Houston expert shares top tech trends impacting real estate

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From online homebuying to smart home features, 2024 and beyond is going to be an exciting time for homebuyers and the homebuilding industry alike. Photo via Getty Images

Technology continues to rapidly advance across the board and the real estate industry is no exception. However, it’s critical that the housing space welcomes online innovation and the upgrades that it brings to homebuyers with open arms.

As 2024 unfolds, I expect to see online homebuying, smart home features and online interior design options continue to become more prevalent. Being adaptable and providing these resources will only become increasingly important as younger generations move into their homebuying years.

Online Homebuying Gaining Momentum

As homebuyers are often overwhelmed when they begin their new home search online, it’s vital that the process is as seamless as possible. Utilizing technology that shows 3D views of homes for online tours, being able to text an online sales manager for real-time assistance, and offering virtually staged homes to help buyers get a better sense for how their new home will look, are among top trends to emerge. These technologies make the homebuying process efficient and transparent, which ultimately benefits consumers with more informed buying experiences. Taylor Morrison is a leader in the industry with its online reservation system, which allows customers to not only reserve an inventory home already in progress, but also choose a lot, floorplan, elevation, and structural options. The Houston Division was among one of the first housing markets to roll out the online reservation system and has seen firsthand that local homebuyers continue to opt for online resources when purchasing homes as it makes for a low-pressure experience. Since introducing the online reservation system, Houston reservations have a 42 percent conversion rate, while the national average is 31 percent.

Smart Home Features Becoming a Non-Negotiable

Smart home features like Ring doorbells, smart thermostats, electronic door locks, Wi-Fi garage door openers, carbon monoxide detectors, and LED disc lights are another technology trend that homebuyers will expect to have readily available in their new homes. While some might view these features as bells and whistles, they play a significant role in homebuying decision process as they directly correlate to safety and health. In the coming years, I foresee safety and wellness focused home technology becoming an industry standard and something on which many homebuyers won’t budge. In fact, according to a Taylor Morrison survey, more than one-third of home shoppers said they seek to purchase a new home rather than a resale for better in-home health and wellness features. Now, Taylor Morrison has TM LiveSmart, which is a standard offering for all new construction and provides healthy home features at no additional cost for safer and cleaner living.

Online Interior Design Offerings

Gone are the days of spending hours in home improvement stores searching for the right paint color or hardware option. Online design resources will become more sought out in 2024, allowing homebuyers to review available design selections right at their fingertips. Younger audiences are captivated by viral home décor styles seen on social media, so it’s important to tap into trends (like Coastal Grandma) and provide simple, online tools to help them recreate trends in their own homes. Taylor Morrison currently offers an online portal where buyers can draw inspiration from before their in-person Design Studio meetings, making for a more efficient and personal experience when crafting their new home’s aesthetic.

From online homebuying to smart home features, 2024 and beyond is going to be an exciting time for homebuyers and the homebuilding industry alike. While we’re only at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to technological advancements in housing, I’m eager to see how online innovation continues to develop and how we can bring new experiences to homebuyers.

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Todd Rasmusen is the Houston division president at Taylor Morrison.

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Houston hospital first in U.S. to use new system for minimally invasive surgery

sharper images

Houston’s Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center has introduced an innovative new surgical imaging system that will allow surgeons to increase the number of minimally invasive procedures as well as reposition on the fly during operations.

Minimally invasive surgery has been shown across the board to improve patient outcomes with less chance of infection and shorter recovery times compared to traditional open surgery. However, the human body is not exactly easy to work on through small incisions, necessitating the development of state-of-the-art cameras and imaging technology to guide surgeons.

Enter GE HealthCare’s Allia Moveo, now a part of the Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center operating room. Using cutting-edge technology, it uses the same high-definition imaging usually seen in the catheterization lab at speeds fast enough to respond to shifting surgical conditions. Its cable-free setup allows surgeons to switch positions much faster, and it features advanced 3D imaging that compensates for breathing motion and interference from metal implants.

Its design supports a range of cardiovascular, vascular, non-vascular, interventional and surgical procedures, according to CommonSpirit Health, a nonprofit Catholic health network, of which Baylor St. Luke's is a member.

“This innovative platform enhances how our clinicians navigate complex minimally invasive procedures by improving mobility, image clarity, and workflow efficiency. It strengthens our ability to deliver precise, patient-centered care while supporting our teams with technology designed for the evolving demands of modern interventional medicine,” Dr. Brad Lembcke, president of Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, said in a news release from Baylor and the Texas Heart Institute.

Baylor St. Luke’s is the first hospital in the U.S. to use the Allia Moveo technology. The definition and responsiveness of the new system allow surgeons to navigate the body with greater accuracy and smaller incisions, even for very delicate operations.

