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IN DEPTH: RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE From the February 18, 2005 print edition Home builders changing landscape in the south Christine Hall Houston Business Journal Today, the area south of Beltway 8 along State Highway 288 is no longer looking like the barren land mass of 10 years ago. Developments such as Silver Lake, Shadow Creek Ranch and South Fork are dotting the highway with sprawling master-planned communities. "The landscape changes here almost hourly," says Beverly Smith, a real estate consultant with Keller Williams Realty in Pearland. "In two years, we have seen phenomenal growth. At that time, there was not one house roofing in Shadow Creek Ranch, but now, the houses are going up quickly." The area was first populated when Stephen F. Austin selected it for his proposed settlement, and 89 of Austin's Old Three Hundred had grants in what is now Brazoria County by 1824, according to the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. For the past 50 years, the land in Brazoria County between Angleton and Houston was a sparsely populated rural area. During most of that time, the county's population base was in the southern portion of the county. However, in the past 15 years the population has shifted north as Pearland's population has grown from 18,000 in 1990 to almost 50,000 today, according to Brazosport Facts, the area's newspaper. Fifty percent of the population in Brazoria County now live in the city of Pearland. In addition to parts of Houston and Pearland, other cities along Highway 288 are Manvel, Iowa Colony, Angleton, Lake Jackson, Clute and Freeport. The evidence of growth may also be in the number of residential permits issued in the past few years. In 1997, 478 permits were issued, according to the Pearland Economic Development Corp. In 2003, that number had more than tripled to 1,430. Between 2000 and 2001 alone, the number of permits jumped to 1,243 from 818. The population has also seen large numbers. In 1990, the U.S. Census Bureau recorded the city of Pearland as having 18,927 residents. By 2000, that number had doubled to 37,640 residents. Today, the population is estimated at more than 50,000. Valuable land Those moving there who want close proximity to the downtown area and the Texas Medical Center, see the area as still in the country, Smith says. But many of the people who have been living in the area think Pearland is becoming a huge city, so they are retreating to towns such as Alvin and Manvel. People are also treating the area as if it were the Old West, she adds. "Many people I talk to are wanting to grab some land, hold on to it and then flip it to make some money," Smith says. In 2004, the average Brazoria County home was reportedly worth more than $9,000 than it was the year before, according to the Brazosport Facts. Numbers from the Brazoria County Appraisal District showed the average single-family home in the county was worth $106,000, up from $97,000 in 2003. Much of the growth in the area has also been attributed to the highways. Created in the 1930s, Highway 288 was originally State Highway 19, which ran from Crockett to Freeport along what is today I-45 and SH 288. All of the exits south of I-610 except Bellfort had no overpasses, and traffic was routed onto the ramps. "There has been real strong growth in the area over the last decade, all triggered by the completion of Beltway 8 on the south side of town," says Mike Inselmann, president of MetroStudy. "People have also been attracted to the relative ease of commuting in and out of town." Brazoria County, the only county in the Brazoria Metropolitan Statistical Area, is composed of two regions, Brazosport and northeast Brazoria County. Alvin and Pearland are the two largest cities in northeast Brazoria County, according to the Real Estate Center. The Brazosport area is heavily dependent on the chemical industry, while Alvin and Pearland are more a part of Houston's economy. "Pearland itself, within the city limits, is peaked out for activity," Inselmann says. "The area has had 800 home starts a year which is a real phenomenon." The age-restricted community of Country Place was followed in the area by Silver Lake, which started 10 years ago -- the area's first big master-planned community. "That community has set the stage for all of the development afterward," he says. "The market is moving farther south to try to find affordable land that is close to 288." Builder's paradise Over the past 10 years, home builders have also been flocking to the area. Newmark Homes has built more than 1,000 homes in the Pearland market, says Wayne Green, sales manager for Newmark Homes. In 2004 alone, the company built 140 homes. "We started building in the Pearland area back in the early/mid-1990s in West Oaks and then shortly after, Silver Lake," Green says. "This part of town has been our biggest selling area since that time." Green agrees that the growth in the area has been strong. The popularity of the area has allowed Newmark to close approximately 80 homes per year, he adds. "I would absolutely say that the growth factor was and is a reason we continue to have a presence in this area," he says. "The projected future growth predictions lead us to believe that this trend will continue." In addition to building for the past nine years in Silver Lake, Newmark Homes is currently building in Shadow Creek Ranch, Silver Creek and Lakes of Highland Glenn. Meritage Homes has also seen success in the area. Closing on its first home in 2002, the company, which is the parent of Hammond Homes and Legacy Homes, has sold more than 200 homes in Shadow Creek Ranch alone in the past two years, according to Jenny Conrad, director of marketing for Meritage. "Our southwest region president, Michael J. Pizzitola, really saw an opportunity for growth in the area since it is so easily accessible to the highways, the Medical Center and downtown," she says. "Master-planned communities had done well in this area of town, and he knew a master-planned community as dominating as Shadow Creek Ranch would really help the area take off even more." Other communities are also cropping up in the area. Just south of FM 518, Ashton Woods Homes is developing the 522-acre Southern Trails community. Breaking ground this year, the community will have 1,500 homes and is expected to be completed in the next five to seven years. Off of Highway 288 near Alvin, Savannah Plantation has new construction under way. Angleton-based custom home builder Peltier Builders has purchased 44 lots with plans to build five different types of custom homes. chall@bizjournals.com • 713-960-5939
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