Luxury home buyers in Houston should be pleased to hear this new report statistic - the two cities are among the top 10 US cities with a growing population of high income residents ($200,000+).

The Houston Business Journal reports that the number of Houstonians making at least $200,000 a year grew by more than 86% from 2005 to 2013. In 2013, Houston had the second largest percentage of households at this income - 6.7% compared to Seattle’s 6.9%.

Houston’s been highlighted for being a great place to live and work several times in the past year. A Nerdwallet study in June located the best places to live in Texas based on quality of life. Out of the ten locations, Houston’s suburbs stole the charts with five communities (the Woodlands and Sugar Land topped the list).

Not that Houston is only for high income earners and luxury suburban living. Millennials have been drawn to the city for years in pursuit of employment opportunities and low cost of living. Last year, four of Houston’s companies were listed in Fortune’s Best Places to Work for Millennials for employees under 35 years old.

Soon the millennial Houstonians will start to looking for housing as their paychecks and household grows. Being in Houston would be a great spot for anyone looking for a luxury home built on quality and style. See some of our floor plans to get started.

Home builders across the nation are feeling more confident about the industry, according to the National Association of Home Builders. According to a recent report, confidence levels have been the highest in the month of June than they have been in the past nine months. New-home sales rose 6.8% in April, while construction spending rose to its highest level since November 2008. The Realtors group forecasts that existing home sales during 2015 will be the highest observed since 2006, and along with increasing prices and demand, these have been healthy signs of a recovering market.

If the nation’s feeling the rise of a stronger housing market, then San Antonio is one of the best places to be buying a home. San Antonio’s real estate has been going on strong this year - gains in sales were in the double digits despite rising prices (mostly due to the rising cost of land, fees, and materials). One of the strongest areas growing in the real estate market are home sales. According to a report from the San Antonio Board of Realtors, there’ve been 9% more homes sold in May 2015 compared to May 2014. The median sales prices climbed up from $200,000 to $202,500 and the demand is still growing.

The strong real estate market in San Antonio has largely been influenced by the growing business sector - more military, medicine, and technology companies have begun moving to the region. Employees relocate to the city, attracted by the high income positions offered, and this large population of well-off employed professionals has always been a big driver in the city’s local real estate market. The increasing prices of homes have partly been due to the increase in demand and partly due to the increase in the quality of homes.

If San Antonio’s your next destination, consider a home purchase during this opportune time. At Princeton Classic Homes, we adhere to excellence to assure that our homes are built with quality in mind first. Check out our San Antonio luxury houses to find what your next home will be.

Houston is becoming the next biggest destination for millennials and recent college graduates. No wonder - the costs of living here are enviably low when compared to other metropolitan cities. Another big draw is the job opportunities. Employment in Houston hasn’t been as negatively affected by the drop in oil prices as many have feared. In fact, businesses report adding more jobs for the third quarter.

Traditionally, cities like New York and San Francisco used to assume the mantle for attracting young adults and professionals, but low employment prospects have curbed people’s enthusiasm for places that demand skyrocketing-high costs of living. According to a new Bloomberg LP report, millennials have decided to skip major destination cities for their starting their lives and careers. Being a college graduate with a great deal of student debt, while facing a weak job market during the Great Recession, has seriously prompted many to move to places like the Bayou City for better opportunities.

In a study by Manpower Group, Houston’s employment outlook for the third quarter is 22%, beating major cities like New York (17%), Chicago (15%), San Francisco (21%), and Boston (17%). Houston attracts a great deal of talent into its rather lucrative careers in healthcare and energy sector. It is now one of the top 10 cities in the US for having the fastest-growing Millennial populations. Currently, about 24% of Houston’s total population are young adults between 18 to 34. From its roots as a sleepy, Good ol’ boy hub for energy and real estate, Houston is primed for an abundance of youthful energy that’ll drive the city’s future

Ask any San Antonio local where the best place to live is, and they’ll probably each give you a different answer. Each neighborhood has its own unique qualities, and its own real estate conditions. Luckily, San Antonio real estate has enjoyed a long-lasting consistency and predictability. One factor is cost of living. On average, the metro area’s median home price is around $170K. Unlike huge cities, where real estate prices usually stay high, San Antonio hasn’t suffered the ups and downs of a widely swinging housing market.

