Houston Condos: HOA Fees & Amenities
Compare homeowner association (HOA) fees and benefits for 115 Houston condo buildings.
Compare homeowner association (HOA) fees and benefits for 115 Houston condo buildings.
Living in a condo can be fantastic. Residents benefit from great locations, awesome views, fabulous staff, wonderful amenities, and the ability to “lock and leave” anytime.
However, buying a condo in Houston can be tricky.
We don’t have the same condo market as cities like New York, Las Vegas or Miami where everything appreciates (see which Houston housing segments have done best over the past decade).
Also, several Houston high-rise buildings have been very poor investments (typically due to egregious monthly homeowner association (HOA) fees, building issues, or bad management). (Read about which buildings have performed best.)
If you’re considering buying a condo in Houston, make sure that you’re aware of the monthly homeowner association (HOA) fees, their true costs, the benefits you get from being a resident, and the success themes quality buildings share.
Primary Benefits of Living in a Houston Condo:
Primary Drawbacks (compared to Houston Townhomes or Houston Single Family Homes):
Both taxing authorities and homeowners associations have the ability to put a lien on your condo unit if you don’t pay their bills.
If you’re getting a mortgage, your bank will usually require you to pay both HOA fees and taxes on time (they don’t like 3rd party senior liens).
As such, mortgage providers will ensure you have the ability to pay for your HOA fees when they decide how much money to loan you.
As a good rule of thumb, every $100/mo. in HOA fee is about the same as an additional $10,000 purchase price.
As a sample, for financing purposes, the two properties below are about the same:
Even if you don’t have any problem with the HOA fee, these monthly fees can become an issue when you go to resell.
Typically, buildings that have large HOA fees have not performed well over the past decade, as a percent of the populate will just choose to live in a Houston townhome or Gated community home instead. (Read about which buildings have performed best.)
Houston’s condo construction cycles followed major oil boom cycles:
Most buildings from the same era share a lot of traits.
For example, buildings from the 1960s & 1980s typically have:
As you’ll see from the data, a number of these buildings have not performed very well as investments over the past decade.
Each of the eras have their pros & cons – contact Paige Martin to talk about which may be best or worst for you, based on your goals and situation.
Houston has about 115 condo buildings (several dozen new Houston condos have been announced, but I think a good percentage of them will fail and not make).
Developers have become masters at pitching new gee-wiz features (e.g. virtual golf simulators, heated outdoor pools, tennis courts, secured dog parks, valet parking, etc.)
If you choose to live in a “high touch” building, understand that you’re paying for all of those features, every month.
If you hate golf, realize the outdoor pool is only 12 feet long (and you’d never be able to swim laps there), don’t play tennis, don’t have a dog or have a one-block commute to work) then you may not want to be paying for these.
By contrast, if you only focus on mid-rise buildings with limited amenities, you may be hurting yourself on resale or suffer from sub-par management (as the building could be too small to pay for quality, full time management and the job may go to someone who is more interested in their own pet projects).
Typically, the best way to buy a new condo in Houston is to:
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We’ve analyzed a tremendous amount of Houston condos for sale in an effort to determine which Houston condos have been the best buy, over time.
While the answer can differ based on your price point and goals, the successful buildings have common themes.
Below, we’ve presented HOA fee trends by building age, Houston neighborhood, and those highrises that have a pool versus those that don’t.
If you’d like personal recommendations on good buildings (or buildings to avoid), and you’re interested in buying a new Houston condo, contact Paige Martin, one of the top ranked Realtors in the State of Texas.
Many of the earliest Houston condos reside in this vicinity.
Many buyers who prefer to live near the Galleria are looking for a more luxurious experience and want more amenities.
Below, we’ve included a collection of similar buildings and their monthly HOA fees. Prices are displayed on a per square foot basis, paid monthly.
If you’d like personal recommendations on good buildings (or buildings to avoid), and you’re interested in buying a new Houston condo, contact Paige Martin, one of the top ranked Realtors in the State of Texas.
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