Houston restaurateur Kelly Barnhart, owner of the Montrose-area restaurant Vibrant, has purchased a Memorial Villages home that was listed for $8.25 million. The property at 302 Timberwilde Lane sold on October 31, according to county records. With an asking price of $1,115 per square foot for its 7,400-square-foot size, it was the most expensive Houston home to go under contract in October, as reported by the Houston Association of Realtors.
The sale took place within a month of listing—almost two weeks faster than the average time luxury homes spend on the market in Houston. William Wheless of Wheless Realty handled the listing.
The house sits on a 2.7-acre lot and features amenities such as a tennis court, golfing green, and pool. Built in 1956, it includes five bedrooms and six bathrooms. While some investors may have considered demolishing the existing structure for redevelopment purposes, Barnhart may choose to preserve it; her restaurant operates out of a renovated building.
This property was not only October’s priciest sale but also the oldest among the top ten luxury sales in Houston that month.
Other notable sales included a newly built home at 46 Aria Isle Drive in The Woodlands by John Post Homes. This property was listed at $5.5 million and sold to John Wisenbaker for about $600 per square foot. Another spec mansion at 606 Pinehaven Drive sold to a trust linked to Houston Rockets player Jabari Smith Jr., with an asking price of $5.2 million or approximately $680 per square foot.
While final sales prices were not disclosed, data from Zillow indicates that both spec mansions reduced their asking prices before selling.
The broader luxury housing market across Sun Belt cities is slowing down; however, Houston is seeing divergence between high-end and lower-tier properties. Top-tier homes are appreciating while lower-priced homes are losing value.
Redfin reports that the median sale price for luxury homes in Houston increased by four percent year-over-year in September. Luxury properties are also selling more quickly locally than nationally—the average time on market for these homes in Houston is 43 days compared to the national average of 52 days.
Meanwhile, overall median home prices in Houston dropped by 1.5 percent during this period—a decline matched only by Austin nationwide (source: Homes.com).
The mean asking price among last month’s top ten luxury sales reached $6.1 million—up from $5.8 million one year ago and from $4.3 million two years prior (source: HAR).
Despite these gains at the upper end of the market, sellers continue to face less negotiating power than in previous years; six out of ten top luxury listings last month saw price reductions before closing.
