Local new home sales are running about 10 percent below the pace of 1998. Some people worry because the Houston apartment market appears to be overbuilt. Stock prices for most publicly traded real estate companies are down sharply and those companies have curtailed their investment and construction activity. And in 1999, investors have avoided buying Houston office buildings like kids avoiding a plateful of spinach. But lest we think the Houston real estate market is really grim, there are some bright spots.
Thanksgiving is a good time to take note of the strength of the industry.
Este project in the Uptown area. A 14-story Sheraton Suites is under construction on the West Loop near Westheimer. And the old Whitehall Hotel in downtown was purchased for redevelopment as a Crowne Plaza. Look for Nordstrom to sign on as a tenant for the new section, which will be located south of West Alabama. The deal, completed in September, was viewed as confirmation that institutional investors had regained an interest in Houston.