“The key component for San Antonio—and it has always been like this—is that we’ve never had a bubble like the coasts,” says Missy Stagers, a veteran real estate agent and chairman of the San Antonio Board of Realtors. “It’s steady as she goes.” Aside from the low costs, Stagers notes other factors that keep the real estate attractive. The space to build is plentiful; the city is rather spread out. “Even when there’s great demand, we can still create the supply,” she says in an interview with San Antonio Magazine.

Another part of San Antonio’s stability is its function as a military hub - a lot of service members are rotated in and out of the area, which always provides a steady stream of buyers and sellers to keep the market going. So if the San Antonio market is looking to be an attractive buy, consider some of these strategies to help you land your best offer.

Make sure you’re pre-qualified for a home before you start your home shopping, otherwise the entire experience would be an ordeal and heartache when you fall in love with a house you can’t afford. Check in with a lender first to figure out what your affordable range is, and bring proof you can afford a home before you place an offer.

When you find a dream home you know is right for you, do put in a “strong offer,” says Binkan Cinaroglu, with Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty. “The small amount of money you’ll save to get a good deal is not worth the sacrifice of your lifestyle.” Given that, it’s important to know what you want. Every buyer has their own set of priorities - what matters most to you; location, size, or amenities? It’ll help you and your agent make your search as efficient as possible.

To get you started on your home buyer’s journey, visit our San Antonio luxury home listings.

Houston continues to prosper as a diverse city in jobs and economic growth. And the future's looking brighter every year.

In a study by economic research website NerdWallet, Houston is the fourth-best city to find a job in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. It makes sense when you consider the size of Houston and the diversity of industry with energy and medical at the top.

The study took several factors into consideration including annual mean wage for STEM jobs, median gross rent, and STEM jobs as a percentage of all occupations. Houston’s biggest boost was with median gross rent, finishing lower than all other cities in the top ten except Dayton, Ohio. Rent prices are starting to rise in Houston, however, so it stands to reason that more and more people moving to Houston will opt to purchase their homes.

The study found the median income of STEM jobs to be $94,766 per year, over $15,000 more than the national average for like jobs.

To learn more about the study and results, you can head over to the STEM study on NerdWallet. After that you can tease all your friends and family in Austin about one more thing Houston is winning at!

San Antonio has a great deal going on for it - it’s one of the fastest-growing cities in America (ranked by Forbes 2014), and has some of the best food to be found in Texas (disbelievers, stop by the Granary Cue and Brew). Here are just some of the highlights that make this city so special and a wonderful place to be.

Most Romantic

Amazon ranked San Antonio the most romantic city in the country in 2013 - and who can blame them? Take horse-drawn carriage rides down Houston Street, followed by a candlelit dinner along the River Walk, and finish up the evening with a cocktail at the top of the Tower of the America’s. That’s how you celebrate a real Valentine’s Day, and San Antonio does it right.

Great Future

The city’s employment rate is one of the top ten fastest-growing in the country, with a gross metro product of $97B and a projected annual growth rate of 4.2%. It’s also one of the most family-friendly places in the nation - short commutes, safe neighborhoods, and quality education all being important factors for raising a healthy and happy home.

World Heritage Sites

Who can forget the city’s alluring history? A World Heritage Site, the San Antonio Missions draws a crowd each year and keeps us reminded of the area’s significance. Home to five historic mission sites, all close to each other for a day’s visit, the San Antonio Missions invites people to experience a unique history and culture only found in this city.

For more reasons on why San Antonio’s attracting new residents, and why locals love where they are, check out this post from my San Antonio.

What will you fill your luxury dream home with? Here are some of the hottest luxury home design trends for 2015 to start thinking about.

Some of the most popular items people want this year are luxury showers, poolside fire pits, and of course, wine tasting rooms. “Wine cellars have been popular for some time now,” says Chief Designer Mark Cutler of the interior design firm nousDECOR. In an interview with Haute Living, Cutler notes that all his luxury clients are looking for ways to set themselves as tastemakers, and to make lots of room for their hobbies and best ideas for their home. Stands to reason that if you’re going to go luxury, go big and bold with some sophisticated touches! (For an example of one of our wine tasting rooms, visit Tour Our Homes and flip through the Towne Lake Model).

Another major trend is towards neutral colors, white cabinets, and quartz countertops instead of granite. Quartz has a great look while being less porous, and is able to stay lustrous even after years of wear and tear. But Cutler has an interesting prediction for the future of home decor - “voice control will be a huge trend,” he says. These have already been out in the market in the form of smart TV’s and other smart appliances. More and more homes are going to become smarter in all the basic things - air conditioning, and other home control systems, will start to have voice controls embedded in them. Imagine talking to your house and having it respond - you won’t need to have a remote anymore, or even get up, to adjust your thermostat or turn on the television. Maybe the only remaining classic challenge would be getting everyone at home to agree what temperature to set your house at!

