By Taylor Williams In terms of both ground-up construction and expansions and redevelopments of existing properties, retail development in the greater Houston area is pretty healthy by today’s standards, which is to say that meaningful supply gains in major markets are relatively rare in 2026. But the numbers are working in Houston, where sources say that brick-and-mortar sales are strong enough to support the rents that justify new development. Yet at the same time, margins remain thin on both the tenant and landlord sides, and owners are still very much focused on finding creative ways to manage development and operating costs lest they lose that precious, hard-fought cushion. “There’s a ton of new development around the horn, with projects in Katy, Fulshear, Tomball, Magnolia, Baytown and [New Caney’s] Valley Ranch, and those deals are penciling because retailers are keeping up with rents,” said Kenneth Katz, co-founder and principal at Houston-based brokerage firm Baker Katz. His comments were delivered at the annual InterFace Houston Retail & Mixed-Use conference at the Houston Briar Club on Aug. 25., which was attended by more than 200 industry professionals. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial …
