Even if you are new to the Houston area, you know about Houston Heights; the 1910-1920’s neighborhood just inside the 610 N Loop. If you are a resident, you also know that there are many subdivisions within this larger neighborhood, some more desirable than others. One of the relatively unknown pockets of the Heights is Brookesmith, tucked into its northeast corner.
Brookesmith is bounded roughly by the 610 Loop, I-45 and the diagonal N Main Street.
It is this diagonal street that makes the area totally confusing to me. Even though I have lived in the Heights for 20 years, I am always lost in this area. It seems that no matter which direction I drive, I run into N Main. But, I’m not known for my navigational skills.
Brookesmith is one of the “unpolished” parts of the Heights.
There are gorgeous homes here, and some barely hanging on. It doesn’t yet suffer from builders knocking down the bungalows and squeezing in much bigger homes. This is both positive and negative: Squeezing in big homes overpowers the little bungalows, but it also gets rid of the most run-down homes. New construction adds value to an area and encourages renovations…so…a mixed result.
The predominant house style is the small, wood-framed bungalow. There are others though; Victorians, rustic folk-Victorians
I love the rustic old homes of Brookesmith.
and a scattering of others. This is a working class neighborhood, and many homes are in need of repair, or at least a new paint job.
While in general, this area is not as appealing to the outsider as other parts of the Heights, there are some homes on Tabor, Enid, and Cordell Streets that I drool over every time I drive by them.
Brookesmith may be rough around the edges, but there are some extraordinary homes here.
There are some very old (by Houston standards) and unique homes here. While I said that Brookesmith might not be quite as appealing and uniform overall as Houston Heights or Woodland Heights, it does have a strong community and an active civic association. It just happens to be a working class neighborhood full of very friendly people. Events are held routinely at nearby Montie Beach Park. See post Brookesmith Day of the Dead Celebration
I believe this is a community with a huge amount of potential, especially for buyers who have been squeezed out of the market in the rest of the Heights. It is still an area that offers a good deal for the money.
Currently homes here sell for ~$50,000 less than in neighboring Houston Heights.
This is mainly the difference in land prices. When builders again start pushing up land prices, home prices will rise faster. The rising demand for Heights homes though is also pushing up prices of Brookesmith homes.
This MLS Search tool will let you look for homes without having to talk to a Realtor 
Just enter MLS Area 9 (for North Central) and Brookesmith for subdivision. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy to find Heights homes this way. Entering “Heights” in the subdivision will pull up pull up most of the homes in Houston Heights, Woodland Heights, Sunset Heights, etc., but will pull in other odd Heights locations too. A map search works better. Email me if you want help…Rich
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