Modeled after master-planned communities like Reston, Virginia and Irvine, California, The Woodlands is among Houston’s largest communities.
The suburb of nearly 108,000 houses not only a consortium of luxury homes and new multifamily but also a sizable amount of commercial buildings.
Located roughly 30 miles north of downtown Houston in Montgomery County, the city’s largest employers include Anadarko Petroleum (2,400 employees), Hewitt Associates (2,200 employees) and Memorial Hermann the Woodlands Hospital (1,800 employees).
Other major employers include Baker Hughes, Huntsman Company, Woodforest National Bank and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company.
The Woodlands real estate market
During a 12-month period it is not uncommon for more than 2,000 existing single-family homes to sell in The Woodlands.
Spanning one recent 12-month period nearly 2,100 homes traded at an average price of roughly $496,000. The average price suggests the city has a stock of $1 million-plus luxury homes, along with a group of 2006- to 2008-built modern mansions, which carry price tags of more than $3 million.
As of early April, nearly 5,000 existing homes within the city were on the market, with the median list price being $369,000.
The quality of its schools is one driver of home values in the city.
The Conroe Independent School District recently ranked the sixth top district in the Houston metro. GreatSchools gives a “10” rating to a ten of the city’s elementary schools, along with six middle schools and two high schools.
The city’s stock of rental housing is slated to expand during the first half of 2016, as seven multifamily projects will have been delivered in The Woodlands/South Conroe market spanning January to May. These projects will account for nearly 2,200 units. There are currently three additional multifamily developments proposed.
In what is likely good news for residences, section G of the Grand Parkway recently opened on March 29. This 14.8-mile section connects Highway 59 to Interstate 45 via State Highway 99.
Upcoming events within the city include the Woodland Waterway Arts Festival and summer concerts at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Both events take place along the Woodland Waterway, which is modeled after San Antonio’s Riverwalk and connects the pavilion with the Marriot Hotel & Convention Center and the mall.
