Featuring the perspectives of:

Russell Bynum
General Manager, Hillwood Communities

Kathy Delgado
VP Sales and Marketing, Houston, M/I Homes

Brock Eller
Senior Division President, Houston, David Weekley Homes

Zein Mangalji
VP of Sales, Houston, Highland Homes

Brad Tiffan
SVP of Sales, Legend Homes

Will you add inventory in 2025? Can you tell us about your plans?

Kathy Delgado: We have had an ongoing commitment to have inventory homes progressing through all stages of construction in each of our communities throughout the greater Houston area. We like to have completed homes ready for purchase, and due to desirability, tend to sell our inventory early in the construction process. Going into 2025 we anticipate a robust start to the year and therefore have ramped up our inventory efforts to meet the demand for the spring selling season.

Brad Tiffan: Legend Homes has strategically transitioned to building primarily inventory homes, incorporating carefully selected structural options and color palettes that resonate with a wide range of buyers. This approach allows us to offer an extensive selection to meet diverse preferences, and we are well-prepared to continue doing this in 2025, ensuring ample availability for our customers.

Zein Mangalji: Yes, we plan to continue adding inventory in all our Houston-area neighborhoods. Additionally, we’re thrilled to announce several new neighborhoods opening in 2025, including Kresston, Colton, Grange, Briarly and Edgewater, among others.

Russell Bynum: We will be developing and delivering around 1,000 lots in 2025. This includes developing additional sections within Valencia and developing the first phase of lots in our newest community, Legacy.

Brock Eller: We have several new communities and new sections of established communities opening in 2025. Within these, we’ll have a variety of homes that are built from the ground up and move-in ready, and all will feature a model home for touring once opened.

We’re expanding farther east into Mont Belvieu with our Riceland community, which will feature front- and alley-load homes on 50-foot homesites, and we have additional plans on traditional 50- and 60-foot homesites. We’re also expanding farther south to Texas City with our Beacon Point community. Additionally, in the growing north/northwest areas of Houston, we have numerous new homes available for buyers.

Will agents be important to your plans in 2025? If so, how?

Tiffan: Agents have long played a vital role in Legend Homes’ success, and this will remain a priority in 2025. We are committed to maintaining strong partnerships by offering a competitive commission of at least 3% in recognition of their efforts. Our New Home Consultants have also cultivated strong relationships with agents throughout the area, ensuring buyer agents stay well-informed about our community offerings and developments.

Bynum: Realtors are always a critical part of our success as we develop and create our vibrant communities. Our typical Realtor participation in our communities is upward of 80%. We depend on Realtors to connect homebuyers with our builders and drive traffic to our communities. They are the experts in the home buying market, and we want to continue to connect with them to tell them all about our communities.

Delgado: We value the relationships that we have formed with Houston area Realtors and plan to continue to partner with them as a vital part of our business as we go into 2025. Throughout the year, we offer a variety of events in our models to help support the realtor community through continuing education classes, and the opportunity to have professional headshots taken.

Eller: We highly value our real estate agents and working with them to help our customers find their dream home. We place a big emphasis on honoring their contributions and welcoming them into their buyers’ journey. We work together with real estate agents to ensure their clients’ path to homeownership is as seamless as possible. Acting as an extension of our team, they’re able to help us provide more dream homes to more people across the greater Houston area.

Mangalji: Absolutely. Agents have been a cornerstone of Highland Homes since our founding in 1985, and they remain an integral part of our success. We deeply value their expertise, insights and the strong partnerships we’ve built over the years. In 2025, we’ll continue to strengthen these relationships by celebrating the openings of our new model homes, offering agents exclusive first looks, and gathering their invaluable feedback.

Which type of new-construction housing (condo, town home, single-family) do you expect to be most in demand in 2025?

Mangalji: Single-family homes will continue to dominate demand in 2025. That said, our City Series townhomes have seen tremendous success in 2024, and we’re excited to continue offering this series in Bridgeland and Woodforest.

