Real estate
BY JAMES T. NORMAN
Home Edition
2025
Readers, welcome to the annual CI Home Edition! This year’s edition features an explanation on what impact fees are and how they affect taxpayers. A report on housing affordability across the Bay Area and Houston in general is also included. An increase to the state’s homestead exemption for a school district’s portion of resident’s tax bills is set to appear on the ballot in November. Readers can learn more about it in this year’s edition. Our cover story for this year is a breakdown of the new Midline development that will bring nearly 3,000 homes to the Bay Area.
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What's inside
See how home prices in League City compare to income (Page 21)
Learn what services Texas James Plumbing offers (Page 25)
Read how the local real estate market faired in June (Page 27)
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How impact fees affect local taxpayers
Water impact fees for single-family residential The amount a city charges for impact fees can depend on how recently they were approved, as well as how much ongoing development a city has. The fees below are based on 3/4” pipe size.
Diving in deeper League City has seen its property tax rate decrease every year for the past decade, city docu- ments show. While impact fees do help offset those cuts, it’s not a perfect replacement, Sims said. Sims said this is because impact fees have to go toward very specific projects, such as the expansion of a road tied directly to a develop- ment. As a result, impact fees also phase out as development slows down. Cities that issue impact fees must also revisit them at least every five years, Sims said. The impact Long acknowledged that high impact fees may drive away interested developers. However, both he and Sims said there isn’t any sign of that happening. “We don’t need to be desperate for development,” Long said. “We need to add homes that can pay their way.”
League City Mayor Nick Long said the city’s philosophy is simple: growth should pay for itself. To make sure it does, the city uses impact fees, which are added costs onto development projects for roads, water and wastewater. The city hasn’t been shy about raising them—Long said the city tries to have the highest legally allowed. “It still doesn’t cover the full amount,” he said. What readers need to know The city has had impact fees for water and wastewater since the 1990s, while road impact fees were first approved in 2019, Executive Director of Development Services Christopher Sims said. Impact fees are dues paid by developers for the cost their development has on the city’s water and road systems. Sims said the fee is essentially is the amount of money needed to offset the cost for an individual home. Without them, Long and Sims said those costs would fall on current residents.
League City $14,825 Tomball $14,687 Alvin $9,200 Webster $12,385 Baytown $6,258 College Station $5,450* Friendswood $5,396
SOURCES: VARIOUS CITIES/ COMMUNITY IMPACT *COLLEGE STATION IS BASED ON 5/8" PIPE SIZE. NOTE: COST IS PER UNIT, OR HOME, DEVELOPED.
Leaugue City road service area and fees
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Service area 1: $1,172 Service area 2: $2,056 Service area 3: $1,671 Service area 4: $1,842
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SOURCE: LEAGUE CITY/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
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BAY AREA EDITION
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