The Woodlands, Texas

A large master-planned community that spans Montgomery and Harris counties in Texas, the Woodlands has some of Houston’s most in demand real estate.  Living in what is affectionately referred to as a “bedroom community,” the over 56,000 residents of the Woodlands are mostly young professionals who work in downtown Houston no more than 25 miles away. 

In the 23.4 square miles that make up the Woodlands, Texas there are 21,008 homes, 19,885 of which have current residents and 15,695 are owner-occupied.  T7his means for a relatively spread out community with a density of 897 houses/condos per square mile.  Average houses and condos in the Woodlands have 7.7 rooms compared to the Texas state average whereas apartments have 3.9 rooms versus the state average of 3.8.  The vast majority of houses were built starting in the early 1970’s and residential developments have increased exponentially since then making it one of Houston’s younger and fastest growing suburbs.  Because of this, the architectural styles and sizes of the houses vary significantly.  As of the 2000 census, 84.1% of owner-occupied homes had three or four bedrooms whereas 88.4% of apartments in the Woodlands had 1-3 bedrooms.  Looking at more recent data, the average listing price for a home as of the beginning of March 2008 was right around $465,000.

The Woodlands has seen a great deal of residential and commercial development in the past fifteen years.  New neighborhoods continue to spring up in Sterling Ridge, Creekside Park, Carlton Woods and several other villages as well.  In addition, the growing business community has seen a great deal of new companies set up operations in the Woodlands Town Center.  Well developed businesses such as Anadarko, Woodforest National Bank and Lexicon Pharmaceuticals are just a few of the new additions to the community.

Residents of the Woodlands are also lucky to have numerous water reserves and public parks for recreational activity.  Local hot spots include Bedias Lake, Lake Harrison and Bear Branch Park.  There are also unlimited shopping opportunities at the Woodlands Shopping Center.

Parents and children in Woodlands are primarily served by the Conroe Independent School District including The Woodlands High School which is the largest high school in Texas in terms of acreage.  Residents in the village of Creekside Park, however, are served by the Tomball Independent School District.  There are also a host of private schools which parents have the choice of sending their children.  In addition, the Woodlands is home to Montgomery College, a public two-year community college.