- What makes Houston a great city for businesses.
- What makes Houston a great city to live in.
- Firms that Recently Made Houston Home
- Houston's Top Industries
- Find a home in Houston
- Commercial Real Estate
- Tool Kit to Start or Move Your Business
- Information, Resources, Services
- Regional Economic Development Allies
- Relocation and Expansion Events
- Houston Ranking and Executive Perspectives
- Regional Demographics
Commercial Real Estate
With an expansive selection of commercial real estate property and one of the largest collections of industrial space in the country, it is no wonder Houston has become the fifth-largest office market and eighth-largest Industrial market.
Find a Home in Houston
- Single-Family Homes
- Townhouse/Condo
- High-rise Condominium
- Residential Lease
- Residential Lots and Land
- Multi-Family
- Homesand/or Acreage
Commercial Properties
- Search Listings for Sale
- Search Available Space
- Greater Houston Partnership Site Selection Assistance - Economic Development Division
Economic Development Assistance
Expert economic development assistance for companies considering the region for relocation or expansion...
- Assistance in securing relocation incentives
- Working with educational and job training institutions to address current and future labor needs
- Facilitation of local and state permitting processes
- Briefings and orientations tailored to meet specific clinet needs
- Coordination with representatives of the Port of Houston, foreign trade zones, railroads and utility companies
- Arrangement of special events, including groundbreakings, grand openings and ribbon-cutting ceremonies
- Coordination of announcement activities with the local media
- Introductions to the Houston business community
The Greater Houston Partnership, the primary advocate for regional business, offers an array of services to company start-ups or businesses wishing to expand or relocate in the area. We’re here to help you find just the right piece of real estate.
Real Estate Facts
- Undeveloped property can be found in virtually all areas of the city.
- Class-A office space costs — asking rental rates per square foot per year in Houston ($31.78 ) for the first quarter 2008 were lower that those of Seattle, San Jose, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington D.C., Las Vegas and New York ($ 90.20 )
- Industrial space costs —- asking rental rates for the first quarter 2008, ranked lower than comparable cities with Houston at $4.87 per square foot per year and the top cities, Long Island, NY and Broward Co., FL, costing $8.70 and $8.51 per square foot, respectively.
- As of March 2004, the Houston market had 29.6 million square feet available for lease, of which 13.1 million square feet was Class-A space and 1.3 million square feet of multitenant space was under construction.
- Office parks of 10 or more acres are located throughout the Houston area.
- Houston is the largest manufacturing and industrial center on the Gulf Coast, with 321 million square feet of industrial space at the end of the first quarter of 2004. This includes space for both manufacturing and warehousing.
- More than 100 industrial parks serve the region.
- In the first quarter of 2004, the Houston region had 125.8 million square feet of rentable retail space.
- The city of Houston issued approximately $929.3 billion in new nonresidential permits.
Real Estate Resources in Houston
- The Greater Houston Partnership Business Development Division
- Greater Houston Partnership Business Houston: The Guide to Owning, Expanding Or Relocating a Business in Houston
- Here Is Houston, the Partnership’s popular newcomer’s guide
- Houston Facts , a collection of facts on just about everything Houston
- The Partnership’s industry guides: Technology Houston , Health Care Houston and Energy Houston plus International Houston
- The Partnership’s customized company lists from industry databases – on CD-ROM
- Houston Small Business Development Center
- Houston Minority Business Council
- Houston Public Library
- One Stop Business Center
- Small Business Administration
- Texas Economic Development Council
Site Selection Checklist
Choosing a location
- Proximity to competitors, suppliers and distributors
- Accessibility to customers, employees and support service
- Neighborhood cost of real estate, reputation, city services, future plans for and compatibility with surrounding land or building uses and amenities
- Availability terms, time period and future redevelopment of area
- Environmental concerns
Choosing a site with an existing facility
- Restrictive covenants/deed restrictions size and shape of lot parking
- Utilities
- Building structure
- Age of building, type of construction, floor construction
- Windows, casings, adaptability, expansion possibilities, condition and functional adequacy
- Building equipment
- Elevators
- Plumbing and toilet facilities
- Lighting facilities
- Electric power
- Heating plant
- Sprinkler system
- Air and steam lines
- Air conditioning
- Building services
- Truckloading facilities
- Railroad spurs
- Miscellaneous, utility charges, insurance rates, taxes, landscaping, sidewalks/paving
Choosing a site on which to build
- Character of terrain estimated grading cost, elevation, load-bearing characteristics of soil
- Sub-soil characteristics depths of bedrock, depth of ground water, drainage
- Natural run-off capacity, need for artificial drainage facilities, need for flood protection, prevailing winds
- Utilities
- Water — size of mains, pressure, capacity, cost of extending to site
- Gas — nearest lines, size, pressure, cost of extending to site
- Sewage — size of mains (storm and sanitary), capacity of treating plant, means of disposal, cost of extending to site
- Electric — size of transmission lines serving area, cost of extending to site
- Transportation
- Road access to site-type of road; surface, width, load limits/restrictions
- Cost of providing road access if not yet available, distance of site from arterial street or highway
- Railroads serving site/area, cost of extending service (spur) to site if not available
- Commercial airport distance, public transportation serving site
- Taxes
- Restrictions
- Easements, rights of way, title/lien on property, restrictive covenants/deed restrictions
- Landscape such as sign, parking, maintenance, refuse storage and collection




