Brooke Smith Homes
Brooke Smith Homes
Even if you are new to the Houston area, you know about the Heights; the 1900-1920’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. However, one of the relatively unknown pockets of the Heights is Brooke Smith, tucked into its northeast corner. Brooke Smith homes run the gamut from falling down, to wonderfully renovated homes.
Brooke Smith may be rough around the edges, but there are some extraordinary homes here.
One of Many Rustic Brooke Smith Homes
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Brooke Smith is often Misspelled as Brookesmith, or called Brooke Smith Heights
Location: Just inside the the 610 N Loop, Brooke Smith is bounded roughly by the 610 N 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.
Brooke Smith is one of the “Unpolished” Parts of the Heights.
There are gorgeous homes here, and some barely hanging on. It doesn’t yet suffer as much as the rest of the Heights from builders knocking down the bungalows and squeezing in much bigger homes. There are some new homes here, and generally they are welcomed because of what they replaced. New construction 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.
There is a huge amount of remodeling going on here though. Prices on these renovated Brooke Smith homes continually go up.
The predominant Brooke Smith house style is the small, wood-framed bungalow. There are others though; Victorians, rustic folk-Victorians 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, Brooke Smith is not as appealing to the outsider as other parts of the Heights, there are some homes on Tabor, Enid, Archer and Cordell Streets that I drool over every time I drive by them.
There are some very old (by Houston standards) and unique homes here. While I said that Brooke Smith might not be quite as appealing and uniform overall as Houston Heights or Woodland Heights homes, it does have a strong community and an active civic association, the Montie Beach 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 Brooke Smith Day of the Dead Celebration.
I believe this is a community with a huge amount of upside still, especially for buyers who have been squeezed out of the market in the rest of the Heights. Brooke Smith is still an area that offers a good deal for the money.
Currently Brooke Smith Homes Sell for ~$50K less than Nearby Houston Heights
This is changing though as the renovation increase and prices increase.
This price difference is mainly the difference in land values. When builders again start pushing up land prices, home prices will rise faster. The rising demand for Houston Heights homes though is also pushing up prices of Brooke Smith homes.
If you are currently looking at Brooke Smith homes or if you just would like more information regarding the area call the Houston Heights Realtor Rich Martin today. I specialize in Houston Heights homes and the surrounding inner-loop areas. I am happy to give my opinion on any of these close-in neighborhoods: 713 868-9008
