Alexandra Kanik

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Marissa Luck |Alexandra Kanik

The Houston region is blanketed by master-planned communities that have pushed farther from the city as developers chase available land. Many farming and ranching families have sold their acreage to real estate companies eager to transform pastures into subdivisions lined with new homes and manicured lawns. But drive an hour or more east, and you’ll still find vast rural stretches where some families have, so far, resisted suburban sprawl.

2 months ago | houstonchronicle.com | Alexandra Kanik |Jonathan Diamond

As part of the process to be confirmed as U.S. Ambassador to Italy and San Marino, billionaire Houston businessman Tilman Fertitta was required to provide broad financial disclosures and to withdraw from the day-to-day operations of his far-flung restaurant, gaming and hospitality empire. The disclosures filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics provide unique insights to the diverse holdings of one of the richest people in Houston.

2 months ago | houstonchronicle.com | Marissa Luck |Alexandra Kanik

Where and when do the Houston-area's richest homebuyers buy properties in Houston? To help answer those questions, we analyzed the records of the 140 most expensive homes sold this year as listed by the Houston Association of Realtors. Here's what we found. A closer look at the data shows the neighborhoods that dominate Houston's booming luxury real estate market, the peak months for closings and the average age of the homes that fetched the highest prices.

2 months ago | houstonchronicle.com | Marissa Luck |Alexandra Kanik

Houston is famous for its sprawl. Covering 10,000 square miles, the Houston region can be divided into 2.7 million parcels. Examining these parcels tells a story of rapid growth, infrastructure needs, and the ever-evolving real estate market. But who owns the most pieces of this puzzle? From private homebuilders to government agencies, the top landowners in Houston, ranked by the number of parcels they own, reflect the city's balance between development and public interests.

Feb 24, 2025 | houstonchronicle.com | Matt Degrood |Alexandra Kanik

Violent crime increased by nearly 5% in Houston in 2024, Mayor John Whitmire's first year in office, an uptick that brings to an end a three-year decline in violent crime in Houston and counters a nationwide decline in those types of crime. Despite the uptick, Houston saw a significant decline in property crime - a category that had risen in recent years - and a five-year low in the number of homicides in the city.