Houston Adds 1 Million People: What It Means for Real Estate Markets
Cody Armbrister
HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – The Houston metropolitan area has grown by more than 1 million people since 2010, a surge that is driving strength in the region’s real estate markets and supporting the broader economy, according to senior CBRE executives.
CBRE senior managing director Cody Armbrister noted new U.S. Census Bureau figures showing the Greater Houston area has reached 7 million residents, and said the population increase is supporting real estate demand.
“Real estate is fundamentally a function of demand,” Armbrister said at a CBRE press luncheon. “The city continues to grow.”
With rising population and solid job growth, Houston’s multifamily and single-family construction activity is strong, and the market is seeing a steady stream of new restaurants and retail centers.
The Census reported Houston added an average of 229 new residents per day in 2018. Harris County led the nation in population gains since 2010.
Mark Taylor
“When you have that many people, it creates growth,” said Mark Taylor, CBRE senior managing director.
Between 2010 and 2018, the Houston metro area’s population increased by 1,076,897—an eight-year gain only surpassed by the Dallas metro area, which added 1,113,489 residents during the same period.
Texas is leading the nation in population growth according to the new U.S. Census Bureau figures. Additional highlights from the report include:
ONE – Harris County (Houston) was the nation’s top county for population growth over the eight-year period from July 1, 2010, to July 1, 2018. Harris County added roughly 605,000 residents, reaching about 4,699,000 last summer. It is now the third-most populous county in the United States, behind Los Angeles County and Cook County, Illinois.
TWO – Texas counties occupy four of the top ten positions for numeric growth over the past year among all U.S. counties.
THREE – The Houston metro added 91,689 people over the last year, ranking third nationally. That 1.3 percent increase brought Greater Houston’s population to 6,997,384. Houston is now the nation’s fifth-largest metro area, just behind Dallas–Fort Worth. The top three metros—New York, Los Angeles and Chicago—all experienced population declines last year.
FOUR – The Dallas–Fort Worth area led the nation in metro population growth over the one-year period, adding 131,767 people. Phoenix ranked second, followed by Houston. The D-FW metro population is now about 7.5 million.
FIVE – Midland, the oil-rich city in the Permian Basin of West Texas, was the country’s fastest-growing metro by percentage last year. Midland’s population rose 4.3 percent to approximately 178,331. Odessa, another Permian Basin community, ranked fifth nationwide.
