Winlow Place: Lot Value, Restrictions and Who Buys Old Houses Here

What this means for you

On the lots it covers, the Winlow Place declaration bars townhomes, per the text we read. A townhome builder is not the likely buyer there. The buyer who fits renovates the house or builds one home. That is a different price from a townhome lot's price, not a worse deal.

Some lots are outside the declaration. It excludes lots abutting Westheimer and W Alabama, the Lanier Middle School lots and Lots 10 to 14 of Block 13 (deed research, 2026-10-14). If your lot is on Westheimer or W Alabama frontage, the declaration does not cover it, so its townhome bar does not reach your lot. That does not mean your lot is free of every restriction. Check your own deed, and the City's minimum-lot-size map below. 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 Winlow Place include Kipling St, Harold St, Hawthorne St, Marshall St, W Alabama St, Alabama St, Hazard St and Dunlavy St (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13). The subdivision's builder-pattern parcels sit in 77098 (128 parcels) and 77006 (5 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). Winlow Place has 133 of them (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13). The median year built is 1930 and the median lot is 6,250 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 Montrose page, so check the legal description on your HCAD record to see which subdivision your lot is in.

The Winlow Place Civic Club says the addition was platted in 1923 and developed in 1925, and that many of its homes date to 1923 to 1928 (Winlow Place Civic Club history, read 2026-10-14). The City's landmark report for the Winlow Westheimer Center says the Winlow Place Company established the subdivision about 1923 and gives its boundaries as Westheimer, McDuffie, Dunlavy and West Alabama (City of Houston Historic Preservation, HAHC report, read 2026-10-14). The club was organized on July 21, 1965, and the original deed restrictions were rewritten and renewed on January 1, 1975 (Winlow Place Civic Club history, read 2026-10-14).

Land value by HCAD code

HCAD appraises land by neighborhood code. Winlow Place spans one code 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: 133 parcels, median $120.0 per square foot, the 25th and 75th percentile are both $120.0 (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, and on the lots the declaration covers the answer to whether they prohibit townhomes is yes, at high confidence (deed research, 2026-10-14). Townhouses, townhomes, patio homes, condominiums and lofts are expressly excluded from "residential purposes". The data lists a 6,250 sq ft minimum after any subdivision. The Winlow Place Civic Club publishes its deed restrictions. Your own deed decides the rest.

Lots the declaration leaves out. The 2012 declaration excludes lots abutting Westheimer and W Alabama, the Lanier Middle School lots and Lots 10 to 14 of Block 13 (deed research, 2026-10-14, which cites the declaration on the Winlow Place Civic Club's site). If your lot is one of these, the declaration's townhome bar and 6,250 sq ft minimum do not come from that document. Read your own deed and ask your title company for the recorded restrictions. The copy on the club's site is the unsigned form of the declaration and shows no recording number (deed research, 2026-10-14).

City minimum lot size. 48 of the 133 parcels (36 percent) also 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. The City layers flag no contributing structure or landmark among the 133 parcels (City of Houston Planning layers, read 2026-10-13).

Who buys here and the two ways to sell

On a lot the declaration covers, the likely buyer renovates the house or builds one home on the lot. The deed, not the market, settles the townhome question. A lot on Westheimer or W Alabama frontage is outside the declaration, so its buyers depend on its own deed and on any City block. Our teardown page shows how HCAD values compare with asking prices and reported sales.

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

We take it to the right buyers for you. Where the deed or the City rules out townhomes, those are buyers who renovate or build one home. We bring your lot to them, you take the best offer, and you sign one contract, once. In both cases 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.
• Declaration. The recorded document that sets the deed restrictions for Winlow Place. A lot the declaration excludes is not bound by 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).

Questions people ask

What is a lot worth in Winlow Place?

HCAD's median land value across Winlow Place's builder-pattern parcels in Houston is $120.0 per square foot, one rate for the whole code (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13). That is an appraisal, not a price. With a deed that bars townhomes on covered lots, the buyer pool and the price differ from a townhome lot's.

Can a builder put townhomes on a Winlow Place lot?

On lots the Winlow Place declaration covers, no: it excludes townhouses and townhomes, at high confidence (deed research, 2026-10-14). Lots abutting Westheimer or W Alabama are outside the declaration, so check your own deed with your title company.

Does the Winlow Place deed restriction apply to my lot on Westheimer or W Alabama?

Not by the declaration. The 2012 Winlow Place declaration excludes lots abutting Westheimer and W Alabama, along with the Lanier Middle School lots and Lots 10 to 14 of Block 13 (deed research, 2026-10-14). Your lot may have other restrictions, so check your own deed.

Is there a minimum lot size in Winlow Place?

On lots the declaration covers, the data lists a 6,250 sq ft minimum after any subdivision (deed research, 2026-10-14). 48 Winlow Place parcels also sit in a City minimum-lot-size designation (City of Houston Planning layers, read 2026-10-13).

When was Winlow Place built?

The Winlow Place Civic Club says the Houston addition was platted in 1923 and developed in 1925 (Winlow Place Civic Club history, read 2026-10-14). The median year built in the data is 1930 (HCAD 2026 roll, read 2026-10-13).

Will you buy a Winlow Place house?

Yes, or we bring a buyer who renovates or builds one home. We tell you who the buyer is, in writing, before you sign.