Facts & Growth Trends: Fort Bend County

Fort Bend County is one of the fastest growing and most desired counties in the nation. The majority of the new growth will be in the western portion. Here are some of the facts:

Real Estate Forecast

Importantly, because Houston did not experience the wild appreciation gains in the last several years as many regions of the country witnessed, it appears to be uniquely sheltered from the "bubble burst" that other cities are experiencing. The forecast for the local area housing market for 2008 and 2009 is predicted to be a reasonably healthy market with moderate appreciation.

For up-to-date insight into the market conditions affecting the resale housing market, scroll the Market Metrics Analysis provided by HAR (Houston Association of Realtors) provided directly below.

Housing:
• 8,530 new homes were sold for an increase of 8.9%
• Ft. Bend County makes up 9.5% of the Greater Houston area population, but accounts for 17.07% of new home sales
• There is roughly 49,000 acres of residential property under construction and an additional 16,000 acres purchased for future development
• The Fulshear area alone has upwards of 22,000 lots planned in seven different communities which could add 50,000 residents to the area
• Market values more than doubled in the last 7 years
• Owner occupied is over 82%
• Over 54-Planned Communities

POPULATION TRENDS:
1980—160,000 1990---210,000 2000---380,000 2006---489,000
2008 -– 528,000 2010---590,000 2220---825,000 2225--1,000,000

Other Facts:

• Ft. Bend County ranks in the top 1% in the nation in 5-key areas
• The labor force grew by 6.8 % to over 252,000
• Local retail sales tax collections were $69.8 million up 10.7%
• College educated are 40% of the population
• Household income is one of the highest in the nation at about $114,000 and will rise to $134,000 by 2012
• Over 10,000 New jobs created
• 81% of the working population works within the county
• Crime was 50% less than the rate of the rest of the state
• There is over 43 million sq. ft. of industrial, retail, and office space & 7 million sq. ft. of new space is projected

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