Real Estate Rumblings

1,000 new jobs for Energy Corridor as auto insurer with zany ads expands

GEICO, the auto insurance company known for its funny TV commercials, will bring 1,000 new jobs to the Energy Corridor west of Houston, where it has leased an entire office building.

With Gov. Rick Perry in attendance at a ceremony Monday, Geico announced its 135,000-square-foot, full-building lease of Mason Creek Office Center I, a brand-new office building.

Perry often touts the strength of the Texas economy as he builds a case for his political legacy. GEICO will add the 1,000 jobs over a three-year period.

"When you create a place that rewards innovation and hard work and frees people to do best in pursuit of their dreams, good things happen.”

"Whenever we hear about a major employer expanding or relocating to Texas, it affirms what we've been telling people all these years," Perry says "When you create a place that rewards innovation and hard work and frees people to do best in pursuit of their dreams, good things happen.”

GEICO will occupy the entire office building by the end of December. The GEICO building is located at 21420 Merchants Way in Katy.

The building is located near a major intersection that will be crucial in the future – the intersection of the Grand Parkway and Interstate 10, says Bob Cromwell, managing director of Moody Rambin Interests, one of the real estate firms that put the GEICO deal together.

“This location just inside the Grand Parkway loop is the equivalent of the Beltway 8 and I-10 intersection, developed 15 years ago,” says Cromwell. “Simply put, this is where growing companies want to be.”

GEICO, founded in Fort Worth in 1936, has more than 830,000 policyholders in Texas and has 29,000 employees in 14 major offices around the country. The Katy expansion will support GEICO claims operations.

GEICO is now owned by Berkshire Hathaway, the company founded by billionaire Warren Buffett. GEICO is known for its amusing television commercials, which have featured a gecko lizard that speaks with a Cockney accent and an urbane caveman who orders roast duck with mango salsa in a modern-day hip restaurant.

The insurance company is moving into a office building that was built on a speculative basis by Myers, Crow & Saviers, a Texas real estate developer. It’s riskier to build “spec” buildings, starting construction without a signed tenant, but this developer has been very successful with its spec development strategy time and time again. The company completed the GEICO building in July and has it fully leased before the end of the year – an impressive showing.

Myers, Crow & Saviers, with the success of the GEICO deal under its belt, will begin work early in 2014 on another three-story spec office building in the same business park. The Mason Creek Corporate Park, located just north of Interstate 10 near Mason Road, is owned by Parkside Capital.

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

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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