Discover convenience and waterfront living in the Summerwood-Lakeshore market area, with many homes backing up to Lake Houston and recreational amenities like boathouses, jet ski lifts, summer cottages and fishing piers, not to mention the herds of deer crossing the road. Located about 30 minutes northeast of downtown, and with easy access to Beltway 8 and Highway 59 north, you can get there from here; 77044 also is Houston's fastest growing zip code.

Area sports facilities include Tour 18 Golf Course, Walden on Lake Houston Golf and Country Club, Lindsay/Lyons Park and Sports Complex, Golf Club of Houston, and Brock Park Golf Course.

For parklands and green spaces, look to Alexander Deussen Park, Dwight D. Eisenhower Park, and Sheldon Lake State Park. Educational and wildlife groups can sign up for guided tours of the Greens Bayou Wetlands Mitigation Bank, home to 157 species of birds, 552 species of vegetation, plus the usual amphibians, invertebrates, mammals and reptiles that are thriving in these 961 acres of protected wetlands.

Parents looking to give their children a head start in life will appreciate excellent rated elementary schools — Eagle Springs and Timbers — as well as Groves Elementary with its four star rating and designated distinction in science. Woodcreek Middle School and Atascocita High School also have good ratings.

And yes, there's an H-E-B right there upon exiting Beltway 8: The Summerwood Market is at 12680 West Lake Houston Parkway 8; it's your go-to spot for fishing licenses, seafood steaming services, a tortillera, and a fish market. Giving them a run for their money, however, is nearby Westlake Marketplace with its major anchor Kroger; the 65-acre tract has been developed by Fidelis Realty Partners.

Adjacent is the all shiny and new Generation Park, a 4,000-acre master planned commercial development. It's already home to a Courtyard by Marriott, the new TechnipFMC corporate campus that employs 2,000, and the recent purchase of 57 acres by San Jacinto College. Dining and entertainment opportunities are blossoming, too, with Bibo's Bistro & Bar, Wholesome Pies (wood-fired pizzas), Wholesome Kitchen+Bar, and outdoor movie nights every Saturday (during the summer) at Redemption Square.

But how much does it cost to live in the Summerwood-Lakeshore market area? There's no shortage of inventory; a quick glance shows 474 active listings with an average list price of $337,960, or $120.49 per square foot.

There's already a contract on this stunning two story, four bedroom home at 16714 Okachobee (shown here and at the beginning of the story). The interior has easy to clean tile flooring — also perfect for wet feet — as well as coffered ceilings and an updated kitchen. Out back there's a covered patio and outdoor kitchen and, for the right offer, the sellers will leave the swim spa for the new homeowners.  Lake life is all yours with a two story boathouse that's got both water and electricity, a boat or jet ski lift, and an upper deck with 360 degree views of the lake. The property at 16714 Okachobee has been listed by Heidi Dix with JLA Realty for $649,900.

Dix, who has the inside track on area neighborhoods like Atascocita, Cypress, Humble, Kingwood, Lake Conroe, Magnolia and New Caney, has high praise for the Summerwood-Lakeshore market area. "Active families and weekend warriors alike will love all the fun to be had in this lakefront community. This community has it all: a multimillion-dollar recreation center, walking and biking trails," says Dix, who adds that there's also fishing and canoeing off the neighborhood pier.

Nestled within a mature forest and with exclusive access to the waterfront, this seven bedroom custom home at 13518 Lakeside Terrace also has a separate guest house and formal English gardens with boxwoods, azaleas and 16 types of trees including orange, lemon, fig and apple. Not only did the home and guest house escape flooding during Tropical Storm Harvey, the house itself has extra hurricane straps and reinforced concrete.

Built in 2005, it's got all the Energy Star built-ins and double-pane Low E windows you would expect, plus underground utilities and a deep water well that feeds the whole house. There's a six car garage, a billiard room, projection theater room, a screened porch with party lights, plus a small lakefront cabin. The master bedroom suite features a double tray ceiling, Gothic columns, access to an elevator, and a bathroom with custom painted mural. Linda Ihns of F C Realty Adv. has listed the home at 13518 Lakeside Terrace Drive for $1.4999 million. Explore it further in the below video from Ihns.


Ihns — who specializes in Atascocita, Fall Creek, Humble, Kingwood, Tomball, New Caney and Summerwood-Lakeshore — says there are a lot of nuances to the properties around Lake Houston. Some lie within the Sheldon Independent School District, while other homes will fall under Humble ISD, though the school property taxes will be higher for Humble. Then, there's an agreement that dates back to the mid 1950s when Alexander Deussen — a petroleum geologist who also taught at the University of Texas at Austin for ten years — donated 309 acres along Lake Houston. A public park named after him is there now, but that agreement has created exclusive access to homeowners that comes with some nice perks.

"Most of the people on that side of Lakeside Terrace, like the big house [at 13518 Lakeside Terrace], they have over four acres of exclusive access that they maintain but they don't pay taxes on it. They have a bulkhead, 690 feet of bulkhead, the pier, a boat lift, dock, and they pay the City of Houston $100 a year," says Ihns. "It’s such a great unkept secret.

"The people that know, they're grabbing up lots like crazy."

"The people that know, they're grabbing up lots like crazy." — Linda Ihns, F C Realty Adv.

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She says she's about to close on an oddly-shaped lot, just 150 feet by 100 feet with a teardown house on it, but it has 60,000 square feet of land behind it for building a boat pier or dock and is selling for $219,000.

For more information about the Summerwood-Lakeshore market area, visit HAR.com.

To learn more about the Greens Bayou Wetlands Mitigation Bank, visit greenswetbank.org.

For information about Houston's new business destination, Generation Park, visit generationpark.com.