We all know what they say about Texas. And if it’s true anywhere, it’s true in Houston. Houston is the Lone Star state’s most populated city and the fourth largest city in the United States with a census-estimated population of over 2.2 million as of 2014.

Space City is a rich in art, culture, and innovation. It’s a technological hub, budding with industry. It has the largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions in the world. It’s home to NASA’s Johnson Space Center and Mission Control Center. It’s a hub for the energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, and transportation industries.

Constantly attracting millennials, bringing in bright talent and business, Houston is truly a remarkable city.

And it’s no less true when it comes to real estate!

It’s been a crazy few years for Houston. They’ve seen one the biggest energy crashes in recent memory, but also one of the most vibrant and downright frenzied real estate markets ever witnessed.

Even in the middle of an unprecedented economic slump in the energy sector, the real estate market seemed to go largely unscathed, with prices surging and demand at an all-time high.

Competition remained steep into 2016, inventory was well below normal levels, and construction could barely keep up. But well into the summer, where are we? Where does Houston stand? Has the energy market finally dragged real estate down with it?

And if it has, is it necessarily a bad thing?

We’re here to catch you up on what’s been going on with all things Houston real estate.

No one can deny that Houston’s been hit hard by the oil crisis. Harder, in fact, than the disastrous crash of the late 80’s. That crash saw oil prices drop from $35 per barrel ($101 in today’s terms, adjusted for inflation) to under $10 ($22 in today’s dollar).

According to NASDAQ, oil sat at around $30 a barrel as of February 2016. In June 2014, a barrel cost nearly $114—a significantly greater drop than the crisis that brought Houston to a standstill 30 years ago.

Naturally, people are worried. The energy sector has been hit hard, and we don’t want to downplay the crisis, particularly for those experiencing layoffs or having to close their doors. But for our purposes, we look at how the oil industry is hitting the Houston real estate market.

While it can be really easy to listen to doomsaying, there are a few things we have to remember to keep things in perspective.

In 2015, Houston was at the center of many spotlights. The one thing that just about every noticed, however, was how much of a roller coaster the oil industry was. Even for the folks who don’t pay attention to oil saw plummeting prices at the gas pumps. The crash of the oil industry prompted a lot of worry and debate throughout the year—the economic future for Houston was on the line.

But how did things really pan out? And more important for real estate investors, how will the oil slump affect Houston real estate going into 2016?

If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the past year about Houston, it’s that this city knows how to keep going. While many predicted that this year’s ongoing oil slump would cause a cooling in Houston’s real estate market, it just hasn’t happened. Despite layoffs in the energy sector and dropping oil prices, Houston, on the whole, has barely flinched.

Despite a somewhat flat August (by Houston’s standards, anyway), Houston home prices jumped to a record September high with 4.5% year-over-year growth: hitting a $208,000 median and defying predictions that Houston’s real estate prosperity was coming to an end. (You can see the full September report from the Houston Association of Realtors here.)

What’s keeping things going strong in the face of so many negative predictions? With so much attention on their market—one of the hottest in the country, along with fellow Texas city, Dallas—how has Houston managed to succeed time and time again, even with big oil in question? The answer dips deep into economic history...and how a city once dependent on energy is holding its own in every way.

As we all know, Houston has been making real estate headlines for quite some time now. Space City took a softer blow during the recession and, consequently, has been experiencing a thriving real estate market (comparatively speaking). Most analysts saw Houston as top dog in 2015 as the local economy continued to grow along with housing demands.

The Houston real estate market wasn’t without its problems and complications of course (which market doesn’t?), but all seemed smooth sailing…

As investors, we always need to keep pace with the markets we have our hands in and have our eyes peeled for what’s growing. Memphis Invest grew into the Dallas, TX market going on three years ago and that market has really taken off.  Today we have an incredible team at Dallas Invest, which is simply a satellite office.  A brand name if you will offering the same quality as Memphis and developing the same standards and culture as Memphis and the market is really responding well.

Lat year, we turned our eyes toward Houston, Texas as demand for more property from our clients continued to grow.  We wanted to offer choice.  But not just any choice...

Should cool factor matter to real estate investors? You bet it should. “Coolness,” while not typically a quantifiable measurement, certainly is something to pay attention to when looking at real estate. Where are young people flocking to? Which cities are experiencing rapid growth?  

Cool does not pay the bills...or does it?  Cool is an important factor for today's millennials as you will read here in a second.  They are your potential renters and are the ones who will drive the values and demand for your properties into the future.  So does a "Cool" city matter?  I think it matters a lot...

Real estate investors have always looked for the little subtle advantages they can get.  When you are investing in a city away from where you live, you need to look for every advantage you can get.  Those advantages are found in locating the best team possible to do business with.  The best property management available.  Highly qualified people to help you locate the best neighborhoods, streets and properties.  And lastly, the city itself plays a HUGE factor in your decision.  You want to invest in real estate located in cities where people want to be.  Good culture, good potential and good outlook are all important...but so is the cool factor!  Whether we want to consider the coolness of a place as a contributing factor or as a matter of opinion, the fact remains — people will go where the “action” is.