Updated elegance

Renovated Tudor-style home in West U. hits market for $5.5 million

In the heart of West University Place sits 6426 Sewanee Avenue. The gracious Tudor home, originally built in 2011, has been thoughtfully renovated. It’s on the market for $5.5 million and is represented by Melinda Dawes Ewing of Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty.

The four-bedroom, five-bath home sits on about a third of an acre in one of the country's wealthiest neighborhoods. Unfolding across 8,577 square feet, it’s a home meant for living and entertaining. Originally designed by Robert Dame, Classic American Homes + Karen Black Interiors updated the home earlier this year.

6426 Sewanee offers casual luxury that is easy and approachable. Well-manicured landscaping and outdoor lighting both highlight the home’s curb appeal and beckon visitors to come inside.

The open floor plan allows for seamless gathering spaces, including a huge family room with beamed ceilings and a gourmet kitchen anchored by a center island. It also has a six-burner gas cooktop with Segreto vent hood, Wolf and Sub Zero appliances, Quartzite countertops, and a welcoming feel that make it a natural place to hang out while home cooks are preparing a feast.

The dining and formal living room offer sophisticated touches, loads of natural light, and access to the wet bar and the temperature-controlled, 360-bottle wine room. Upstairs, find the spacious primary suite with its own gas fireplace, exposed beams, and a private balcony that's perfect for morning coffee, afternoon wine, or scrolling the news of the day. The primary bath is a space of dreamy marble with two closets, Ann Sacks tile, and lovely new hardware.

Future occupants will also find an elevator, pool, covered outdoor patio with gas fireplace and summer kitchen, workout room, a paneled study on the home’s second floor, a media room, and a three-car garage and motor court

This is a beautiful home, where new owners will create cherished memories in one of the Houston-area's most desirable neighborhoods.

Photo by Josh Gremillion for Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty

This renovated Tudor home at 6426 Sewanee Avenue in West University Place is on sale for $5.5 million.

west university place home-for-sale

homebuying news

New study ranks Texas a top-20 housing market for buyers under 35

Photo by Jakub Żerdzicki on Unsplash

In 2025, Texas had more mortgage applicants under 35 years old than any other state in the country.

The Lone Star State is emerging as a top destination for young adult homebuyers, a new report has confirmed, with nearly 23 percent of all mortgage applications submitted by individuals under 35 years old.

Texas ranked No. 18 in SmartAsset's new study, "Where Young Adults are House Hunting," making it one of the most sought-after U.S. states "where the next generation of homeowners may be gaining the strongest foothold."

To determine where younger Americans are most actively pursuing homeownership, SmartAsset's analysts examined mortgage application data in all 50 states in 2025, and calculated the share of applications filed by buyers younger than 35 relative to all applicants.

A total 259,737 Texas homebuyers under 35 submitted mortgage applications in the last year alone — making Texas the state with the highest number of young adult applications in the country.

California and Florida, respectively, had the second- and third-highest numerical rate of young adult homebuyers with 170,434 and 159,429 applications in each state. But they still ranked at the bottom of the national list with the lowest percentage of young adult applications relative to all applicants in 2025 — at 14.7 and 14.8 percent.

North Dakota leads the nation as the top state for young homeowners with over 28 percent of all mortgage applications in 2025 submitted by homebuyers under 35, making up 6,551 applications.

SmartAsset also revealed something many homeowners might already know: younger Americans are more likely to pursue homeownership in states with lower housing costs.

"In each of the four states with the highest share of mortgage applications from adults younger than 35, the typical home value is less than $300,000: North Dakota (No. 1), West Virginia (No. 2), Nebraska (No. 3) and Iowa (No. 4)," the report's author wrote.

In Texas, the typical home is worth $302,187, which is the 18th highest in the U.S. Meanwhile, West Virginia and Mississippi are the only two states with home values under $200,000, the lowest nationwide.

Recent studies have positioned Houston as a hotspot for millennial homeowners, but results aren't looking good among Gen Z and first-time homebuyers. As many Houstonians already know, affordability remains a major hurdle and the surrounding suburbs have a greater appeal for potential first-time buyers.

High home prices aren't the only challenges keeping young Americans from becoming homeowners, the report said. Other challenges like high interest rates and limited supply are also plaguing would-be homebuyers.

"According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, nearly 9 in 10 younger Americans say it is harder for them to buy a home than it was for their parents," the report said. "Nonetheless, younger buyers continue to aspire to homeownership, navigating an uneven landscape of affordability and opportunity."

real estate homebuying housing market smartasset reports