Houston Heights: Lot Value, Restrictions and Who Buys Old Houses Here

What this means for you

Three records decide who the buyer is: your own deed, the City's minimum-lot-size map and the City's historic district map. A lot that clears all three can suit a builder who wants the land. A lot that does not suits a renovation buyer, at a different price. Neither is a bad outcome. Send us the address and we put the public facts for your lot beside the figures below.

The streets and the houses

Streets the HCAD data lists in Houston Heights include Arlington St, Cortlandt St, Columbia St, Harvard St, Heights Blvd, Rutland St, Oxford St and Yale St (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13). The subdivision's builder-pattern parcels sit in 77008 (828 parcels) and 77007 (177 parcels) (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13). A builder-pattern parcel is a lot of 4,500 to 20,000 square feet that is vacant or holds a house built in 1975 or earlier worth at most 40 percent of its land, with no permit issued since 2022 (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13). Houston Heights has 1,005 of them (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13). The median year built is 1920 and the median lot is 6,600 square feet (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13). Since 2024, 42 pre-1975 houses here were bought by owners without a homestead exemption (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13). That count shows who has been buying, not what they paid.

The City's design guide for the Heights says Houston Heights was founded in 1891 by the Omaha and South Texas Land Company, incorporated as its own city in 1896 and annexed by Houston in 1918 (City of Houston Heights design guide, 2018 council-review draft, read 2026-10-14). The north-south streets carry names, many from colleges such as Harvard, Yale and Columbia, and the east-west streets are numbered (City of Houston Heights design guide, 2018 council-review draft, read 2026-10-14). A typical block was platted with 24 lots of 50 by 132 feet (City of Houston Heights design guide, 2018 council-review draft, read 2026-10-14). That is 6,600 square feet, the same as the median lot today (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13).

Land value by HCAD code

HCAD appraises land by neighborhood code. Houston Heights spans six codes in this data (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13). Each line gives the parcels, the median land value per square foot and the 25th to 75th percentile range. Where the range is a single figure, HCAD appraises the whole code at one rate.

• HOUSTON HEIGHTS: 798 parcels, median $90.0 per square foot, 25th to 75th percentile $90.0 to $100.0 (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13)
• PT/HOUSTON HEIGHTS: 75 parcels, median $100.0 per square foot, the 25th and 75th percentile are both $100.0 (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13)
• HOUSTON HEIGHTS (W' OF SHEPHD): 53 parcels, median $80.0 per square foot, the 25th and 75th percentile are both $80.0 (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13)
• MILROY PLACE: 29 parcels, median $85.0 per square foot, the 25th and 75th percentile are both $85.0 (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13)
• NORTH NORHILL/PT STUDS 2ND: 25 parcels, median $95.0 per square foot, the 25th and 75th percentile are both $95.0 (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13)
• HEIGHTS ANNEX: 17 parcels, median $95.0 per square foot, the 25th and 75th percentile are both $95.0 (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13)

The median across the subdivision is $95.0 per square foot (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13). HCAD's figure is an appraisal for tax, not a sale price.

What restricts a lot here

Deed. The deed state is partial, at medium confidence (deed research, 2026-10-14). On lots that signed, the current HHA form bars common-wall residences and caps density at 1 residence per 5,000 sq ft. HHA is the Houston Heights Association. The data lists no minimum lot size for the area. The City's design guide says the original deed restrictions were no longer enforced after the 1918 annexation (City of Houston Heights design guide, 2018 council-review draft, read 2026-10-14). Today's association covenant is voluntary and applies lot by lot (deed research, 2026-10-14), so your own deed decides. Read the association's page on deed restrictions and ask your title company for the recorded documents.

City minimum lot size. 258 of the 1,005 parcels (26 percent) sit inside a City minimum-lot-size designation (City of Houston Planning layers, read 2026-10-13). The City says a designation prevents lots from being divided below a set size, which in most cases prevents redevelopment into townhomes (City of Houston Planning brochure, read 2026-10-14). A lot in one of these blocks cannot be split below the block's minimum.

