Changes at Rice Village

Bustling Rice Village quietly shakes things up with major change

Rice Village is under new management.

A major change has quietly taken place at Rice Village. Houston-based company REIS Associates, LLC now manages the property, taking over for Trademark Property Company, the Fort Worth-based firm that has overseen the property for the past five years.

Neither Trademark nor Rice Management Company, the division of Rice University that manages its $6.3 billion endowment (including Rice Village) would comment on the circumstances that led to Trademark leaving the role. Regardless of what those exact details are, Trademark’s tenure brought significant and lasting changes to the area.

“Over the past five years, together, Trademark and Rice significantly revitalized the retail and F&B mix at Rice Village and greatly improved the financial performance during this period with new management and fresh retailers and restaurants, including several first-to-market concepts, Trademark Property Company managing director and chief investment officer Tommy Miller said in a statement provided in response to CultureMap’s request for comment. “The success of this remerchandising was greatly influenced by a major rebranding, investment in new and existing public space, new parking management system and garage upgrades, new facades and storefronts and the acquisition of additional strategic properties.”

Trademark oversaw physical changes to the area, such as creating the public space on Morningside that replaced a parking lot with an area that has seating and games, which had the effect of extending the patios for three restaurants. In addition, the stores along Amherst and Kelvin have been upgraded with new storefronts that replaced the dated strip center look, expanded walkways, and more.

Perhaps the biggest change can be seen in the mix of restaurants in the development. Establishments such as Baker St. Pub, Kubo’s, Yum Yum Cha, and La Madeline have been replaced by high-profile national restaurants such as Hopdoddy and Shake Shack. Steel City Pops and SusieCakes began selling treats. Over the next week, upscale sandwich restaurant Mendocinco Farms and ultra-popular salad restaurant Sweetgreen will both open to further upgrade the mix of options.

This fall has the potential to make the area an even more popular dining destination courtesy of Sixty Vines, a wine-driven restaurant from Dallas, and Politan Row, a food hall from the operators of St. Roch Market in New Orleans.

On the retail side, stores such as trendy glasses store Warby Parker, beauty store Bluemercury, women’s clothing boutique Altar’d State, and hair salon Madison Reed have all kept Rice Village competitive, even at a time when new developments such as River Oaks District and Heights Mercantile meant shoppers had plenty of new destinations that could have lured them away.

For its part, REIS has hired Aj Coffee to serve as Rice Village’s senior general manager. She brings extensive experience to her role, including stints at the Simon Property Group and Endeavor Real Estate Group, where she oversaw the Domain Northside in Austin.

“I’ve been in the management industry for over 30 years and I still get excited at the prospect of a new venture,” Coffee said in a statement provided by Rice Village in response to CultureMap’s request for comment. “The Rice Village District is such a special property to Houston and I love its rich history. I’m so honored to become a part of this iconic community.”

Whether REIS has more changes planned for the area isn't clear, although the property does still have some room for new tenants. For example, the Mi Luna space remains empty. Regardless, Rice Village's status as one of the inner loop's premier shopping and dining destinations seems secure for the immediate future.

shopping

THE AMERICAN DREAM

How long it takes to save for a home down payment in Houston

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Houstonians don't have to save long to afford a down payment.

Saving for a down payment remains one of the biggest barriers to homeownership nationwide, but a new report from Realtor.com shows San Antonio area buyers face a far shorter wait than most Americans.

According to the real estate site’s 2025 analysis, the typical U.S. household needs seven years to save for a standard down payment, a notable improvement from the 12-year peak in 2022. Still, the timeline remains roughly double the pre-pandemic norm, reflecting higher home prices, larger down payments, and lower household savings rates.

Houston, however, stood out as one of the most accessible major metros in the nation. The Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro boasted one of the shortest time sto save for a down payment among the nation’s 50 largest markets, with households needing just 3.5 years to reach a typical down payment, according to the study.

The report found that Houston’s median down payment from January through November was $14,927. A median household income of $83,452 was estimated to produce an annual savings of $4,228. Notably, San Antonio, the only other Texas city included in the report, had the shortest time to save for a down payment at just 1.3 years.

Nationally, the time needed to save has shortened as home price growth cooled and affordability modestly improved. Still, saving for a down payment takes significantly longer than it did before the pandemic.

“Higher home prices and intensified competition have pushed typical down payments higher, at the same time that inflation and rising household expenses have reduced savings rates,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, in a release. “Although conditions have improved since 2022, today’s timeline shows that saving for a home takes meaningfully longer than it did before the pandemic, especially in high-cost markets.”

Lower savings rates have played a key role. The U.S. personal savings rate has averaged 5.1 percent of income so far in 2025, down from the pre-pandemic norm of 6.5 percent, limiting how quickly households can build funds for upfront housing costs. Meanwhile, the typical down payment has more than doubled over the past six years — rising from about $13,900 in the third quarter of 2019 to $30,400 in the third quarter of 2025.

In high-cost coastal metros, the impact is far more severe. Saving for a down payment can take 20 to more than 35 years in California cities like San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, and San Diego, effectively sidelining many first-time and moderate-income buyers.

“In high-cost markets, the typical down payment alone exceeds a full year of household income,” said Hannah Jones, Realtor.com senior economic research analyst. “That reality makes homeownership feel unattainable for many buyers, particularly younger households trying to enter the market for the first time.”

Despite those challenges, the report notes that roughly three-quarters of Americans still consider homeownership part of the American dream. Realtor.com says easing rents could help first-time buyers save more, while repeat buyers may use accumulated savings to reduce loan balances and manage higher monthly payments.

“Saving consistently, even in small amounts, is a meaningful first step toward homeownership,” Jones said. “In today’s market, building that financial cushion can make a real difference when buyers are ready to act.”

home market economy down payments home ownership real estate