red-hot houston

Houston tops U.S. as most active real estate market within the last decade, new report finds

Houston had the greatest number of single-family home permits between 2013 and 2022.

Photo by Jim Olive Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

A new report has discovered Texas cities hold the top five most active real estate markets in the country, with Houston landing in the No. 1 spot. The study by storage marketplace StorageCafe reflects the city's resiliency over the last decade after a recent reported plummet in Houston's quality of life.

Houston had the greatest number of single-family home permits between 2013 and 2022, totaling 55,600 units. At the same time, the city also permitted nearly 90,000 new multi-family/apartment units. The massive influx of housing ultimately adds up to the most impressive national surge.

"Space City’s real estate market is firing on all cylinders, pushing it ahead of every other major city across the U.S. in terms of inventory expansions," the reports authors said. "Supported by consistent demand coming from the huge influx of newcomers, a diversifying economy and a very strong job market, both residential and commercial construction are thriving."

On the industrial end, Houston also took the top spot in the country for the most square feet of new industrial space construction. Nearly 66 million square feet was erected in the last decade, and 27 million constructed for new office space. This further solidifies Houston's standing as a top city for business.

Following Houston in the list of real estate growth is San Antonio (No. 2), with nearly 34,000 single-family homes permitted between 2013 and 2022, and over 38,500 multi-family units. Surprisingly, Austin only made it into No. 3, with vastly greater multi-family permits issued in comparison to single-family units: 98,764 versus 37,029.

The real estate markets in Fort Worth and Dallas respectively round out the top five.

The cities that complete the top 10 include:

No. 6 – Phoenix, Arizona
No. 7 – Jacksonville, Florida
No. 8 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 9 – Denver, Colorado
No. 10 – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

The full report can be found on storagecafe.com.

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REAL ESTATE NEWS

More Houston homeowners are becoming 'accidental landlords,' study finds

For Lease Real Estate Sign Hangs in Front Yard of House

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An increasing number of San Antonio homeowners are bcoming "accidental landlords"

Houston homeowners unable to sell their properties are increasingly becoming “accidental landlords,” according to Zillow. The real estate marketplace’s newest analysis says that 4.2 percent of its local for-sale listings recently converted to rentals, making the Bayou City the second-worst U.S. city for the market trend.

Only Denver (4.9 percent) ranks higher, with Austin (4.1 percent) and San Antonio (3.9 percent) not far behind. Seven of the top 10 metros are in Texas or Florida.

Zillow senior economist Kara Ng says today's dynamic is driven by choice rather than panic. Homeowners aren't being forced to sell; they're simply unwilling to accept what the market will actually pay.

"As the market continues to rebalance, sellers are facing a different reality than they did a few years ago," Ng said in a statement. "Bargaining power is tilting toward buyers, and homes are taking longer to sell, making renting out a property one way to buy time rather than compete aggressively on price. After all, today's sellers are rarely forced to sell, and it appears they are often unwilling to budge off of what their heart says their home is worth."

Nationally, the trend is nearing a record high. 2.3 percent of all Zillow rental listings were recently for-sale properties, second only to November 2022, when mortgage rates had doubled in a single year, and sellers were scrambling. That spike was shock-driven, but now stubbornness is likely fueling the shift.

Single-family homes make up the largest share of accidental landlord properties, but condos are seeing the fastest rise. Metros with the hottest buyer competition, including Boston, New York City, and Providence, Rhode Island, have the lowest accidental landlord rates.

For both local buyers and sellers, Goldilocks thinking is increasingly the norm. Sellers, especially those who bought during the COVID-19 boom, are holding their asking price firm to avoid taking a loss. Buyers, for their part, are refusing to compromise on concessions and repairs.

Meanwhile, the city's rental market keeps getting larger. In 2025, rental listings website Point2Homes placed the Houston area among the top 10 U.S. metros building the most new homes for rent.

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