Interviewing Realtors
I'm going to be working downtown in Houston (Louisiana St) and I am fully aware that the traffic is going to suck. Brother wants me to live in The Woodlands, the other wants me to live in the Energy Corridor, but we are trying to find a place with good schools, where I am not driving an hour each way.
From my perspective, The Woodlands is hell on earth. Pure white flight suburbia, stepford wives, cookie cutter HOA Nazi stronghold. And too far north to enjoy the city.
True Energy Corridor is high dollar for the most part although I suspect the term is being applied to I-10 West of 610 out to Katy.
Har.com has a neighborhood map that shows the true boundaries of all the houston neighborhoods.
If you want a property that appreciates in the short term you will need to be inside 610 almost exclusively.
Houston overall is a stable market with 3% annual appreciation over the long term. Neighborhoods undergoing urban renewal are where the values rise rapidly. I was at a house two weeks ago (2800 sq ft) that appraised at $600,000 in 2015 and $750,000 last year and was listed at $1.1 million but that was in the Heights, which is rather inexplicably red hot.
If you must live in tbe far suburbs your best bet will be to use the park and ride bus service to downtown or the commute will make you miserable. If you can stick to within a mile of Beltway 8 on the west side, you will be close enough to have a reasonable commute and be able to really enjoy the city.
I live just outside the Beltway right off the Westpark tollway and we can be in the theater district ( downtown) or museum district in 20 minutes on weekends.