Founded in the early 1900’s on what was originally William Marsh Rice’s (Rice University founder) ranch, Bellaire was originally an agricultural trading center. It soon became a residential area and was connected downtown to Main Street by a trolley.
This city within the city just south of the Galleria and west of the Medical Center, has its own zip code (77401), four parks and is made up of many neighborhoods, including Braeburn Country Club Estates, Bellaire Place and Bellaire Oaks, Teas Garden Pin Oak Estates, Mulberry Manor and Westmoreland Farms. Bellaire’s government is made up of a mayor and six city council members. There are three private schools and the public schools are in the Houston Independent School District, including the highly acclaimed Bellaire High School.
The average home is 43 years old, but with all of the new construction being built that number is rapidly decreasing. According to HARMLS, 246 homes sold in 2015 with a low of $295,000, a high of $3,100,000 and an average of $1,015,000 ($273/SF – 5% higher than 2014).