hottest 'hoods

Houston's 'livable forest' neighbor tops Heights as hottest neighborhood on the market in 2023

King's Harbor is a big Kingwood draw.

Kings Harbor/Facebook

The best place to buy a house is not always in the most sought-after neighborhood. So where are current and future residents looking to own? Luckily for Houston homebuyers, we have names of the most and least popular neighborhoods in the region.

The master-planned neighborhood of Kingwood is the most popular neighborhood in the city, according to a new study by indoor air quality experts HouseFresh. The study looked at daily views on home listings in 100 of the most populous American cities on Zillow, as well as the number of days a home was listed on the market.

Kingwood is known for its heavily forested land, parks, and community centers, which allowed for the conceptualization of its “Livable Forest” nickname. The neighborhood is so large, spanning over 14,000 acres, that it's split up further into smaller "villages." Active home listings in the area received over 12,600 views per day on Zillow.

Other popular neighborhoods in the city include:

No. 2 – Greater Heights
No. 3 – Greater Uptown Houston
No. 4 – Washington Avenue Coalition - Memorial Park
No. 5 – Alief

In the running for the least popular neighborhood in Houston, with only 49 views per day on Zillow, are homes in the inconspicuously named Pecan Park community. Potential buyers avoid this area since a majority of the homes are rentals, which is a stark contrast to the 75 percent of Kingswood residents who own their properties.

Though the name suggests there would be ample green space in the area, Pecan Park is bordered by two interstate highways, I-610 and I-45, which doesn’t leave much room for greenery. The 16-acre Ingrando Park is the only park in the area.

The top five least popular Houston neighborhoods are:

No. 1 – Pecan Park
No. 2 – Kashmere Gardens
No. 3 – Clinton Park Tri-Community
No. 4 – Denver Harbor - Port Houston
No. 5 – IAH - Airport Area

It should be no surprise that IAH - Airport Area also earned a spot on the top five least popular neighborhoods. In addition to noise pollution concerns, the study found that available homes on Zillow in IAH only received 210 daily views.

The full report can be found on housefresh.com.

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rent affordability news

Houstonians need to make nearly $68,000 to afford rent in 2025

Photo courtesy of Dolce Midtown Apartments

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A new rental report from Zillow has revealed Houston renters need to make about 23 percent more money than they did five years ago in order to afford rent in 2025.

Zillow analysts examined the income needed to afford rent in 50 major U.S. metros, and determined rent prices in each city as of April 2025.

The average Houston renter needs to make $67,731 a year to afford living in the city, the report found. To afford rent for a single-family home, the income needed increases even further to $85,017.

Despite Houston's rising rent cost of living, it's still more affordable than many other cities. Nationally, the average income needed for someone to comfortably afford rent comes out to nearly $81,000. The study says that figure has increased nearly 35 percent since 2020.

"Housing costs have surged since pre-pandemic, with rents growing quite a bit faster than wages," said senior Zillow economist Orphe Divounguy. "This often leaves little room for other expenses, making it particularly difficult for those hoping to save for a down payment on a future home. High upfront costs are often overlooked, which can keep renters in their current homes."

Rent prices in Houston averaged $1,693 last month, which is less costly than the national average rent price of $2,024. Additionally, Houstonians are spending about 24 percent of their income on rent, while the typical American spends almost 30 percent of their income on rent.

Renters are also saving hundreds of dollars in comparison to those that own their homes, as a recent SmartAsset study discovered the median monthly housing costs for a Houston homeowner came out to $2,219.

At least we're not living on the East or West Coast, where eight U.S. metros require six-figure incomes to afford rent. Residents in San Jose, California need to make $136,532 a year to afford rent, the highest out of all 50 U.S. cities. Rent prices in San Jose came out to $3,413 in April.

Here's how much money renters need to afford living in other Texas metros, according to Zillow:

Dallas – $71,413
Austin – $68,840
San Antonio – $58,590

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