How long does it take to rent out a home near the Energy Corridor? (Houston: low income, apartments)

[arcenciel1]

Hi,

We want to buy a house in Houston, but there's a chance we'll have to move out of town after 2 years so we want to understand how easy it is to rent out homes in Houston. We'll be looking to rent out a 4 bed, 2.5 bath single family home near the Energy Corridor (77079, 77077, 77041 or 77094 zip code). How long (days, weeks, months) is it likely to take to find a renter for such a home?

The home would be in a good elementary school district in Katy ISD or Spring Branch ISD. We'll be happy to hire a realtor as listing agent to rent out the home if necessary.

My gut tells me that people rent apartments but own homes in Houston. So I'm not sure if a lot of families will be looking to rent homes, especially a $500k home in one of these neighborhoods. Appreciate y'alls thoughts!

Thanks!

[TexasCatherine]

I don't know what the rental market is like now, but when we were living overseas for many years we bought a house in the original part of Cinco Ranch on a visit to Houston. We never lived in the house, just bought it as an investment. Within a week of us closing on the house, it had been rented by a British family who came to Houston with BP. They told us they had been looking for quite some time for a nice house to rent near the energy corridor, but nice houses for rent were scarce. The family stayed there for the duration of their assignment to Houston (3-4 years) and it was again immediately snatched up, this time by a Venezuelan family with an oil company. After owning it for about 10 years, we finally sold it. It was never without renters. Again, this was some years ago, but it always stuck with me that there was a need for nice rental houses for families coming to Houston on a temporary basis. I'm sure a realtor on here can give you a better idea of the current market for rentals.

[Breitling]

Originally Posted by arcenciel1

Hi,

We want to buy a house in Houston, but there's a chance we'll have to move out of town after 2 years so we want to understand how easy it is to rent out homes in Houston. We'll be looking to rent out a 4 bed, 2.5 bath single family home near the Energy Corridor (77079, 77077, 77041 or 77094 zip code). How long (days, weeks, months) is it likely to take to find a renter for such a home?

The home would be in a good elementary school district in Katy ISD or Spring Branch ISD. We'll be happy to hire a realtor as listing agent to rent out the home if necessary.

My gut tells me that people rent apartments but own homes in Houston. So I'm not sure if a lot of families will be looking to rent homes, especially a $500k home in one of these neighborhoods. Appreciate y'alls thoughts!

Thanks!

If you think you will be there for 2 years or even a bit longer, I would consider buying from what I have learned. Especially in the spring branch area, because you will appreciate in the next 2 years. If you have any questions, please feel free to pm me

[cheryjohns]

OP - about 15 minutes.

[arcenciel1]

Originally Posted by TexasCatherine

I don't know what the rental market is like now, but when we were living overseas for many years we bought a house in the original part of Cinco Ranch on a visit to Houston. We never lived in the house, just bought it as an investment. Within a week of us closing on the house, it had been rented by a British family who came to Houston with BP. They told us they had been looking for quite some time for a nice house to rent near the energy corridor, but nice houses for rent were scarce. The family stayed there for the duration of their assignment to Houston (3-4 years) and it was again immediately snatched up, this time by a Venezuelan family with an oil company. After owning it for about 10 years, we finally sold it. It was never without renters. Again, this was some years ago, but it always stuck with me that there was a need for nice rental houses for families coming to Houston on a temporary basis. I'm sure a realtor on here can give you a better idea of the current market for rentals.

Thanks TexasCatherine. It's good to know that foreign workers in oil companies could be potential renters. I know Cinco Ranch was pretty new a few years ago, so I'm guessing house prices were lower there than in, say, the Spring Branch ISD area. I'm curious to know how long it might take to rent out my (potential) future home in, say, Wilchester or Rummel Creek.

[gwarnecke]

Those zip codes are indeed favored by expats who are working the Energy Corridor - large homes, safe, proximity to work and international schools, etc. However, for those renters who aren't set on single-family homes there will be a LOT of higher-end options entering the rental market in/near the Energy Corridor over the next few years (nice apartments, townhomes, etc). Between this incoming supply and the substantial price of these homes, high taxes, higher maintenance on older properties, and property management fees, I would NOT expect to do much better than breaking even by renting out a home in these areas.

In my neighborhood in west 77079, rental homes tend to sit on the market for less than a month (sometimes less than a week) before getting snapped up. However, the advertised rents wouldn't allow the landlord much profit (if any) when the above-mentioned costs are taken into account.

[julia1999]

Originally Posted by gwarnecke

Those zip codes are indeed favored by expats who are working the Energy Corridor - large homes, safe, proximity to work and international schools, etc. However, for those renters who aren't set on single-family homes there will be a LOT of higher-end options entering the rental market in/near the Energy Corridor over the next few years (nice apartments, townhomes, etc). Between this incoming supply and the substantial price of these homes, high taxes, higher maintenance on older properties, and property management fees, I would NOT expect to do much better than breaking even by renting out a home in these areas.

In my neighborhood in west 77079, rental homes tend to sit on the market for less than a month (sometimes less than a week) before getting snapped up. However, the advertised rents wouldn't allow the landlord much profit (if any) when the above-mentioned costs are taken into account.

I think this depends on how much finance the buyer borrowed, and what interest rate of the buy to let mortgage. One interesting thing I observed about the Houston housing market is: the demand is so high so people have to compete to buy. This level of demand is much higher than most parts of Europe, except London. Properties in Katy with a reasonable quality will pending within two days on the market. As a buyer, I suffered a lot in the bidding war.

[EasilyAmused]

Currently in the Wilchester area, it takes about 2 seconds to rent a house under 6 k a month. However as stated before, there are a lot of low income apartments being knocked down for the building of high end townhouses. I have no clue of the green space that will be within those complexes, and their locations are near busier streets and freeways. So at the end of the day you will still have renters who want a more traditional yard, or want to get into a specific school.

Executive rentals have alway been easy to move in the area, especially if you allow the family dog or dogs.

[mcmummy]

I watch the rental market in Wilchester, Nottingham. It seems the really nice ones, good location- go in less than 2 months on the market for over $4,000. There was one nice one, good location that went for $800 over their 4000 asking rent. One basic, not that great house with bad location (backing up to commercial near Wilcrest and I 10) was on the market for I think 60 days, with a low asking rent (3000) for the area, went for $3025.

[Meyerland]

It also depends on the combination of asking price and the condition of your home/interior finishing. If you want top dollar, then your home needs nice finishings. An older home that is dated or old fashioned will still rent very quickly, but not for top dollar.

That is a great location and you should have no problem renting it out to a good and qualified renter. The schools are great, it is close to the energy corridor as well as the galleria area, close to shopping/ restaurants, and it has a nice neighborhood feeling with trees.