Business Big Boom means House-Building Big Boom

This week, another story broke about yet another major international corporation coming to pitch a big tent here in the Houston area. Germany-based Siemens AG, the engineering firm headquartered in Munich, has just bought Houston-based heavy equipment manufacturer Dresser-Rand for a cool $7.6 billion, in cash. Their objective is specific and not a secret: Siemens has acquired the heavy equipment business not with the intention of of supplying heavy equipment to the oil industry. No, no. Siemens intends to become an energy provider, too. With their combined strengths of a host of German engineers and oil field equipment in their possession, they are entering the oil/gas industry in a grand style, with the benefit of the energy-friendly business environment of Houston, Texas, where oil and gas reign supreme again. "The combined activities will create a world-class provider for the growing oil and gas markets. With this, Dresser-Rand will become 'the oil and gas' company within Siemens and fit right into our Siemens Vision 2020," CEO Joe Kaeser said in his statement.

New Master Planned Communities Underway

Siemens will be joining other big players who are already establishing themselves here. Exxon-Mobile is building from the ground-up its new world headquarters, just north of Houston on a campus located south of The Woodlands. Southwestern Energy has its new headquarters here as well, just a stone’s throw from Exxon-Mobile, and a host of other energy-related companies like Layne Christiansen, a drilling company, are reported to be in various degrees either relocating their headquarters to the area or beefing up their presence here . As a consequence, the influx of all the people relocating here for their employment has caused a dramatic positive impact on home and property prices. Homes that have barely been pocket-listed are practically sold before they even have a chance to be assigned an MLS number. Two brand-new master-planned communities are in the works. There is Springwoods Village, at the northwest corner of I-45 and the Grand Parkway. Construction has already begun on this project. Then further up I-45, on the land that used to be Camp Strake, Johnson Development Corp. is about to start construction on a community at the southwest corner of I-45 and Loop 336 in Conroe, due to begin in 2015.

A New Development in Imperial Oaks 

And now we have news of another housing development in the works. McGuyer Homebuilders Inc. is developing a new community within Imperial Oaks, a community east of the I-45 corridor, also near The Woodlands. They have partnered with five home builders to develop this 400-acre tract:

• Ashton Woods Homes USA LLC

• Beazer Homes USA Inc.

• Coventry Homes

• J. Patrick Homes

• Plantation Homes 

These homes are expected to range in price from $200K to $600K, and they are breaking ground this month. So this is more good news for area residents and real estate, and better news for those who will be coming this way for their employment: there will be a heap load of new, beautiful homes, very close by their offices, and eagerly awaiting their ownership.