Historic status. 489 of the parcels are contributing structures or landmarks (City of Houston Planning layers, read 2026-10-13). The largest groups are in the Houston Heights East Historic District (222 parcels) and the Houston Heights South Historic District (178 parcels) (City of Houston Planning layers, read 2026-10-13). The City designated Houston Heights East in February 2008 and Houston Heights South in June 2011 (City of Houston Heights design guide, 2018 council-review draft, read 2026-10-14). The City requires a certificate of appropriateness to relocate or demolish a landmark or a structure within an historic district (City of Houston Office of Preservation, read 2026-10-14). Call the Office of Preservation before you plan a teardown.

Who buys here and the two ways to sell

Builders buy Heights lots that clear the checks above. Renovation buyers take the rest, at a different price. Our teardown page shows how HCAD values compare with asking prices and reported sales. The code NORTH NORHILL/PT STUDS 2ND also appears on the Studes page.

We buy it. HTX Sell My House makes you an offer and closes with you.

We take it to the builders for you. One builder gives you one number. We bring your lot to the builders buying in this subdivision, you take the best offer, and you sign one contract, once. You see the buyer's name in writing before you sign.

You can also list the house with an agent. If that nets you more, we tell you so. Get at least two numbers before you decide.

Terms in plain words

• HCAD. The Harris Central Appraisal District, the county office that appraises every property for tax. Its land value is an appraisal, not a sale price (HCAD public data downloads, read 2026-10-13).
• Builder-pattern parcel. A lot where the land is worth much more than the old house on it. The exact test, with its figures, is under "The streets and the houses" above.
• Deed restriction. A private rule recorded against a subdivision, a section or a single lot. In the Heights the Houston Heights Association's covenant binds the lots that signed it (deed research, 2026-10-14).
• City minimum lot size. A City designation that prevents lots from being divided below a set size (City of Houston Planning brochure, read 2026-10-14).
• Certificate of appropriateness. The City's approval to relocate or demolish a landmark or a structure in an historic district (City of Houston Office of Preservation, read 2026-10-14).

Questions people ask

What is a lot worth in Houston Heights?

HCAD's median land value across the Houston Heights subdivision's builder-pattern parcels is $95.0 per square foot, and the codes run from $80.0 to $100.0 (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13). That is an appraisal, not a price. A builder pays by the lot.

Is Houston Heights deed restricted?

Partly. Restrictions in the Heights are a voluntary covenant that applies lot by lot, and on lots that signed, the current Houston Heights Association form bars common-wall residences (deed research, 2026-10-14). Lots that did not sign are unrestricted by that covenant, so check your own deed.

Can I build townhomes or split my Houston Heights lot?

It depends on your own deed and on any City minimum-lot-size designation. On Houston Heights lots that signed the association form, the form bars common-wall residences (deed research, 2026-10-14). 258 parcels sit in a City minimum-lot-size block (City of Houston Planning layers, read 2026-10-13).

Is my Houston Heights house in a historic district?

489 Houston Heights parcels in the data are contributing structures or landmarks, most of them in the Heights East and Heights South historic districts (City of Houston Planning layers, read 2026-10-13). Check the City's historic district map with your address.

Can I tear down my house in a Houston Heights historic district?

The City requires a certificate of appropriateness to relocate or demolish a landmark or a structure within an historic district (City of Houston Office of Preservation, read 2026-10-14). Call the Office of Preservation before you plan a teardown.

When was Houston Heights founded?

Houston Heights was founded in 1891, incorporated as its own city in 1896 and annexed by Houston in 1918 (City of Houston Heights design guide, 2018 council-review draft, read 2026-10-14).

Do I have to repair my Heights house before I sell?

Not to get a number from us. Tell us what is wrong with the house and we say whether a buyer will take it as it stands.