The demand for Houston condos within the Galleria and River Oaks District is being driven in large part by foreign national buyers. According to Nancy Almodovar, CEO of Nan & Co. Properties, foreign nationals, namely those from Mexico and Latin America, ‘love’ Houston condos.

  • Houston's condo prices are lower than other major metros.
  • You can catch a direct flight to every major Mexican city from Houston.
  • A 99-unit condo tower in the Galleria is 50 percent pre-sold after breaking ground in October.

The demand for Houston condos within the Galleria and River Oaks District is being driven in large part by foreign national buyers.

According to Nancy Almodovar, CEO of Nan & Co. Properties, foreign nationals, namely those from Mexico and Latin America, ‘love’ Houston condos. A number of these foreign buyers are looking to purchase units, often on a presale basis, as second or investment homes, while another portion are relocating to Houston.

[Tweet “Mexican and Latin foreign nationals are driving the demand for Houston condos.”]

This interest is of good news to brokerages like Nan & Co., which caters to foreign national buyers.

“Is it slowing Houston, not at all,” Almodovar said, pointing to Randall Davis’ 99-unit condo tower in the Galleria, which is more than 50 percent pre-sold. The development, dubbed Arabella, broke ground this past October.

Breadmaker / Shutterstock.com

Breadmaker / Shutterstock.com

To better corral foreign buyers the brokerage recently partnered with Highrises.com to be the site’s designated firm for all Houston condo listings.

“This benefits our clients,” Almodovar said. “We’re not pushing one building on them. We have everything for everyone.”

The partnership recently announced between the condo listings site and Nan & Co. was forged after the existing exclusive agent for all of HighRises.com’s Houston listings, Kristina Houston, joined the firm.

Location, prices appeal to foreign buyers

For foreign nationals, specifically those from Mexico, Houston is an attractive market in part because of its proximity to a number of Mexican cities. Almodovar points out that a buyer can catch a direct flight to every major city from Houston.

The city’s condo prices in comparison to other major U.S. metros also add to the market’s attractiveness.

“Yeah, your dollar goes a longer way in Houston,” Almodovar agreed, adding some of the newly-built or underway condo towers in the Galleria are selling units for between $550 and $650 a square foot.

Several months ago Houston was cited by Zillow as having the lowest median condo price among the nation’s 18 largest metros. In that report, Houston’s median condo price was cited at $108,900, which equated to a 14 percent year-over-year gain in values.

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×