5 real estate trends to know in the Lake Houston area

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Residential growth has changed the Humble, Kingwood and Atascocita areas in recent years. As population and demographic shifts occur, new real estate trends have emerged.

1. Are homes in the Lake Houston area becoming unaffordable?

In Atascocita, Houston and Humble, median home values are trending upward. However, home prices have risen faster than the increase in median household income, a factor that could affect future housing affordability in the area.

2.Humble's Downtown Improvement Program helps homeowners make renovations to their properties

Twelve homeowners in Humble have made more than $78,000 in improvements that will be reimbursed this fiscal year. The program is limited to $10,000 per applicant, projects that are viewable from the public right of way and to residents who live in the downtown area.

Here are some projects for which homeowners could be reimbursed:

-Significant cleaning or restoration to the building's finish

-Adding or restoring an awning or canopy

-Replacing a door or window

-Adding or improving fencing

-Removing debris

-Demolition of a dilapidated structure

3.Rapid growth continues in single-family homes

More than 12,000 single-family homes are projected to be built in the Lake Houston area by 2025 as developers chase the area's rapid job and population growth.

These developments will add the most homes to the area:

1. Balmoral: 1,663

2. Royal Brook in Kingwood: 1,312

3. The Groves: 1,299

4. Lakewood Pines: 652

5. Bridges on Lake Houston: 58

4. Multifamily developers enter Lake Houston area

5. Millennials drive the rise in rental-home market

Demand is still high for single-family rental properties in the Lake Houston area, said Thomas Saunders, a Realtor for RE/MAX Associates Northeast, which is based in Kingwood.

This follows a trend of growing single-family rental properties. In May, leases of single-family homes increased 31 percent year-over-year across the Greater Houston area, according to the Houston Association of Realtors.

Rentals are popular options for millennials who move often empty nesters and people with poor credit, Saunders said.

"You've got a new type of tenant coming in," he said. "And that tenant-they're just not interested in anything permanent. They don't want to be in a house for 15 years."

Demand for the properties continues to grow even as more inexperienced landlords invest in the industry, he said.

"You actually see companies where their whole model is managing (single-family) rentals," Saunders said. "And they're growing. Because there's people that want to be landlords- they want that type of investment without the maintenance."

This story comes from our partners at Community Impact Newspaper.

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