hottest 'hoods in h-town

2 Houston-area ZIP codes top 2024 list of hottest U.S. housing markets

This home in Katy's 77493 is on the market for $441,000.

Photo courtesy of Opendoor

The Houston metro's strong real estate market has shown it can persevere through another year of high mortgage rates, and two local ZIP codes — in Katy and Cypress — are leading the nation as the hottest housing markets of 2024.

A just-released report by Opendoor has revealed Katy's 77493 is the No. 1 hottest U.S. housing market in 2024, with Cypress' 77433 landing at No. 2. The two ZIPs flip-flopped from last year's placements.

The study examined the U.S. ZIP codes where people bought homes the fastest in 2024, using local Multiple Listing Services (MLS) data in markets where Opendoor operates. The ZIP codes were ranked by the total number of homes that went into contract within 90 days of listing.

The affordability of Houston's suburbs remain a big draw attraction for newcomers, as the report says Houston's housing costs are among the lowest nationwide.

"Over the past three years, we’ve seen people choose to move away from city centers in favor of tighter-knit communities, but still live close enough to commute and be close to the action," the report says. "This year’s most popular areas are known for being fast-growing cities with plenty of new development, with healthy job growth in Florida and Texas in particular."

Texas cities dominated the top 10 for a second year in a row, with four additional ZIPs earning spots in the report: 78253 in San Antonio (No. 3); 78130 in New Braunfels (No. 4); 75126 in Forney (No. 6); and 78640 in Kyle (No. 10). McKinney's 75071 ZIP ranked 12th nationally.

Under-the-radar neighborhoods to watch in 2025
Opendoor also revealed its new list of "hidden gem" American neighborhoods where new listings grew from January to November 2024.

ZIP code 77377 in Tomball, a city 35 miles north of downtown Houston, was ranked the No. 4 best hidden gem neighborhood with homes under $300,000.

Plano was the only other Texas city to be included in the report's list of top under-the-radar neighborhoods. The Dallas suburb's 75074 ZIP was ranked the No. 7 best hidden gem for homes between $400,000 and $600,000.

"These [hidden gem] lists offer neighborhoods across different price points with something for everyone," the report says. "Similar to the top 20 list, these are neighborhoods that are fast-developing, with something more turnkey, and in a smaller community."

Opendoor's top 10 hottest ZIP codes of 2024 are:

No. 1 – Katy, Texas (77493)
No. 2 – Cypress, Texas (77433)
No. 3 – San Antonio, Texas (78253)
No. 4 – New Braunfels, Texas (78130)
No. 5 – Summerville, South Carolina (29486)
No. 6 – Forney, Texas (75126)
No. 7 – Yukon, Oklahoma (73099)
No. 8 – Clarksville, Tennessee (37042)
No. 9 – Parrish, Florida (34219)
No. 10 – Kyle, Texas (78640)

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rent report

2 Houston suburbs had the priciest rents in the metro in November

Photo by Jeswin Thomas on Unsplash

Asking rent for a single-bedroom apartment in Houston came out to $1,210 in November, Zumper said.

After American shoppers spent $11.5 billion on Black Friday this year, it's safe to say everyone is watching their wallets this holiday season, including renters. And a new Zumper report is shedding light on the Houston-area cities that are shelling out the most for their rent.

The report analyzed active listings from the previous month across all cities in the Houston metro. It tracked the most and least expensive rent prices for one- and two-bedroom apartments, and determines the cities with the fastest growing rents. Listings were aggregated by city to calculate median asking rents.

Sugar Land had the highest rent prices in the Houston area in November, the report found. The median rent price for a single-bedroom apartment came out to $1,480 last month. That's $30 higher than the median asking rent for the same apartment in June.

For two-bedroom units, median rent prices in Sugar Land rose 4.3 percent from October to $1,940.

Pearland had the second-highest rents in the metro last month. Single-bedroom units had a median asking price of $1,370 per month, while two-bedroom units had a $1,700 price tag in November.

Residents in both Pearland and Sugar Land are expected to spend more than $3,100 on their holiday presents this year, a recent WalletHub study revealed, which means they may be keeping a closer eye on their budgets than other Houston-area residents.

Meanwhile, Houston proper had the third-priciest asking rents in the entire metro area in November. Median asking rent for a one-bedroom unit totaled $1,210 in November, and two-bedroom units had a $1,480 price tag.

These are the median rent prices for one- and two-bedroom apartments around Houston:

League City – $1,180 for one-bedroom units; $1,410 for two-bedroom units
Spring – $1,170 for one-bedroom units; $1,530 for two-bedroom units

Houston-area cities with affordable rent compared to the statewide median
Zumper found the statewide median rent for a one bedroom apartment came out to $1,126 last month.

Huntsville, a city 70 miles north of Houston, had the most affordable rent for a one-bedroom unit in the region, with median prices adding up to $880. The report also found that Huntsville's single-bedroom rent costs are surprisingly 6 percent more expensive than they were a year ago. However, the median cost for a two-bedroom unit in Huntsville – $1,000 – is the same asking price as it was in November 2024.

Six more Houston-area cities had more affordable single-bedroom rent prices than the statewide median:

Galveston – $1,110
Conroe – $1,100
Baytown – $1,000
Lake Jackson – $920
Pasadena – $910
Texas City – $890

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