Sales in south county strongest among all other county markets

A combination of a booming business economy and major transportation corridors have been primary factors in South Montgomery County leading the rest of the county in real estate sales. With The Woodlands home to a number of energy companies that employ hundreds of people and the surrounding area feeding off the growth, home buyers are looking to the south county area more often than other parts of the county.

"The Woodlands has been the dominant factor in south county and sales have been so strong that south county has always just completely outperformed the northern part of the county," said Jim Gaines, research economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

According to data provided by the Houston Association of Realtors which utilizes Multiple Listing Services sales data, from 2007 to 2011, there were 17,492 homes sold in MLS Area 15, which comprises the south county area. By comparison, each of the four other MLS areas in Montgomery County combined reported sales of 12,952 homes during the same period.

During that five-year span, 58 percent of homes sold in Montgomery County were in MLS Area 15.

Sam Yager III is executive vice president of Sam Yager Inc., which controls two major residential developments in Montgomery County: Kings Mill near Hwy. 59 and Harper's Preserve, near I-45 and Hwy. 242. He compared the similar growth dynamic that has occurred on Houston's west side with South Montgomery County.

"All the mobility improvements and the energy corridor have been a catalyst for Cinco Ranch," Yager said, "and the north is now moving in that direction with ExxonMobil [opening] and several other energy companies."

Several major energy companies either have their headquarters in The Woodlands or have offices there that employ hundreds of people. According to the South Montgomery County Woodlands Economic Development Partnership, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has more than 2,500 employees. Chevron Phillips has a Woodlands office with more than 650 employees. Plans for more companies and expansions are on the way, with Anadarko building another 30-story tower and Nexeo Solutions relocating to the upcoming 3 Waterway Square building.

"[The Woodlands] is becoming a destination for the relocation of companies and companies want services nearby for their employees," Yager said. "That's going to drive jobs, and the proximity of those employment centers to housing is real important."

Mobility factors

One of the key factors in the success of the real estate market in south county has been the continued development of transportation corridors through, into and out of that part of the county.

"Transportation drives growth and success," said Will Holder, president of Trendmaker Homes and the Greater Houston Builders Association. "The No. 1 factor in selling an area is schools and the second is access."

A primary reason for the slow growth in the northern portions of the county has been a lack of access, Yager said.

"The impediment is that mobility going east has to get better," he said. "Otherwise that area will probably grow a little slower."

Growth patterns

Although the number of homes sold in the northern and eastern parts of Montgomery County pale in comparison with the southern portions, it could be a matter of time before the growth patterns shift. Holder said even though the sales numbers differ vastly, the markets are similar.

"While looking at high volume, numbers don't tell the story of a healthy market," he said. "You see a high volume of transactions in the south and people think it's healthier down there. That's not necessarily true."

Holder said that if there is a balance of supply and demand in housing markets, homes for sale will often spend a similar number of days on the market.

"So, if you're a homeowner, you'll have a similar experience in both markets," he said.

As rapid residential, retail and commercial growth continue to fill what space is left in South Montgomery County, the only remaining direction to go is north and east, Yager said.

"You don't have new tracts of land in the south to be purchased or developed," he said. "The growth pattern has got to go north or east, and the west has gotten tough."

Properties in the eastern portion of the county will soon be more accessible as more transportation corridors open up, primarily Grand Parkway, which will connect I-45 with Hwy. 59.

"That access is going to mean a lot," Holder said. "[The result] will be more sales, more transactions. There's going to be more supply. Developers are going to open up properties they previously did not have access to."

The Woodlands factor

Real estate experts agree that the primary reason for the success in the real estate market in south county, and for the entire county, is the lasting and improving success of The Woodlands, which has seen its population increase from 70,000 to 100,000 in ten years.

"It's the environment that has been created by The Woodlands," Holder said. "And it's not just the Waterway and the mall. Whether you're in Shenandoah or in The Woodlands or on Loop 336, that's still part of that whole community of The Woodlands. And you take advantage of that, the incredible retail. [The Woodlands] has it's own gravitational pull."

Imperial Oaks is located east of The Woodlands and I-45. The newest neighborhood in Imperial Oaks, The Falls, sold about 80 homes in 2011 and about 25 so far in 2012.

Imperial Oaks developer Jim Holcomb said the success of his company's project, as well surrounding developments, are partly due to George Mitchell's plan for The Woodlands and its own subsequent success.

"[Mitchell] put the front end money down and took the risk at the time and we've all been beneficiaries of that."