Hometown Glory

Building right: Hines wins major green building award

Gerald D. Hines, chairman and founder of the Houston-based Hines real estate development firm, has received the President’s Award from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in recognition for his firm’s outstanding track record in sustainable development.

The U.S. Green Building Council organizes the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program that certifies the sustainability programs and energy efficiency of buildings. In recognizing Hines, the organization said: “Hines is a longtime leader in the real estate industry with an unparalleled commitment to green building.

"With more than 100 million square feet of LEED-certified space, Hines has built a legacy of sustainability that continues to expand and evolve.”

The company has $1.7 billion of projects under development in Houston alone.

Also receiving awards at the organization’s Greenbuild International Conference in Philadelphia were: Mike McNally, president of Skanska USA; Greensburg, Kansas Mayor Bob Dixson; Joel Ann Todd, chair of the LEED Steering Committee and the Intel Corp.

Hines has a number of environmentally-friendly developments underway around the world. But none is more environmentally ambitious than LPL Financial at La Jolla, a 13-story, 415,000-square-foot building under construction in the San Diego area. That building will be “net-zero” meaning it will produce as much energy as it uses. In addition to being constructed with extremely high energy-efficiency standards and green materials, LPL Financial will have on-site fuel cells that convert carbon-neutral methane into electricity.

Hines founded his company in Houston in 1957. The company currently has $1.7 billion of projects under development in Houston alone, including a 47-story downtown office tower at 609 Main and a 33-story residential tower across from downtown’s Market Square, at Travis and Prairie. In addition, Hines is developing the 21 Eleven apartments on the site of the former Café Adobe restaurant on Westheimer; the 25-story Southmore residential tower in the Museum District at Southmore and Caroline streets; the 17-story 2229 San Felipe office building and the 46-acre Somerset Green infill residential community off of Old Katy Road.

Hines’ historical and current portfolio of projects that are underway, completed, acquired and managed for third parties includes 1,283 properties representing more than 516 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical and sports facilities, as well as master-planned communities and land developments. Hines has offices in 111 cities in 18 countries

Ralph Bivins, former president of the National Association of Real Estate Editors, is founding editor of RealtyNewsReport.

The Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park

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luxury real estate

Houston had 2nd-highest share of luxury home sales in Texas in 2025

10106 Meadow Lake Lane, Houston luxury home for sale

Estately.com/

This home at 10106 Meadow Lake Ln. in Houston's Briargrove Park neighborhood is on the market for $1.95 million.

A new luxury real estate report reveals Texas broke a record for the highest number of million-dollar homes sold from November 2024 to October 2025, and the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro boasted the second-largest share of million-dollar home sales statewide.

A total of 14,418 Texas homes were sold for at least $1 million last year, generating a record-breaking $24.5 billion, according to Texas Realtors' 2025 Texas Sales of Million-Dollar Homes Report. The number of luxury home sales in the state soared 12 percent compared to the previous year.

Million-dollar home sales in the Houston metro made up 27 percent of all luxury home sale transactions in Texas during the 12-month period, the report found. The total sales dollar volume of Houston-area homes that sold for $1 million or more added up to about $6.8 billion last year, or about $1.1 billion more than it did during the previous period from November 2023 to October 2024.

Nearly 3,950 million-dollar homes were sold in the Houston region at an average price of $379 per square foot. For comparison, the average price per square foot for all residential homes in the metro was $176.

Both figures are lower than the statewide average, according to Texas Realtors.

"The average price per square foot of $1 million+ homes increased to $423 from $418 last year and was more than double the $188 average price per square foot of all Texas homes," the report said.

Houston also had the second-highest median closing price for its million-dollar homes statewide, at about $1.39 million.

Furthermore, Houston's luxury homes are significantly larger the typical residential home in the metro. A million-dollar home in the metro spanned 4,397 square feet, compared to 2,115 median square feet for all residential homes.

"High-end homes continue to be a small but mighty segment of the market," said Texas Realtors chairman Jennifer Wauhob in a press release. "Texans remain confident in the value of these properties, whether they are drawn to outstanding amenities, prime locations, or both."

Elsewhere in Texas, Dallas-Fort Worth Arlington saw the No. 1 highest share of million-dollar home sales in Texas, at 38 percent, followed by Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (19 percent), the rest of Texas (11 percent), and San Antonio-New Braunfels (5 percent).

housing market million dollar homes luxury real estate texas realtors