The ongoing oil and gas slump has caused population growth in the Greater Houston area to fall short of previously projected totals, according to Metrostudy, a research firm that studies the residential construction industry. However, developers behind several major new home projects in Cy-Fair are showing confidence the local real estate market will remain strong.According to the demographics firm Population and Survey Analysts, about 65 percent of the Greater Houston area relies on the oil and gas industry in some way. In Cy-Fair, where the top areas of employment are education and health care, however, the real estate market has not taken the same hit, officials said.
“Our growth is certainly slowed compared to 2012 and 2014, but we’re still adding jobs and people are still moving to the market,” said Steve Sellers, president of Empire Continental Land, which started building homes in the new Cypress community Dellrose in 2015. “The Northwest side of Houston has for a long time been a very popular spot with homebuyers.”
While many of the new master-planned communities in Cy-Fair are selling homes starting in the $200,000s or higher, PASA reports that the median home value in Cy-Fair at this point in time is $199,278, and there are more than 8,000 vacant homes in the area.
Based on the 2016 PASA report, 135 square miles of Cy-Fair have been built out, and another 25 square miles are either being developed or have development plans. This leaves about 25 square miles left in the region for potential future development, according to the report.
The limited amount of land left in Cy-Fair is quickly being purchased by developers with plans for residential communities, mainly around the Grand Parkway and Hwy. 290, including Bridgeland, Towne Lake, Elyson and Dellrose.
PASA projects more than 25,000 new single-family homes will be built within the region by the year 2025, and 40,000 housing units will be built in total over that time.
Leslie Martone, president of the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce, said she believes families with young children are still the No. 1 demographic flocking to Cy-Fair, but noted an increase in senior residents as well.
“A lot of people are getting frustrated with different states’ costs of living, and we see the trend with people moving, and they can afford to do that because they sold their home up north for that value,” Martone said. “I think people are starting to scoop up the land because it is starting to [cost] more and more. There is not an abundance of land out here.”
