The 10 Most Expensive ZIP Codes in Houston. ZIP codes in California and New York took seven of the top 10 spots on the Forbes list of America’s Most Expensive ZIP Codes. To find the priciest enclaves, housing-market-data provider Altos Research analyzed listing prices for single-family homes and condos in 29,500 ZIP codes across the U.S. (covering 95% of the population) to calculate a median, rolling average for a 90-day period that ended Oct. 9, 2015.
While only the 500 most expensive ZIP codes in the country earned a place on the official Forbes list, we used the data from Altos Research to find the 10 most expensive ZIP codes in Houston – the largest city in Texas. The good news is, compared to other locales, buying in Houston will provide extremely good value for your money.
Piney Point Village
With a median home cost of $1.8 million, 77024 (Piney Point Village) is the priciest ZIP code in Houston. Buyers near that amount will find a moderate selection of more-than-5,000-square-feet homes with four or five bedrooms and baths, formal living and dining rooms, fireplaces and well-appointed outdoor living areas, complete with pool, patio and summer kitchen. The inventory is much deeper for buyers who are able to move into the $2 to $2.5 million price range.
The most expensive offering on the market today is a more than 14,000 square-feet custom-built home listed at $13.5 million, with seven bedrooms, 15 baths, 20-foot ceilings, mahogany doors and moldings, mesquite and marble floors, floor-to-ceiling windows, home theater, fitness room, four-car garage and plenty of outdoor amenities, including a putting green, cabana, infinity pool and spa. (For help with evaluating this sort of property, see Tips for Buying Luxury Real Estate.)
Here are Houston’s 10 most expensive ZIPs – from highest to lowest – along with the median home price and the average number of days on the market (according to the Forbes list). The median household income is from Esri (the Environmental Systems Research Institute), a company that provides maps, data and apps through geographic information systems.
1. 77024 – Piney Point Village
Median Price: $1,784,461
Average Days on Market: 112
Median Household Income: $108K
2. 77056 – Galleria/Uptown
Median Price: $1,370,342
Average Days on Market: 146
Median Household Income: $87K
3. 77005 – West University
Median Price: $1,320,354
Average Days on Market: 99
Median Household Income: $144K
4. 77019 – River Oaks
Median Price: $980,008
Average Days on Market: 121
Median Household Income: $82K
5. 77030 – Houston
Median Price: $911,269
Average Days on Market: 58
Median Household Income: $75K
6. 77027 – River Oaks
Median Price: $892,077
Average Days on Market: 121
Median Household Income: $80K
7. 77057 – Woodlake
Median Price: $863,480
Average Days on Market: 84
Median Household Income: $54K
8. 77098 – Boulevard Oaks
Median Price: $853,327
Average Days on Market: 152
Median Household Income: $69K
9. 77006 – Hyde Park
Median Price: $743,879
Average Days on Market: 128
Median Household Income: $62K
10. 77079 – Memorial
Median Price: $675,481
Average Days on Market: 97
Median Household Income: $98K
The Bottom Line
Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth largest in the U.S. (following New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago). Its economy has a diverse industrial base in aeronautics (the city is home to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, site of the Mission Control Center), energy, manufacturing, transportation and healthcare institutions, including the Texas Medical Center. (For more, see The Biggest Oil Towns in Texas.)
With the exception of New York City, Houston has more Fortune 500 headquarters within its city limits than any city in the U.S. But with median home prices at a fraction of those in the Big Apple, you can get a lot more house for your money. If you’re curious about prices in that other major Texas metropolis, see The 10 Most Expensive ZIP Codes in Dallas. (For more, see Investing in Luxury Real Estate.)
