MONTGOMERY, Texas – (Realty News Report) – An entity led by Houston investor Dan Silvestri of Silvestri Investments has acquired 1,623 acres in western Montgomery County.
The property is aligned to capture growing demand from the future expansion of the Aggie Expressway in the emerging Highway 249 corridor between Houston and College Station.
According to NewQuest Properties, the development plan calls for infrastructure work to begin in late 2022 on the site, which is bordered by FM 1486. First to come out of the ground will be large single-family development sites of one to three acres on the eastern side of the tract of land. The freeway-fronting land is reserved for a commercial project.
“The Aggie Expressway is the driving force for land sales in the SH 249 corridor. This property was bought by an investor who saw the long-term growth trajectory,” says Joe Burke, vice president of NewQuest Properties’ Land Advisory Group. Burke and Rob Whitaker, represented the buyer, Silvestri’s 1623 Magnolia North LLC, in a direct deal with the seller, Eugene Campbell Family Partnership LP.
The property is across the street from the 755-acre Bluejack National, a residential golf community.
Houston’s Great Land Rush
The market for land has been exceptionally hot in the Houston area because of the tight supply of lots amid strong single-family sales. Home builders have been running out of lots or struggling to locate building sites.
“There were at least five other entities making runs at this property. We happened to be the winner,” Whitaker says.
With mortgage rates around 3 percent (economists are projecting a rise to around 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent in 2022) home sales are expected to be strong next year as well.
The Zonda group predicts Houston will have aa final tally of 39,500 to 41,500 single-family home starts in 2021, followed by 35,000 to 40,000 starts in 2022. That’s enough to keep Houston alongside Dallas as the top two home building markets in the nation – with a large lead over other cities.
“Feeding Frenzy” for Dirt
Over the past year, land prices have skyrocketed in the Houston area, doubling in value in some cases, says Houston land broker said Kirk Laguarta of the Land Advisors Organization. A significant number of dirt deals are getting done.
“What we are seeing is the great land rush,” Laguarta told an audience of 200 developers, home builders and investors at a forecast presentation last October at the Westin Memorial City in West Houston. “We’ve never seen anything this hot. It’s running white hot. It’s a feeding frenzy.”
Residential developers are moving farther into the outer suburbs, which is becoming acceptable to homeowners who don’t have to commute into the downtown office every day because of work-from-home policies.Commuting over an hour to work seems more manageable when you drive to the office only three days a week.
Growth Spreads Northwest Toward College Station
The four-lane toll road will connect Houston to College Station, or as it’s often called “Aggieland,” home to Texas A&M University. The $767 million freeway expansion recently was named the transportation project of the year by the Texas chapter of the American Public Works Association. If all goes as planned, the connector’s four segments will be completed by 2026.
“College Station is a destination as is Houston – and just as close,” Whitaker says. “There is a strong market in both directions for homes with elbow room on large tracts with amenities commonly found in denser subdivisions.”
Western Montgomery County is one of two major development hotspots for land sales. In the past two years, the county’s population has spiked to nearly 620,500 from 602,000, making it the sixth fastest growing county in Texas and 11th most populated in the state.
The transaction represents the largest land sale in Montgomery County to date this year, NewQuest said.
“This was a high-water point for us in 2021. We’re seeing a lot of opportunities in the 249 corridor and vying for several other tracts,” Whitaker says. “We know how to get to the finish line.”
Dec. 27, 2021 Realty News Report Copyright 2021
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File: Houston Investor Buys Acreage
Photo: Courtesy NewQuest
File: (2) Dan Silvestri of Silvestri Investments. Houston Investor Buys Acreage. NewQuest. Montgomery County. College Station.
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Land Rush