on the west shore such as Bentwater, April Sound, and Grand Harbor in the Walden area from seeing lots of activity in the last 12 months. At the time of this writing, the majority of luxury homes for sale in or near the water are clustered in the south and south east sides of the lake.
For our money, this area is more attractive anyway as it’s closer to I-45. A back yard facing the lake to the west has the added benefit of facing the sunset over the water. If you can do without a country club membership–which, if you’re like the average homeowner, you can–you can get into a waterfront 5-bed/5-bath for $1-$2 million. And you can save your golf membership fees for boat slip rental fees instead.
International Luxury Living—Simplified.
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