Tiffan: I anticipate that single-family homes will remain in high demand in 2025, with an increasing presence of non-traditional designs aimed at enhancing affordability. At Legend Homes, we are committed to building thoughtfully designed homes that provide attainable options across the Houston area. For example, in our Townsend Reserve community in Splendora, Texas, we offer homes with single-car garages, starting in the high $100s. This community is poised for success, offering attractive amenities such as a resort-style pool, walking trails and parks.

Eller: Single-family homes are still very much in demand. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, production of new single-family homes reached more than one million annually in 2022 and 2023. With our Central Living product — which focuses on living closer to the city — we offer some townhomes for buyers who like to have walkability and proximity to all the things the city offers.

Most of our homes are within master-planned communities, which is a popular attraction. Residents enjoy having activities and amenities right outside their door, whether it’s walking and hiking trails, pools, parks, open spaces or gyms.

Delgado: Single-family homes have always been the core of our business and the market is telling us that people want a space of their own. Not only on the interior, but to also be able to enjoy a yard and a sense of community that our neighborhoods offer.

Bynum: I believe single-family will continue to drive our business into 2025. That’s the core of housing in the Houston market. That said, we are beginning to see more townhome and smaller footprint product become a larger portion of master-planned communities. Affordability and attainability are strong headwinds and these higher density products help bring pricing down.

What new-home amenities will be hot in 2025? In other words, what are homebuyers asking for in a new property?

Bynum: Smart home technology continues to transform many things we do inside our homes. Additionally, we see many builders move toward providing more flex space options for homebuyers. Buyers have many different needs and preferences today. Giving them the ability and optionality to change how they live within their home maximizes both current and future owner livability.

Eller: We continue to see interest in flexible and private workspaces for families, whether that’s for working from home or schoolwork for children. In most of our floor plans, we offer FlexSpaceSM options, which can be utilized as an office, school room or at home gym.

Home wellness features are also top of mind for homebuyers — from clean, fresh air to lighting and flow within the home. Thanks to our low-E windows, formaldehyde-free insulation and fresh air ventilation systems, our home building process incorporates a variety of measures to create a healthy home for families. We also utilize ideal placement of windows, making them a part of the interior design much like artwork. And thanks to the traffic patterns we place in our designs, we ensure buyers have multiple ways to move through the main rooms of a home.

Tiffan: Our research reveals that today’s buyers are drawn to outdoor spaces that bring people together and promote a vibrant community lifestyle. Amenities such as adventure parks, walking and biking trails, fishing piers, pavilions and pickleball courts meet this growing demand for active, social lifestyles. Legend’s newest community, Ridgeland Hills in Willis, Texas, exemplifies this vision, offering a boardwalk, fishing pier, and resort-style pool complete with a pavilion and fireplace — perfect for those seeking a welcoming and community-oriented environment.

Mangalji: Buyers today are craving something fresh and innovative. At Highland Homes, we’re committed to creating updated floor plans and striking new exterior elevations that reflect modern lifestyles. Our designs emphasize “livability,” ensuring our homes are not just beautiful but functional for every stage of life.

Structural flexibility is another priority — homebuyers love the ability to personalize their space and choose options that allow their homes to grow with their families. On top of this, we’re introducing an exciting new smart home package for 2025. This package features an Amazon Alexa-powered hub that connects smart home technologies like doorbell cameras, air-quality monitoring thermostats, and app-controlled systems for ultimate convenience.

Outdoor living also remains a focus, with oversized patios and lounge areas that extend the home’s functionality and create spaces for year-round enjoyment.

Delgado: Interior décor options have always been important to our homebuyers, and we review our design offerings on a regular basis. For 2025, we will be rolling out a new lineup of curated design options that will take our buyers’ homes far beyond 2025 style wise.

Check out this year’s other predictions below!