Individuals born between the early 1980s and the mid-1990s—also known as the millennial generation—are having a significant effect on Cy-Fair’s real estate market as they begin purchasing starter homes and even larger homes, said Diana Saufley, an area Realtor with Keller Williams Realty Platinum.

“Some of them are coming to the table with quite a bit of a deposit because they’ve been living with mom and dad,” she said. “A lot are deciding to vacate rentals because those prices are so high.”

Saufley said not only do the suburbs have reputable school districts, but they also have similar services as more urban neighborhoods, including restaurants, movie theaters, nail salons, hospitals, hardware stores and other retail options. For this reason, more millennials are working and living in the suburbs rather than in the city of Houston, she said.

“Cy-Fair is very desirable,” she said. “You can pretty much get anything in the area where you live, so people are paying for all that convenience, and they don’t have to drive [far] because it’s all right there.”

Empty nesters—or parents whose children have moved out of the house—and seniors are two demographics who often look to move into smaller homes or into independent and assisted-living facilities, Saufley said. In doing so, they are opening up homes for millennials to move into, she said.

These individuals are typically looking for three-bedroom homes with open concept living areas, she said.

“They don’t want a formal living room or formal dining room,” she said. “A lot of builders are accommodating that, or you’ll see them knocking down walls to make one large area where everyone can be seated.”