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HAR: Regional housing market ends 2024 strong Staff Reports After two consecutive years of declining sales, the Houston housing market experienced modest growth in 2024. Homebuyers kept the resale and rental markets active despite fluctuating mortgage rates and higher home prices. As 2025 gets underway, steady demand and expanding inventory have set the stage for continued growth. According to HAR’s December/Full-Year 2024 Housing Market Update, total property sales were statistically flat compared to 2023. Single-family home sales rose 1.3 percent to 85,163. Total dollar volume for full-year 2024 climbed 3.1 percent to $41.1 billion versus $39.8 billion the prior year. For December, single-family home sales saw double digit growth of 16.3 percent yearover-year. Most of the housing segments experienced increases, with the luxury segment - consisting of homes priced $1M and above – seeing the strongest increase in activity. Sales in this segment climbed 64.6 percent when compared to last December. “Following two years of declining sales, 2024 brought a welcomed balance to the Houston housing market,” said HAR Chair Shae Cottar with LPT Realty. “While higher mortgage rates presented financial challenges for some consumers, the Houston market weathered these rate fluctuations better than many other regions across the country. I believe that the strong sales activity and expansive inventory we experienced in 2024 bodes well for home buyers and sellers in 2025.” Houston’s rental market had a robust performance in 2024 as many prospective homebuyers waited to see if mortgage rates would stabilize. HAR will report on rental trends in the December 2024 Rental Market Update, which will be released on Wednesday, January 15.
2024 Annual Market Comparison Volatile mortgage interest rates created a complex landscape for the Houston housing market during the first half of 2024. The year started on solid footing with steady sales, but there was a shift when the spring homebuying season got off to a sluggish start. Home sales were up and down through the spring and summer months. When the Federal Reserve implemented its first of three rate cuts in September to combat inflation, it provided a boost in confidence to prospective homebuyers, even though mortgage rates were not greatly impacted. However, rates did ease from the 20-year high of eight percent that was seen in 2023 to the high-six and seven percent range. Home sales topped 2023 levels from September through December. Expanding inventory also helped fuel the increase in market activity, offering opportunities for buyers and sellers. At the outset of 2024, inventory was at a 3.2-months supply.
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Applications open for Sugar Land revitalization programs Community Reports Applications for Sugar Land’s Great Homes Update Program and Commercial Revitalization Grant are now open. Both grant programs are part of initiatives intended to foster redevelopment in Sugar Land’s residential and commercial areas, according to a news release. The Great Homes Update Program includes a reimbursement incentive that encourages the rehabilitation and refurbishment of the exterior of single-family homes within the Sugar Land city limits. Through the Update Program, approved program participants can receive a reimbursement of up to $10,000 for a portion of their eligible exterior home improvement costs. The Commercial Revitalization Grant provides funding for commercial property owners of multi-tenant centers that are at least 20 years old and have a minimum of 15,000 square feet of leasable space.
Property owners can apply to receive reimbursement for up to 20 percent of eligible project costs for site improvements, such as modernizing building façades, creation of public open spaces, improvements to public right-of-way that promote walkability, enhance parking infrastructure, innovative improvements that could stimulate economic growth and unrivaled advancements, reshaping the city in ways never before imagined. “Sugar Land has always been a trailblazing city – staying on the cutting edge and delivering worldclass services to our residents and business owners,” states the news release. “Redevelopment initiatives such as the Great Homes Update Program and the Commercial Revitalization Grant are an integral step in ensuring that Sugar Land remains relevant amongst new housing options and commercial developments within the region. All single-family homeowners as well as commercial property own-
Applications for Sugar Land’s Great Homes Update Program and Commercial Revitalization Grant are now open. File photo
ers are encouraged to participate in the programs.” For more information and to apply, visit SugarLandEcoDev.com/Great-
Homes for the Great Homes Update Program or SugarLandEcoDev.com/ Revitalization for the Commercial Revitalization Program.
