Real Estate Rumblings

Big foreign money: Korean buyers behind near-record $480 million Houston office tower sale

Korean investors are believed to be behind the $480 million purchase of the 46-story BG Group Place office tower in downtown Houston, in a deal organized by Invesco Real Estate, a Dallas-based firm that represents major real estate investors, according to Real Estate Alert, a highly respected real estate investor newsletter.

The $480 million sales price represents one of the highest sales prices in Houston’s history.

According to people in the investment community, Invesco is buying the skyscraper on behalf of the National Pension Service of Korea or a similar Korean organization, the newsletter reported.

Korean money has been reallocated and invested in U.S. realty in a fast pace recently because of political unrest and the nuclear threat from North Korea.

“Koreans have been coming to the U.S. and they are buying assets,” said CBRE's Bernard Branca. “We are seeing a lot of Korean buyers.”

“Koreans have been coming to the U.S. and they are buying assets,” said Bernard Branca, senior vice president of office investments for the CBRE real estate firm in Houston. “We are seeing a lot of Korean buyers.”

The sellers of the BG Group Place building, Hines and Calpers, were represented by Eastdil Secured, a real estate investment firm with significant contacts in the Far East.

The 973,000-square-foot tower is expected have a final sales price of $485 per square foot, the second-highest per square-foot sales price ever in Houston, Real Estate Alert reported.

The record sales price in Houston was set when H&R REIT paid $524 per square foot or $442 million for the 845,000-square-foot Hess Tower in 2011.

The highest dollar price was set when the 1.8-million-square-foot One and Two Shell Plaza sold for $550 million last summer to an affiliate of Enterprise Products, Real Estate Alert said. The sale is expected to close soon.

BG Group Place is 92 percent leased. The BG Group energy firm is the largest tenant, with KPMG and the BakerHostetler law firm also having large offices. The building, completed in 2011, is located at 801 Main Street. Pickard Chilton was the architect.

In developing BG Group Place, Hines anointed Main Street as a viable venue for new office development today. Years ago Main Street had been ceded to transit domination, making Main Street not much more than an elongated bus stop. But Main Street has enjoyed a revival in recent years as METRO rail arrived and new development has occurred.

Hines has proposed to build another Main Street tower on Block 69 at the southeast corner of Main and Texas Avenue, just a couple of blocks from BG Group Place.

BG Group Place in downtown Houston has been sold for a near record price.

News_Ralph_Hines building_exterior_BG Group Place_skyscraper

Photo by Ralph Bivins

BG Group Place in downtown Houston has been sold for a near record price.

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rent affordability news

Houstonians need to make nearly $68,000 to afford rent in 2025

Photo courtesy of Dolce Midtown Apartments

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A new rental report from Zillow has revealed Houston renters need to make about 23 percent more money than they did five years ago in order to afford rent in 2025.

Zillow analysts examined the income needed to afford rent in 50 major U.S. metros, and determined rent prices in each city as of April 2025.

The average Houston renter needs to make $67,731 a year to afford living in the city, the report found. To afford rent for a single-family home, the income needed increases even further to $85,017.

Despite Houston's rising rent cost of living, it's still more affordable than many other cities. Nationally, the average income needed for someone to comfortably afford rent comes out to nearly $81,000. The study says that figure has increased nearly 35 percent since 2020.

"Housing costs have surged since pre-pandemic, with rents growing quite a bit faster than wages," said senior Zillow economist Orphe Divounguy. "This often leaves little room for other expenses, making it particularly difficult for those hoping to save for a down payment on a future home. High upfront costs are often overlooked, which can keep renters in their current homes."

Rent prices in Houston averaged $1,693 last month, which is less costly than the national average rent price of $2,024. Additionally, Houstonians are spending about 24 percent of their income on rent, while the typical American spends almost 30 percent of their income on rent.

Renters are also saving hundreds of dollars in comparison to those that own their homes, as a recent SmartAsset study discovered the median monthly housing costs for a Houston homeowner came out to $2,219.

At least we're not living on the East or West Coast, where eight U.S. metros require six-figure incomes to afford rent. Residents in San Jose, California need to make $136,532 a year to afford rent, the highest out of all 50 U.S. cities. Rent prices in San Jose came out to $3,413 in April.

Here's how much money renters need to afford living in other Texas metros, according to Zillow:

Dallas – $71,413
Austin – $68,840
San Antonio – $58,590

zillow housing report rent prices affordability houston