sweat it all out

24-hour gym known for hot workouts coming to new Fifth Ward development

The East River complex is growing again. The high-end, mixed-use development along Buffalo Bayou in Houston's Fifth Ward will soon become the home base to restaurants, a wine bar, and a host of other businesses. Now, it's announced that HOTWORX, a 24-hour fitness studio, will soon be joining its ranks.

The workout spot will lease 1,700-square-feet on the ground floor of East River's parking garage. It is slated to open later this year, according to a release.

HOTWORX provides its members 24-hour access to virtually instructed workouts within infrared sauna environments, which integrates heat, infrared energy, and exercise to provide an efficient workout experience. The studio offers semi-private, seven-by-nine-foot infrared saunas, optimizing the absorption of infrared radiant energy, which is beneficial for the body’s regenerative processes, according to information from HOTWORX. Workouts range from 15 to 30 minutes, and offer programs like hot yoga, Pilates, barre, cycle, and HIIT, led by virtual instructors specialized in each discipline. There will also include the FX Zone, a space equipped with weights, bands, ropes, and other tools for functional training exercises.

East River

The East River development continues to grow.

The studio will offer a range of membership options. The facility will be staffed during normal business hours and open 24 hours a day, with app-based and personal safety devices for access control and medical emergencies.

"We are excited to welcome HOTWORX to East River," said Laura Harness, senior director of retail leasing at Parkway, a retail development firm that's managing East River. "Their commitment to health and wellness aligns perfectly with our vision. We believe HOTWORX will be a significant addition, enhancing the lifestyle and wellness options available to our residents and visitors."

Construction on East River’s first phase is complete, which means that Houstonians can expect some of the businesses that have leased space at the property to open soon. They include:

La Cantina by La Calle Tacos, a bar and restaurant from the growing local taqueria chain
Kyuramen, a second Houston-area location of the global ramen restaurant
City Cellars HTX, the wine bar and restaurant that originally operated in the Museum District
Lick Honest Ice Creams, the Austin-based scoop shop known for using Texas ingredients

The project is also home to East River 9, a par-three golf course, and Riverhouse Houston, a family-friendly restaurant, both of which opened in 2022. A group of 1,500-square-foot storefronts are being offered to existing, Fifth Ward-based businesses at a discounted lease rate.

openings fitness east river

red-hot housing

Houston boasts No. 20 hottest real estate market among big U.S. cities

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It doesn't get much hotter than the Houston housing market. A new report has ranked H-Town as the 20th best real estate market among America's biggest cities right now.

WalletHub's annual study, "Best Real Estate Markets (2026)," compares the real estate markets in 300 U.S. cities based on 17 relevant metrics, such as "housing market attractiveness," home value forecasts, housing affordability, population growth, and many others. Cities were also ranked by size: large cities with over 300,000 residents; midsize cities with 150,000-300,000 residents; and small cities with fewer than 150,000 residents.

In the overall ranking of the best housing markets in America, regardless of city size, Houston ranks 90th out of all 300 cities.

WalletHub ranks Houston's real estate market No. 102 nationally, and its "affordability and economic environment" ranks 111th overall.

This is how WalletHub ranks the "health" of Houston's housing market (where No. 1 is the best and No. 150 is average):

No. 51 – Job Growth Rate
No. 96 – Home Price as a Percentage of Income
No. 99 – Median Home-Price Appreciation
No. 128 – Foreclosure Rate
No. 159 – Share of Seriously Underwater Mortgages
No. 172 – Percentage of Delinquent Mortgage Holders
No. 173 – Median Days on the Market
No. 192 – Maintenance Costs as a Percentage of Income

Despite Houston's good standing among the biggest cities in America, a separate WalletHub report claims Houston is one of the worst cities for first-time homebuyers. Instead, Houstonians are turning to popular ZIP codes in suburbs like Cypress and Katy, which rank among the hottest places to move to in the U.S.

Other high-performing housing markets in Texas
Two popular North Texas suburbs — Frisco and McKinney — topped WalletHub's overall list of the best real estate markets in the U.S. for 2026 at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, and they locked in the top two spots in the midsize city ranking, too.

Frisco tops the nationwide "affordability and economic environment" category, and ranks No. 2 nationally for its real estate market.

"When you look at home prices as a percentage of income, [Frisco] is the 95th-cheapest among the 300 cities in our study," the report said. "But it’s the 11th-cheapest city for phone service and the 11th-cheapest for maintenance and energy."

Frisco boasts the highest share of houses that were built between 2010 and 2024, at nearly 47 percent, which WalletHub says is "good news for people who want all the benefits of a recently-constructed home," without having to "put in a lot of work" to renovate an older or run down home.

"If you aim to make a profit in the long run with your housing purchase, you’ll need to look beyond tangible factors like square footage and style," the report's author wrote. "Those factors certainly drive up property values. From an investor’s standpoint, though, they hold less significance than historical market trends and the economic health of residents."

Nearby Denton and Allen also made the overall top 10, respectively ranking as the 5th and 8th best real estate markets in the U.S. for 2026. Denton similarly ranked 5th in the midsize city rankings, and Allen topped the list of small cities.

The top 10 best real estate markets in America for 2026 are:

No. 1 – Frisco, Texas
No. 2 – McKinney, Texas
No. 3 – Murfreesboro, Tennessee
No. 4 – Durham, North Carolina
No. 5 – Denton, Texas
No. 6 – Cary, North Carolina
No. 7 – Madison, Wisconsin
No. 8 – Allen, Texas
No. 9 – Charlotte, North Carolina
No. 10 – Irvine, California

wallethub housing market real estate reports houston