Fort Bend judge admonished for conduct on the bench By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENSTAR.COM
A Fort Bend County judge was officially admonished last month by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct for actions he took in the course of a case in July 2003, including using profanity while talking to lawyers while on the bench. The commission required Judge Steve Roges of the 268th District Court to take additional hours of legal education, but did not otherwise sanction the judge. In a document called a “Public Admonition and Order of Additional Education” released in late December, the commission laid out a series of facts as determined in twoday meeting of the commission in October. According to those findings of fact, Rogers was presiding over the jury trial of a woman who, according to court records, was charged with possession of methamphetamine. According the the findings, the woman’s lawyers, Annie Scott and Michael Elliot, had requested that their client appear in her jail uniform during the trial, which is unusual. In most criminal trials in Texas, defendants appear in civilian clothing, whether they are being held in jail or out on bond. During a bench conference - out of the hearing of jurors - Scott asked the attorneys whether they indeed planned to have their client appear in her jail uniform. When they confirmed that they did, according to the findings, Rogers responded by saying it “was not going to happen in [my] courtroom],” adding that the they “were not going to pull that in [my] courtroom.” Later, according to the findings, the defendant was brought before the
judge and confirmed her own desired to appear in her jail uniform, but Rogers denied her request and ordered her attorneys to go to a nearly Wal-Mart to purchase some clothes for the woman. “Judge Rogers ended the hearing by slamming his hand on the bench and yelling ‘Don’t [expletive] with me in my court,” according to the findings. An official transcript of the comments is not available because Rogers had not asked the court reporter to take down the bench hearing for the record, but a videotape shows Rogers hitting the bench with his hands and pointing at the lawyers, according to the findings. One of the lawyers, Scott filed a motion asking that Rogers recuse himself from the case, which Rogers later denied, but did refer the case to a visiting judge. Since he was still the judge of record, Rogers was responsible for signing the pay vouchers for the defense attorneys. In September 2023, months after the earlier events, according to the findings, Elliott appeared in Rogers’s court on unrelated matters. The bailiff approached Elliott and told the attorney that he was “banned” from the courtroom and “could not appear for any reason,” according to the findings. Elliott’s ongoing cases in Rogers’s court were later transferred to other courts. In a written response to the commission, Rogers wrote that he “believe(s) Texas law allows [him], in [his] discretion, to protect a defendant’s rights” and that “wearing jail clothes in a jury trial ... could also be an effort to cause error if there were not a knowing and intelligent waiver, or could be setting the stage for an ineffective assistance of counsel error argument if there was a conviction.”
According to the findings, Rogers blamed the two attorneys for his ignorance of the law, stating “there has been no written motion or request from defense counsel ... defense counsel also did not present any briefing or case law at that time to support their intention to request their client appear in jail clothing.” Rogers further stated that he typically does not do his own legal research and asks the opposing attorneys in cases before him to provide that research. He told the commission that before taking the bench, he had had about two months of experience in criminal law. Rogers, a Republican, in 2022 won election to the bench of 268th District Court with 50.22 percent of the vote over the then-one-term incumbent, Democrat R. O’Neil Williams, according to official election results. According to his official profile, Roger is a Texas native who graduated from Regent University of School of Law in California and Trinity Law School. He practiced civil law for about two decades before running for election, according to the profile. In its conclusion, the commission said that Rogers should be “publicly admonished” and ordered to take a total of six additional hours of continuing legal education for “failing to comply with the law and maintain professional competence in the law” in the course of the events described in the findings of fact. In a written statement released through a political consultant and on his social media pages, Rogers said, “”While defending the constitutional rights of everyone who steps foot in my courtroom, I, regrettably, used the “F” word during a sidebar exchange. I apologize to the people
Judge Steve Rogers of the 268th District Court in Fort Bend County was officially admonished in December by the State Board of Judicial Conduct. Here he is seen in his official portrait at the Fort Bend County Justice Center. Photo by Ken Fountain
I serve for that lapse. The state of Texas, and I, rightly hold Judges to high standards of professionalism, and I pledge to continue to abide by them. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued its decision in this matter. While there are numerous inaccuracies in the details of the report that we are working to correct, I accept the commission’s decision. “I ran for Judge on the bedrock that Judges are there to follow the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of Texas, and uphold the laws as the legislature creates. Since taking the bench, my court has worked hard everyday getting the justice system back to work for victims of serious crime, handling 22 sexual assault cases and over 10 murder trials, along with other significant cases on our docket. I would like everyone to know I will continue to defend the Constitution and your rights, and continue to do the important work of this court,” he said.
University Branch library to host program on downsizing Community Reports Fort Bend County Libraries’ University Branch Library will present “The Truth About Downsizing, Rightsizing, & Simplifying” - a program in the Senior Series for older adults and their family members -- on Friday, January 17, beginning at 10:30 a.m., in Meeting Room 1 of the library, 14010 University Blvd in Sugar Land, on the UH campus. Liz McNeel, a senior real-estate specialist and certified senior-housing professional, will talk about the pros and cons of moving from a long-time residence. She will discuss resources, tools, and tips
for making downsizing a bit easier. Attendees will learn practical strategies for decluttering, organizing, and preparing a home for sale without feeling overwhelmed. They will explore the emotional and financial benefits of simplifying one’s living situation, from reducing maintenance costs to finding a home more suitable for one’s current needs. The program is free and open to the public. For more information, see the Fort Bend County Libraries website (www. fortbend.lib.tx.us), or call the University Branch Library (281-633-5100) or the library system’s Communications Office (281-633-4734).
Liz McNeel, a senior real-estate specialist and certified seniorhousing professional, will present a program on downsizing at the University Branch Library on January 11. Courtesy Fort Bend County Libraries
Let the community know in our Community Calendar! Contact: editor@fortbendstar.com