Houston Heights Homes
Houston Heights Homes
Houston Heights is the center part of what is termed generically, the Heights. Houston Heights runs roughly between Studewood and N Durham; from I-10, up to 610, excluding the east side of Yale above 23rdSt (This is Sunset Heights).
Heights Map - Houston Heights is West of Studewood.
Houston Heights Homes are not uniform. There are still good, bad and ugly parts. (That’s why Bellaire people rarely move here, they prefer uniformity; lots of similar boxy homes). It does have a core area with big Victorian era homes. The streets of Heights Blvd, Harvard, Cortland, Arlington, Columbia, Oxford, (between 11th & 20th) have some wonderful old restored homes. The lots are expensive, and generally cannot be subdivided so the new construction here is expensive too.
Extending west of Heights Blvd. is a mixture of homes; from wonderful to rundown. This is where a lot of new construction has been occurring the last few years. The run down homes that don’t justify the expense of renovation are sold for land value. These lots are typically subdivided and new construction homes are built. These homes are designed to fit the architecture of the neighborhood.
These ratty areas are rapidly going away. I’ve sold a lot of new homes lately on land that used to be old metal buildings. These are in areas that I wouldn’t have even shown to buyers 5-10 years ago. In fact, a huge piece of land that just last year was a steel fabrication plant has been cleared. This is near W 24th & 25th Streets. The Heights really is changing. Lots of new restaurants too.
New Houston Heights homesare not cheap. Land prices keep going up, and buyers here expect pier and beam construction (for the raised elevation) and richly detailed trim in keeping with the more historical homes. All of these combine to make expensive homes.
Historic Districts: There are several historic districts in Houston Heights and surrounding Heights subdivisions. Four of these are in Houston Heights, plus one in Woodland Heights, and one in Norhill. HAR.com has a page devoted to Historic Districts.
History of Houston Heights: A lot has been written about the history of the Houston Heights. Two web references through Rice University are: History of Houston Heights and Architectural History of Houston Heights.
By 1891 millionaire Oscar Martin Carter and a group of investors established the Omaha and South Texas Land Company and purchased 1,756 acres of land and established infrastructure, including alleys, parks, schools, streets and utilities, for Houston Heights. This streetcar community attracted people who did not wish to live in the dense city.
Houston Heights had its own municipality until the City of Houston annexed the Heights in 1919.
Houston Heights was considered a decrepit area after WWII. This decline continued into the 1970’s when it was still considered a low income area. Renovations were being done in the 80’s but the area didn’t really boom until builders came in and bought tear-downs to build new homes
My Interactive Map of Neighborhoods shows how Houston heights fits in with other Heights neighborhoods such as Woodland Heights, Norhill, Sunset Heights, brooke Smith.
See below for YouTube video I did of Houston Heights homes.
If you are currently looking at Houston Heights homes or if you just would like more information regarding the area call Houston Heights Realtor Rich Martin today. I specialize in Houston Heights homes and the surrounding inner-loop areas. Call today: 713 868-9008
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