real estate worth millions

Houston's luxury real estate market brought in $5.7 billion in 2024

3217 Del Monte Drive, Houston home for sale

There's no shortage of luxury homes in Houston.

Photo courtesy of HAR.com

A new 2024 report from Texas Realtors has revealed the number of homes that sold in the state for $1 million or more increased 10 percent from last year to reach its second-highest peak ever recorded.

According to the report's findings – which calculated sales data from November 2023 to October 2024 – Texas' luxury real estate market accounted for $21.4 billion in economic activity. The period from November 2021 to October 2022 still holds the current statewide record, which is $22.6 billion.

A total 12,888 homes sold for at least $1 million during this time, which represented nearly 16 percent of all Texas residential home sales.

May 2024 was the busiest month for Texas' luxury home sales. Nearly 1,580 homes were sold that month for $1 million or more. Meanwhile, January was the slowest month with only 610 million-dollar homes sold.

"The high end of the Texas real estate market continues to evolve," said Christy Gessler, Chairman of Texas Realtors, in a press release. "As prices rise, more homes cross the million-dollar threshold. Some are highly valued for their size or amenities, but with many, the key factor is location."

Luxury real estate performance in Houston
The report further revealed that the second-highest share (26.2 percent) of Texas luxury homes were located in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area, amounting to nearly $5.7 billion.

A total 3,371 luxury homes were sold in the Houston area from November 2023 to October 2024; 10 percent more than the previous year. These million-dollar real estate purchases accounted for 16 percent of all residential sales dollar volume in the metro.

The median size of a million-dollar home that sold in Houston last October came out to 4,406 square feet, whereas the median size of all residential homes sold for the month was less than half that size – only 2,093 square feet.

In a similar vein, the average price-per-square-foot for a luxury home sold in Houston in October came out to $389, whereas the price-per-square-foot for all residential homes sold in the area was only $180.

Houston's share of high-end homes can be located in various affluent areas, from a massive Memorial mansion to a French-inspired Hunters Creek Village estate, or even a renovated Tudor home in West U.

Previously, Houston ranked as the No. 18 U.S. city with the most million-dollar homes on the market.

Luxury real estate in other Texas metros
Houston came in second to Dallas-Fort Worth, which constituted 38.7 percent of all million-dollar home sales in Texas. Austin-Round Rock had the third-highest share (19.1 percent) of statewide luxury real estate sales.

In Dallas-Fort Worth, 4,992 luxury homes were sold from October 2023 to November 2024, raking in $8.5 billion in total sales dollar volume. Meanwhile, 2,461 luxury homes were sold in the Austin area to bring in $4.1 billion, the report said.

Here's how the average price-per-square foot and median home size compared across these two Texas metros in October 2024:

$394 – average price per square foot for a million-dollar home in Dallas-Fort Worth
$510 – average price per square foot for a million-dollar home in Austin
4,212 square feet – median size of a luxury home in Dallas-Fort Worth
3,440 square feet – median size of a luxury home in Austin

Additionally, 5.1 percent of all million-dollar homes sold statewide were located in San Antonio-New Braunfels. That means 656 luxury homes were sold in this metro, which brought in $957 million. In a one-month analysis for October 2024, the median size of a million-dollar home sold in the Alamo City came out to 4,118 square feet, which sold for an average price of $357 per square foot.

Elsewhere in Texas, just under 11 percent of the state's luxury home sales were located outside the four biggest metros, or 1,408 homes.

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live and learn

Rice funds parent-focused affordable housing project in Third Ward

Rendering courtesy of Brinshore Development

Rice Real Estate is partnering with Brinshore Development and Family Scholar House to build affordable housing units in the Third Ward.

A new affordable housing development is going up in Houston’s Third Ward, led by Rice Real Estate Company, in partnership with Brinshore Development and the nonprofit Family Scholar House.

The project, Manson Place for Parent Scholars, combines affordable housing with comprehensive family support services to support single parents pursuing higher education

"Rice Real Estate is pleased to support this development that will expand access to quality affordable housing," Sam Dike, senior manager, real estate and asset management, said in a statement.

The 76-unit development will serve households earning between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income (AMI), with a focus on families earning at or below 50 percent AMI. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 80 percent AMI for a family of four in Houston is $75,700.

Houston ranks second nationwide in the shortage of affordable rental homes for households earning at or below the federal poverty line or 30 percent of the area median income, according to a report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Rice Real Estate Company, a subsidiary of Rice University that buys and manages properties such as Rice Village and the Ion District in Midtown, has tasked Brinshore Development, a firm specializing in mixed-income housing, to lead the project. Family Scholar House will oversee support services for residents, offering access to career counseling, financial literacy programs, and other resources.

“Scholar House is a proven program that promotes self-sufficiency and represents our commitment to creating inclusive communities that lift families up out of the generational cycle of poverty,” said Richard J. Sciortino, founding principal of Brinshore Development. “By combining affordable housing with educational support, we are not only addressing their immediate housing needs but also investing in their future and the future of their children.”

Funding for the project comes from Amegy Bank, Memorial Hermann Health System, and Rice University. Rice’s portion is a part of the $15.3 million Ion District Community Benefit Agreement established in 2022 to support community development and mitigate potential impacts around the Ion. While community organizers sought a direct agreement, Rice instead negotiated the deal with the city, leading to criticism over limited community input, as reported by the Houston Chronicle.

Rendering courtesy of Brinshore Development

Rice Real Estate is partnering with Brinshore Development and Family Scholar House to build affordable housing units in the Third Ward.

Manson Place will also rely on Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, state and county ARPA funding, and an operating subsidy from the Houston Housing Authority. A low-interest loan from Rice Real Estate and Memorial Hermann helped close the project’s financing gap.

Construction has begun on Manson Place for Parent Scholars, with completion anticipated by year-end.