Harris County Property on the Rise

O'Connor discusses the rise in property values in Harris County for 2025.

HOUSTON, TX, UNITED STATES, May 23, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Property values in Harris County, like most of Texas, have been climbing ever-upward for the past decade. As the biggest county in Texas, Harris County continues to be the benchmark and bellwether for the rest of the state. The rise of Houston and surrounding areas can be seen clearly in the increase in expensive homes and businesses. As the value of individual properties increases and joins new value brackets, we are seeing more and more real estate becoming worth numbers that have never been seen before. In charge of assessing all of this is the Harris Central Appraisal District (HCAD).

Harris County Homes add 6.7% in Value

While Harris County home values increased across the board, the biggest growth was seen at the upper echelons of property. Single family homes valued at over $1.5 million increased in value by an impressive 16%. Homes valued between $1.5 million and $1 million likewise saw an increase of 10.9%. It is not until homes reach the $1 million to $750,000 mark that increases dip into the single digits, albeit 9.1%. Representing the biggest chunk of the housing market at a combined $180.06 billion, residences between $250,000 and $500,000 also saw their worth advance by 4.6%.

The value growth between 2024 and 2025 becomes even more evident when the size of properties is taken into account. Massive properties over 8,000 square feet totaled $11.78 billion in market value, an increase of 19.1% in 2025. The next tier of elite homes generated $15.43 billion in 2025, an increase of 16.5%. Proving that an increase in worth is tied to general size, homes between 5,999 and 4,000 square feet saw their value go up 11%. The biggest impact on both the budget of Harris County and the average homeowner was experienced by homes between 4,000 and 2,000 square feet. These homes combined for $217.08 billion, with a respectable increase of 6.1%.

The construction and housing booms of the past two decades are still being felt, and this is easily demonstrated by the 2025 numbers released by HCAD. Homes built in the timeframe between 2000 and 2020 generated the most combined value at $170.55 billion, representing a staggering 37% of all value. The astronomical costs of building supplies and labor in the pandemic years and beyond can also be clearly demonstrated, with homes built in 2021 and beyond weighing in at $31.15 billion, a huge jump of 27%. Despite their lower numbers, new construction represents 7% of all Harris County value. While newer construction makes up 46% of all value, older homes are likewise increasing, showing the general strength of the Houston housing market.

The primary reason that Texans protest their taxes is to avoid overvaluation by their local county appraisal district (CAD) and Harris County is no exception. This precaution can certainly be justified, as 28% of homes were overvalued in 2024-2025. While 28% is certainly a high number, it is a strong improvement over the 48% seen in 2023-2024. Market value is determined by studying what homes actually sold for in a given year, instead of HCAD’s decreed appraised values.

The evidence for single-family home overvaluation becomes clearer when HCAD’s appraised value is compared to that studied by Houston Metro. HCAD claims that residential property increased in value by 6.7%, while Houston Metro believes that real property value has only gone up by 1.2%. In all likelihood, the true number is somewhere between those two figures. This graph is a simple illustration of why all homeowners in Harris County should protest their home values. There is no cost or risk of increase, and a reduced valuation can have a major impact on a family budget.

Harris County Business Properties Increase 7.7%

Houston is known as a business city in the minds of many, and 2025 shows that commerce is only increasing. Commercial properties of all sorts saw their combined value increase by 7.7%. When drilled down into, it is rather easy to identify the engines of growth. Businesses valued at over $5 million totaled $131.69 billion in value, while also growing an additional 7.4%. While big businesses have the most value, mid-sized businesses worth between $1 million and $5 million saw the biggest growth by percentage at 10.1%. While being only relatively minor slices of the pie, small businesses were able to net strong gains.

Harris County has aimed to diversify its economy in the past decade and has been making strides. The largest gainer in the last year was the hotel industry, which increased by 22.7%. Shrugging off post-pandemic fears, retail was able to notch a strong rebound of 12.9%. While both industries are on the come, apartments are still the most valuable of Harris County businesses, according to HCAD, with a value of $67.02 billion. While second place in total value, offices only managed a growth of 3.6%, improving on their $39.82 billion total. These high values and sustained growth mean that businesses in Harris County are the perfect fit for O’Connor’s assistance with both commercial property appeals and business personal property (BPP) services.

Depreciation tends to hit commercial properties less than residential ones. Therefore, older properties have better staying power and value retention. The most valuable commercial properties in 2025 were those that were built between 2001 and 2020, worth an estimated $37.67 billion. However, while these grew at a solid 5.1%, the real riser was properties built between 2021 and the present. This new blood grew an astounding 35.9% and already make up $7.97 billion in value. Business is so good in Harris County that even properties dating back to before 1960 saw a 10% increase in value.

Green Street vs. HCAD

Like homes, businesses can, and often are, overvalued by HCAD. This may be the case, as the iconic Green Street Real Estate Firm valued commercial properties across the United States as being valued 21% less due to market factors such as interest rates, the economy, difficulty in refinancing, and higher bond rates. In comparison, HCAD has commercial properties growing by 7.7%. Even if the truth lies somewhere in the middle, there is a lot of doubt that a commercial property tax appeal may be needed to explore.