“Allia Moveo gives us the flexibility and image quality needed to manage increasingly complex minimally invasive procedures with greater confidence,” Dr. Gustavo Oderich, vascular surgeon and professor of surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, added in the release. “The ability to quickly reposition the system, obtain high-quality 3D imaging, and integrate advanced guidance tools directly into the workflow enhances procedural accuracy. This technology supports our mission to push the boundaries of what is possible in endovascular and interventional surgery.”

Houston clocks in as one of the hardest working cities in America

Ranking It

Houston and its residents are proving their tenacity as some of the hardest working Americans in 2026, so says a new study.

WalletHub's annual "Hardest-Working Cities in America (2026)" report ranked Houston the 37th most hardworking city nationwide. H-town last appeared as the 28th most industrious American city in 2025, but it still remains among the top 50.

The personal finance website evaluated 116 U.S. cities based on 11 key indicators across "direct" and "indirect" work factors, such as an individual's average workweek hours, average commute times, employment rates, and more.

The U.S. cities that comprised the top five include Cheyenne, Wyoming (No. 1); Anchorage, Alaska (No. 2); Washington, D.C. (No. 2); Sioux Falls, South Dakota (No. 4); and Irving, Texas (No. 5). Dallas and Austin also earned a spot among the top 10, landing as No. 7 and No. 10, respectively.

Based on the report's findings, Houston has the No. 31-best "direct work factors" ranking in the nation, which analyzed residents' average workweek hours, employment rates, the share of households where no adults work, the share of workers leaving vacation time unused, the share of "engaged" workers, and the rate of "idle youth" (residents aged 16-24 that are not in school nor have a job).

However, Houston lagged behind in the "indirect work factors" ranking, landing at No. 77 out of all 116 cities in the report. "Indirect" work factors that were considered include residents' average commute times, the share of workers with multiple jobs, the share of residents who participate in local groups or organizations, annual volunteer hours, and residents' average leisure time spent per day.

Based on data from The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), WalletHub said the average American employee works hundreds of more hours than workers residing in "several other industrialized nations."

"The typical American puts in 1,796 hours per year – 179 more than in Japan, 284 more than in the U.K., and 465 more than in Germany," the report's author wrote. "In recent years, the rise of remote work has, in some cases, extended work hours even further."

WalletHub also tracked the nation's lowest and highest employment rates based on the largest city in each state from 2009 to 2024.

ranking

Source: WalletHub

Other Texas cities that earned spots on the list include Fort Worth (No. 13), Corpus Christi (No. 14), Arlington (No. 15), Plano (No. 17), Laredo (No. 22), Garland (No. 24), El Paso (No. 43), Lubbock (No. 46), and San Antonio (No. 61).

Data for this study was sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Travel Association, Gallup, Social Science Research Council, and the Corporation for National & Community Service as of January 29, 2026.

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

With boost from Houston, Texas is the No. 1 state for economic development

governor's cup

Texas is on a 14-year winning streak as the top state for attracting job-creating business location and expansion projects.

Once again, Texas has claimed Site Selection magazine’s Governor’s Cup. This year’s honor recognizes the state with the highest number of economic development projects in 2025. Texas landed more than 1,400 projects last year.

Ron Starner, executive vice president of Site Selection, calls Texas “a dynasty in economic development.”

Among metro areas, Houston lands at No. 2 for the most economic development projects secured last year (590), behind No. 1 Chicago and ahead of No. 3 Dallas-Fort Worth.

In praising Houston as a project magnet, Gov. Greg Abbott cites the November announcement by pharmaceutical giant Lilly that it’s building a $6.5 billion manufacturing plant at Houston’s Generation Park.

“Growth in the Greater Houston region is a great benefit to our state’s economy, a major location for foreign direct investment and key industry sectors like energy, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, and life sciences,” Abbott tells Site Selection. “Houston is also home to one of the largest concentrations of U.S. headquarters for companies from around the world.”

In 2025, Fortune ranked Houston as the U.S. city with the third-highest number of Fortune 500 headquarters (26).

Texas retained the Governor’s Cup by gaining over 1,400 business location and expansion projects last year, representing more than $75 billion in capital investments and producing more than 42,000 new jobs.

Site Selection says Texas’ project count for 2025 handily beat second-place Illinois (680 projects) and third-place Ohio (467 projects). Texas’ number for 2025 represented 18% of all qualifying U.S. projects tracked by Site Selection.

“You can see that we are on a trajectory to ensure our economic diversification is going to inoculate us in good times, as well as bad times, to ensure our economy is still going to grow, still create new jobs, prosperity, and opportunities for Texans going forward,” Abbott says.

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