Of course, no matter how you design your home, it should feel like home. Not only is Princeton Classic a long-term quality home builder helping clients create their dream house, we’ve also been community developers making sure that all residents find a comfortable place to live. Take a tour of our homes and see what we can do for you.

Houstonia magazine just released their 2015’s Top Neighborhoods rankings, and we’re proud to see some of Princeton’s communities make it on their list! Here are the highlights on up and coming best neighborhoods of the Bayou city.

Katy Creek Estates - Cinco Ranch

Cinco Ranch knows a thing or two about managing water - the neighborhood gets to have three waterparks and is still able to find enough for its green initiatives, like a tree farm and a natural filtering system for runoff. Houstonia gives a thumbs up to the neighborhood’s “first-rate education options (and) thriving business climate.”

The magazine also gave an honorable mention to the “large custom homes on oversized lots” - something that Katy Creek Estates inhabitants can be proud to own. All these positives about Cinco Ranch make it “easy to see why this Katy community has become a popular place for locals to call home.”

City Series - Third Ward

One of Princeton’s promising new developments is its City Series, all conveniently located near Minute Maid Park, the Toyota Center, and Discovery Green Park. Houstonia cites the area’s historical and cultural importance, and believes that new homeowners will find it an “enviable location matched only by its glittering downtown views.” The city is planning to transform the East Side into a recreational oasis, which means there’ll more to love about this area with great potential.

Greatwood Lake 60s and Greatwood Lakes 70s - Sugar Land

Sugar Land has been known to have some of the most expensive homes, but it’s becoming more and more affordable. Our Greatwood Lake 60s range in the $380s, while the Lakes 70s can go for the $440s. Not bad for an area that is often inhabited by Fortune 500 execs and pro athletes - now, “small family homes and mom-and-pop establishments can be found abutting mansions… This Houston suburb, it would seem, has something for everyone.”

If you’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to treat yourself, it’s here.

The Culinary Institute of America has reopened it’s popular Bakery Cafe in pop-up form as part of the CIA’s bakery and pastry curriculum in San Antonio, TX. For a limited time, you can enjoy an array of delicious pastries and dishes, including the classics you’ve been missing since it closed it’s doors in 2013.

What distinguishes this pop-up from the former bakery is that it will be manned by eleven graduating bakery and pastry students rather than a chef. While they’ll be operating the bakery under the direction of chefs and instructors Alain Dubernard and Melissa Fritz, the final product is purely their own. During the 6-week program, they’ll rotate between kitchen and front end duties to give them the full experience of operating a bakery before they enter the real world.“Pastries are a bit like pharmacology,” explained Dubernard in an interview with San Antonio Magazine. “Everything has to be exact and you cannot mess up.” This exciting experience will teach them everything they need to know to hit the ground running, while also being able to serve their community.

The Bakery Cafe is open for business during weekdays from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m., now through April 26 inside the Student Service Center, 312 Pearl Parkway at Pearl Brewery,

San Antonio, TX. Stop by to enjoy empanadas, mac and cheese, chocolate XS cakes, alfajores, scones and so much more, all with the satisfaction of knowing you’re helping a student complete their degree. For more information about the pop-up bakery, visit http://www.ciarestaurantgroup.com/cia-bakery-cafe.

The San Antonio River Walk, one of Texas’s top ten tourist attractions, is paying homage to the Irish with Murphy’s St. Patrick’s Day River Parade & Festival.

On March 14th–15th, witness the transformation of the two-and-a-half mile long San Antonio River as 110 pounds of eco-friendly green dye is released by barges into the water.

This free family-friendly event begins at noon on Saturday and features a spectacle of Irish music, souvenirs and traditional Irish eats. With entertainment organized by the Harp & Shamrock Society of San Antonio, you will be carried away to the Emerald Isle for the weekend.

St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th) is an international cultural and religious celebration in honor of the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick. This historic day has been a widely recognized unofficial holiday in the U.S. since the late eighteenth century with displays of parades, leprechauns and shamrocks. In addition to paying homage to Irish ways and fun traditions, such as a pinch if you don’t wear green, St. Patrick’s Day is also a welcoming of spring to come.

Click here for the full schedule of festivities on the River Walk.

Don’t miss out on the live music, food and games. Most importantly, don’t forget to wear green!