As stated above, the No. 1 source for commercial property in Harris County is apartments. The total value of apartments grew by 7.3% in 2025, which pairs well with the increased price and demand for housing. The biggest increase was seen by new construction, with apartments built in 2021 or later rising 43%, for a total of $5.68 billion. As with a lot of Harris County properties, the biggest worth could be found in those apartments constructed between 2001-2020, which accounted for 45% of the total. A good deal of Harris County apartment properties are older, with a combined 46% being 25 years or older. Even these elder statesmen of buildings found growth in 2025, underscoring the value of multi-family housing in general.

You would have to be blind not to notice the number of high-rise apartments being constructed across Houston and Harris County. This is reflected in HCAD’s numbers, where high-rise apartments were, fittingly, the highest risers with 11.3%. While fancy high-rises may be increasing, the humble garden apartment is still king when it comes to value, with $39.78 billion. The happy medium was mid-rise apartments, which did well with both growth and value. Mid-rise properties notched a total of $18.71 billion and grew 9.6%.

Offices have traditionally been the No. 2 in commercial properties, but they have taken a hit in recent years. Thanks to the pandemic and changes in work life, the demand for new office space has declined, while existing structures are being overhauled and revamped. The value of new construction when it comes to offices declined by 8.1% in 2025, though they are still worth $772.97 million. While they represent 44% of all value, apartments constructed in the 2001-2020 boom period only increased by 1.4%. On the flip side, older office complexes saw their value increase at solid clips, with 5.6% for those built since 1981 and 6.4% for those built since 1961.

HCAD divides office space into the categories of office buildings and medical offices. While they combined for a growth rate of 3.6%, the breakdown shows that this number was carried by only one of them. Medical offices grew by an excellent 8.4%, while typical office buildings only edged up 2.8%. Standard office builds did come out way ahead in total value, netting $33.83 billion to the $5.98 billion for medical offices.

Retail is bouncing back in a big way, and 2025 saw all retail properties grow by a combined 12.9%. 23% of this value growth came from construction from 2021 or later, the expected biggest number. Retail properties built between 2001-2020 resulted in a jump of 13.6%, an impressive figure considering they are already valued at $7.93 billion. The surprise was the oldest retail spots, which saw their value rise by 13.7%. All retail spots totaled $22.65 billion.

The continued king of Harris County retail is the strip mall. Strip shopping centers had both the biggest total ($7.78 billion) and the most growth (17.6%). HCAD also appraised strong figures for neighborhood shopping centers and community shopping centers, which saw their assessments increased by 12% and 12.8% respectively. Malls and single-occupancy retailers (big box stores) saw an improvement in their fortunes as well.

Warehouses are always good, no matter the economy. Warehouses totaled $25.34 billion, while adding 9.2%. Like everything else commercial in Harris County, they saw steady growth. New construction saw the biggest expansion in value with 43.6%. The oldest of warehouses were assessed with 10% more worth, showing that even commercial property from before 1961 is in demand. The majority of assessed value falls between the two extremes and is evenly split between the construction eras.

Themes to Draw Upon

While Austin has the glamor and Dallas gets a lot of attention, the engine that drives the Texas economy is Houston and Harris County. According to HCAD, with the exception of new office construction, every bit of Harris County’s commercial, residential, and other properties were on the upswing. Property values and their corresponding taxes have doubled in the past decade. Best of all, it seems that Harris County’s economy and property market is growing at a sustainable pace, not a boom/bust trajectory like other parts of Texas.

But we see from outside studies that HCAD may have their finger on the scale. Is it really a 7.7% expansion in business or is it actually a deficit of 21%? Are values for apartments and homes still rocketing up or is it really modest growth? HCAD certainly won’t tell, as they have many hungry taxing entities to feed. The only way to be sure of what your property is worth is to protest your taxes. You could try to navigate these complex issues by yourself, or you could turn to a property tax consulting company with 50 years of experience fighting HCAD. O’Connor can support you with every appeal available, or can provide honest appraisal service, or even guide you through business personal property.

About O'Connor:
O’Connor is one of the largest property tax consulting firms, representing 185,000 clients in 49 states and Canada, handling about 295,000 protests in 2024, with residential property tax reduction services in Texas, Illinois, Georgia, and New York. O’Connor’s possesses the resources and market expertise in the areas of property tax, cost segregation, commercial and residential real estate appraisals. The firm was founded in 1974 and employs a team of 1,000 worldwide. O’Connor’s core focus is enriching the lives of property owners through cost effective tax reduction.

Property owners interested in assistance appealing their assessment can enroll in O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program ™. There is no upfront fee, or any fee unless we reduce your property taxes, and easy online enrollment only takes 2 to 3 minutes.

Patrick O'Connor, President
O'Connor
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