An Austin tie

Prominent Houston hotel taken over by national group: $4.5 million in updatesplanned

Hotel Derek, a 314-room independent boutique hotel in the Galleria area, has been sold to a group affiliated with the Hotel Driskill in Austin.

The 14-story Hotel Derek is located at 2525 West Loop South and Westheimer Road, one of the most prominent intersections in Houston.

Lowe Enterprises Investors (LEI) has acquired the Hotel Derek on behalf of a national hotel investment venture LEI formed last year with The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America and a subsidiary of Allstate Insurance Co. An LEI affiliate, Destination Hotels & Resorts, will take over the hotel management.

LEI plans to spend $4.5 million in the property to refresh the guest rooms and common areas and enhance the meeting space, including updating the technology. The company does not expect to change the hotel’s name or to affiliate with a big national chain.

LEI plans to spend $4.5 million in the property to refresh the guest rooms and common areas and enhance the meeting space, including updating the technology.

“This is a rare boutique property in a market that is dominated by branded hotels. Its convenient location and modern style coupled with its meeting space options make the Hotel Derek an ideal choice for groups as well as business and leisure travelers,” noted Russell Munn, senior vice president of LEI.

LEI also owns, on behalf of an investment client, the Hotel Driskill in Austin. Destination Hotels & Resorts is known for operating premier boutique hotel properties, including a number of hotels in Hawaii and the ski areas of Colorado.

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Slight decline in Houston home prices could benefit buyers, report says

Photo by TK Images for Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty

311 Brown Saddle St is on the market for $6.75 million.

A brand new report from Homes.com, which tracks hundreds of thousands of transactions to identify real-time housing trends, might mean great news for Houston home buyers.

Houston home prices posted their third consecutive monthly year-over-year decline in June. The median home price in the Houston metropolitan area fell from $349,000 in June 2024 to $347,970 in June 2025, a 0.3 percent decline. The numbers represent sales of single-family homes, townhomes, and condominiums throughout the metro area.

Looking a bit deeper, the report indicates that condos and townhomes are seeing prices fall the fastest. In June, the median detached-family home sold for $278,204, and the median condo sold for $160,000. That’s a 3.9 percent dip for both from a year ago. Meanwhile detached single-family home prices saw the smallest price decline, selling at $350,000, which is 0.8 percent less than a year ago.

The website Homes.com quotes local realtors noting that this is likely due to oversupply as well as rising HOA fees in these segments.

But all of it taken together means the scene could be shifting to a buyers’ market.

“Active listings are above pre-pandemic levels,” according to Itziar Aguirre, senior director of market analytics for CoStar and Homes.com. “Houses are staying on the market longer, and price cuts are becoming more common so that sellers can remain competitive, which is a good thing for potential homebuyers. With slightly lower prices and more houses to choose from, it is starting to feel like a buyer’s market.”

The report goes on to explain that housing construction in Houston surged coming out of the pandemic due to strong demand and population growth in the region. Developers may have overbuilt, particularly in the condo market and townhomes. Now, prices are falling the fastest in those two segments.

Also, there is likely a bit of a market correction going on since Houston saw a significant price appreciation from 2020-2022.

Condos and townhomes are often entry-level options for first-time buyers and high mortgage rates have impacted these buyers’ purchasing power. HOA fees have also increased, as have insurance premiums in the last few years, due to increased risk of flooding and hurricanes in Houston as well as higher repair costs due to inflation.

reports housing