Real Estate Round-up

A decade of development: 10 projects that changed Houston

The Hilton Americas-Houston Hotel, the city's largest convention hotel, brought momentum to the eastern side of downtown.

As Houston left the 20th century, new urban frontiers opened. These new projects introduced new ideas for developers.

Regions and neighborhoods that had been regarded as duds gained new life in the 2000s. The new decade lifted limited expectations as developers discovered new truths about the local real estate market, such as the fact that some Houstonians do indeed want to live downtown.

During the last 10 years, Houston’s real estate trends and the key projects that embody them are:

1. Randall’s Food Market, Midtown. This grocery made Midtown a more complete neighborhood. Randall’s, a 37,000-square-foot store located at the corner of Louisiana and Hadley, also serves residents in adjacent downtown Houston. Urban dwellers have had restaurants and nightclubs galore. But until Randall’s opened in 2002, the all important supermarket element (read: food) was missing. The remaining deficiency for downtown living? Kids. Until families with children move into downtown, it cannot be a well-rounded community.

2. Sharpstown Center, Southwest Freeway at Bellaire Blvd. Before he became a senator, Ted Kennedy was the headliner speaker for the grand opening of Sharpstown mall in 1961. Sharpstown was the first enclosed air-conditioned mall in Houston. Things have changed. Sharpstown no longer has Macy’s or JC Penney. As 2009 came to a close, the mall was renamed PlazAmericas; it will house an 83,000-square-foot mercado with mariachi bands. Across Houston, places like Sharpstown mall and the surrounding 1960s-vintage neighborhoods are now in transition. The era of Sharpstown and Ted Kennedy is over.

3. Palisade Palms. East Beach Drive, Galveston. The 27-story Palisade Palms condominium towers were built during the height of the residential boom of the 2000s. Galveston’s real estate market took off and prices soared as low mortgage rates and the investment potential of second homes seduced buyers. Thousands of new vacation condos and beach houses were built on the island. Interestingly, Palisade Palms attracted development to the east end of Galveston, counter to the trend for west end construction. In 2008, Galveston was hit by a vicious double-whammy of Hurricane Ike and the national recession. But for awhile, at least, Galveston had demonstrated that it could be a major vacation-home market.

4. Hilton Americas, 1600 Lamar, downtown Houston. This 1,200-room hotel, which opened in December 2003, brought momentum to the eastern part of downtown. The George R. Brown Convention Center had been isolated from other development since it opened in east downtown in 1987. The Hilton, connected to the convention center with skywalks, gave that part of town more mass and density. Other new activity on the eastern side of downtown has included the Toyota Center arena, Discovery Green park, and the Minute Maid baseball stadium. As the largest hotel in town, Hilton Americas gives Houston the ability to draw major conventions. When the national economy rebounds, Houston could see some large, tangible benefits from having a vibrant convention industry.

5. Bridgeland. Near U.S. Highway 290 and Fry Road, northwest Houston. This 11,400-acre, master-planned community elevated the Highway 290 corridor to a major growth sector for decades to come. Real estate veteran Steve Montgomery of the Transwestern company says transportation improvements along 290 point the way for a significant amount of new construction and opportunity from Loop 610 almost all the way to Brenham. A huge amount of retail space has been built near Bridgeland already. As a large-scale development, Bridgeland may be the last of its kind, however. Overwhelming start-up costs and a decades-long wait for a payday make 10,000-acre-plus projects unattractive in today’s economics.

6. Metro Rail. A 7.5-mile rail line running from downtown to the Reliant Stadium area. Since it opened in 2004, Metro Rail has been successful by some standards. It averages some 40,000 riders daily. New townhomes and apartments have sprung up along the route. But some question whether the rail has been the strong development catalyst that it was supposed to be. This starter line has paved the way for further expansion of the light rail, which will bring connect the Galleria area, the University of Houston and other hot spots. The expansion of the rail will change the way we live and create development opportunities near Metro stops.

7. Anadarko Tower, The Woodlands. This 30-story office building is a can’t-miss visual when you head north of Houston. The Anadarko energy company left Greenspoint for The Woodlands about eight years ago. Americans love the convenient, gasoline-saving aspects of living near their workplace, so naturally more office buildings are being constructed in suburbs. With the Anadarko Tower, The Woodlands was confirmed as prime location for major corporations and it is essentially a full-fledged city today.

8. Andrau Airpark, Westheimer Road. This 700-acre airfield became part of the West Belt/Sam Houston Parkway development boom. The airport, purchased for $53.5 million by Camden Property Trust, became the upscale 900-home Royal Oaks community and golf course. Significant retail space and apartments were built on Andrau’s Westheimer frontage. Another tract of Andrau’s magnitude won’t be coming down the pike any time soon. “That was the largest land sale in the Houston city limits in 50 years,” says land broker Stan Creech.

9. Sugar Land Town Square, U.S. Highway 59 at Highway 6 in First Colony. Enclosed air-conditioned malls are out. Town centers are in. The Sugar Land Town Square was one of the first of the new wave of mixed-use projects that brought retail, residential, offices and hotels together in a walkable mix. A new City Hall for Sugar Land was incorporated into the project. This project was the forerunner for other mixed-use developments, including West Ave. and Pearland Town Center. The regional mall genre is dying.

10. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., FM 1405 and Spur 55 in Baytown. Yes, this is a big warehouse. It’s four million square feet of space—some 92 acres under roof. But what it could do for the Houston economy is even bigger. With Wal-Mart as an industry leader, Houston’s port could become a primary destination and distribution point for goods from Asia. A significant expansion of the Panama Canal is in the works, and all of this could make Houston a more dominant international port for decades to come.

Ralph Bivins, former president of the National Association of Real Estate Editors, is editor-in-chief of RealtyNewsReport.com.

Palisade Palms, the first "on-the-beach" condominium to be built on Galveston Island in more than 20 years, attracted development to the east end of Galveston.

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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