Montrose: Lot Value, Restrictions and Who Buys Old Houses Here

What this means for you

Montrose is the only one of these eight subdivisions where the deed text we read permits townhouses, and only on lots that opted in. We do not know which lots those are, so your own deed decides. 27 parcels are historic (City of Houston Planning layers, read 2026-10-13), which sends them to a different buyer at a different price. 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 Montrose include Marshall St, Kipling St, Graustark St, Harold St, Hawthorne St, Yupon St, Mount Vernon St and W Alabama St (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13). The subdivision's builder-pattern parcels sit in 77006 (91 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). Montrose has 91 of them (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13). The median year built is 1920 and the median lot is 6,000 square feet (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13). Kipling St, Harold St, Hawthorne St, Marshall St and W Alabama St also appear on the Winlow Place page, so check the legal description on your HCAD record to see which subdivision your lot is in.

The City's landmark report for 428 Hawthorne says Montrose was conceived in 1910 and platted in September 1911 by the Houston Land Corporation, under the developer John Wiley Link (City of Houston Historic Preservation, HAHC report, 2022, read 2026-10-14). Houstonia reports that the original deed restrictions on Montrose Boulevard lapsed around 1936 (Houstonia, April 2024, read 2026-10-14).

Land value by HCAD code

HCAD appraises land by neighborhood code. Montrose spans two 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.

• CHERRYHURST/OTHERS: 60 parcels, median $120.0 per square foot, the 25th and 75th percentile are both $120.0 (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13)
• MOYNE/OTHERS: 31 parcels, median $73.3 per square foot, 25th to 75th percentile $69.1 to $73.3 (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13)

The median across the subdivision is $120.0 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. Restrictions are on file as an opt-in declaration, and the answer to whether they prohibit townhomes is no, at medium confidence (deed research, 2026-10-14). On participating lots, new construction is limited to "single-family residences, fee simple townhouses, duplexes, or garage apartments". The data lists no minimum lot size and at most three parcels from a standard lot. Which lots opted in is not in the data. Your own deed decides. The WAMM Civic Association, wammcivic.org, posts the declaration.

City minimum lot size. 8 of the 91 parcels (9 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 (City of Houston Planning brochure, read 2026-10-14).

Historic status. 27 of the parcels are contributing structures or landmarks (City of Houston Planning layers, read 2026-10-13): 18 in the Audubon Place Historic District and 9 in the Avondale West Historic District (City of Houston Planning layers, read 2026-10-13). The American Planning Association lists Avondale West as designated in 2007 and Audubon Place in 2009 (American Planning Association, Great Places, 2009, 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 look at Montrose lots that are outside a historic district and a minimum-lot-size block, on a deed that allows their product. Renovation buyers take the historic houses, at a different price. Our teardown page shows how HCAD values compare with asking prices and reported sales. The code CHERRYHURST/OTHERS also appears on the Lancaster Place Extension 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.
• Opt-in declaration. A recorded set of deed restrictions that binds only the lots whose owners elected in. In Montrose, lots that did not opt in carry no bar from the WAMM Civic Association's declaration (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 Montrose?

HCAD's median land value across the Montrose subdivision's builder-pattern parcels in Houston is $120.0 per square foot. The codes differ: CHERRYHURST/OTHERS is at $120.0 and MOYNE/OTHERS at $73.3 (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13). That is an appraisal, not a price.

Can a builder put townhomes on a Montrose lot?

On Montrose lots that opted into the WAMM Civic Association's declaration, the text permits fee simple townhouses (deed research, 2026-10-14). Which lots opted in is not in the data, so check your deed.

Is Montrose deed restricted?

Only on lots that opted in. Montrose has an opt-in declaration, and lots that did not opt in carry no bar from it (deed research, 2026-10-14). Houstonia reports the original restrictions on Montrose Boulevard lapsed around 1936 (Houstonia, April 2024, read 2026-10-14).

Is my Montrose house in a historic district?

27 Montrose parcels in the data are contributing structures or landmarks, in the Audubon Place and Avondale West historic districts (City of Houston Planning layers, read 2026-10-13). Check your address on the City's historic district map.

Can I tear down a house in the Audubon Place or Avondale West 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.

Why do two Montrose lots have such different land values?

HCAD appraises land by neighborhood code, and Montrose spans two codes in this data. Look at the code on your HCAD record (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13).

When was Montrose platted and who built it?

The City's landmark report says Montrose was platted in September 1911 by the Houston Land Corporation under John Wiley Link (City of Houston Historic Preservation, HAHC report, 2022, read 2026-10-14).