“The [Southern United States] region has become attractive to young professionals and families seeking more affordable housing options and promising job markets,” Venterra Realty CEO John Foresi said via email.
Venterra Realty has several complexes near Tomball and Magnolia, according to its website. The company opened a new complex, Highpark, in Cypress late last year, Community Impact previously reported.
In Tomball, the Rudel Crossing Apartments, Adora at Rosehill and Haven at Treeline are under construction along with Seven Oaks Townhomes by HistoryMaker Homes, another alternative to traditional single-family lots. In Magnolia, Allora Magnolia along FM 1488 is leasing, and several multifamily complexes are slated for the master-planned community of Audubon.
“We need multifamily because we have policemen, firemen, and we have teachers, and we have people who are just getting started in their career,” said Sam Yager III, executive vice president of Sam Yager Inc. and developer of Audubon.
Under construction
Adora at Rosehill, located at the intersection of the Grand Parkway and Cypress Rosehill Road, is among the complexes under construction. McGrath Real Estate Partners has been eyeing the land since 2000, Chief Investment Officer Barrett Kirk said.
“We just see that there is a need for multifamily, and we predicted it back in the early 2000s when we started looking in this area,” Kirk said. “We wanted to get out ahead of the growth curve.”
Adora at Rosehill will consist of 336 apartments—216 one-bedrooms, 108 two-bedrooms and 12 three-bedrooms, Kirk said. Rent prices have not been set but will be comparable to other communities, he said. Amenities will include a clubhouse, co-working lounge, dog park, pool and courtyard.
“The thought behind every amenity that we do is to just create that sense of community,” Kirk said. “That’s the secret sauce that really makes an apartment community, a multifamily community, successful.”
He said leasing for Adora at Rosehill is expected to begin around August, with the first units available around September.
Farther south off North Eldridge Parkway, Haven at Treeline will bring 231 apartments to Tomball, offering one- and two-bedroom floorplans, Community Impact previously reported. Preleasing for the complex is expected to begin in summer 2024.
Closer to the center of Tomball, Rudel Crossing Apartments began construction in February, said Cathy Conde, the project field coordinator for Builder10 Construction, which is developing the complex.
“Tomball, it’s always been a small town, but the last couple of years, you can see the growth that’s happening,” Conde said. “We were just very lucky to come across this piece of land and being able to purchase it and be literally right in the heart of Tomball.”
The three-story apartments will have 28 units—10 one-bedrooms and 18 two-bedrooms. Amenities will include a full gym, a business center, and a dog park and dog wash station, Conde said.
She said construction is expected to be completed by the end of the year, with leasing set to begin in September or October. Conde said rent prices will likely start around $1,200.
Meanwhile, amenities at Seven Oaks Townhomes, located along Holderrieth Road, will include two dog parks, a playground, a pavilion, barbecue pits and walking trails, said Chett Wignall, HistoryMaker Homes’ vice president of land development. The development will feature 141 townhomes priced around the high $200,000s and is expected to begin selling lots in early August.
In Magnolia, the apartment complex Allora Magnolia began leasing in March, Community Impact previously reported. The complex offers one- and two-bedroom units with rent starting at $1,200. Amenities include a clubhouse, gym, package concierge and a pool.
The master-planned community of Audubon also has two apartment complexes slated—Rasha at Audubon and Virtuo Audubon, Community Impact previously reported. Rasha at Audubon will consist of 326 units opening in 2025, and Virtuo Audubon will consist of 300 units opening in 2024.
“We’re trying to build a regional destination in this location,” Yager said. “And that requires a lot of different types of land use and a lot of effort and a high degree of design and quality.”
The state of multifamily
In the Houston metro, there were 23,604 apartment units under construction as of early June, with another 31,163 units proposed, according to the Greater Houston Partnership’s June multifamily update.
“The industry has spiked with new deliveries,” MRI ApartmentData Industry Principal Bruce McClenny said. “And we’re going to see that play out over ’23, ’24 and ’25.”
MRI ApartmentData works to gather information on multifamily housing and topics such as rents, occupancy and construction, McClenny said. In a June 22 MRI ApartmentData market survey provided to Community Impact, the overall multifamily occupancy rate for the Greater Houston area this June is 89.9% compared to 91.1% last June. Tomball and Magnolia’s June occupancy rate mirrors metro Houston’s at 89.9%, according to MRI ApartmentData.
Meanwhile, Class A properties—which include new construction—had a 91.8% rate as of this May across the metro, according to the Greater Houston Partnership.Locally, there are 38 apartment complexes and 8,524 units in the Tomball and Magnolia area, according to MRI ApartmentData. That is 82 complexes and 25,009 units fewer in comparison to The Woodlands, south Conroe and Spring region, which has 120 complexes with 33,533 units.
Examining rent, amenities
McClenny said the price of apartments in Tomball and Magnolia is lower compared to other areas.
“There’s some really higher priced properties in The Woodlands that bring this average up to make that comparison difference,” McClenny said. “I think that that’s to Magnolia and Tomball’s advantage for affordability. Affordability these days is a big, big issue in the industry, and so that works, I believe, in its favor to attract people to the affordability of the area compared to these other areas.”In Tomball and Magnolia, the price of rent has remained relatively steady since last summer. The asking price for all floor plans—the total cost of renting minus any discounts—actually declined from $1,356 in June 2022 to $1,352 this June, according to MRI ApartmentData.
Nearby, in The Woodlands, south Conroe and Spring, the asking price for rent has also remained steady, although more expensive than in Tomball and Magnolia, clocking in at $1,520 this June, according to MRI ApartmentData.
A May analysis from Redfin real estate firm shows Houston is one of the four major metros nationwide where buying a typical home is more affordable than renting one. However, according to the 2021 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, homeowners pay more in median monthly housing costs in Tomball and Magnolia than renters do across the area’s five ZIP codes.
Meanwhile, Foresi, the Venterra Realty CEO, said he’s seen changes in what amenities and floor plans apartment complexes offer.
“Today’s renters are looking for more than just a place to live; they seek communities that provide a comprehensive living experience,” Foresi said. “As a result, developers are incorporating amenities that promote convenience, wellness and social connectivity to attract and retain residents.”
