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 researchers develop breakthrough device that could bypass spinal injuries

breakthrough research

Scientists at Houston Methodist have announced a significant leap forward for spinal cord injury recovery.

The researchers have developed a device that essentially bypasses spinal injuries, allowing signals from previously “lost” functions to reach the brain, a new study published in Nature Communications shows.

“Most current technologies try to improve whatever function remains after a spinal cord injury,” Dr. Damiano Barone, assistant professor of neurosurgery in the Department of Neurosurgery at Houston Methodist and co-lead on the study, said in a news release. “Our goal is different. Rather than fixing the injury itself, we want to bypass it completely and create an alternative route for signals to travel.”

The study involved a single ultrathin circumferential electrode array made to conform around the spinal cord without penetrating neural tissue, which was implanted into rodent and pig models with spinal injuries. The electrode array was able to interpret motor, sensory and autonomic signals around the injury. Think of it as a set of detours that restore road access to isolated towns after a disaster destroys the highway instead of just rebuilding the highway.

Over the course of three days, the arrays detected signals of intended movement from low-frequency spinal oscillations with more than 94 percent accuracy. This worked across species and was replicated in feasibility studies on human cadavers.

This research could serve as a new foundation for neuroprosthetic implants that could restore connectivity to the 2.5 million people worldwide suffering from spinal injuries that result in loss of ability. Future development could result in everything from restored organ function to mobility, according to Houston Methodist.

George Malliaras, the Prince Professor of Technology in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge, who co-led the study, sees it as a fundamental restructuring of the science of spinal trauma.

“This could represent a paradigm change in how we think about spinal cord injuries,” Malliaras said. “Instead of starting from the idea that what is lost is gone forever, this approach asks whether we can restore function by carrying the signal around the injury.”

Further work involving laboratory models will need to be completed before launching human trials.

Grants from the National Institutes of Health, Houston Methodist Katz Investigator Award, Helaers Research Award and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council helped support the study. Other collaborators on the study include Salim Hadwe, Ruben Serrano, George Psaltakis, Margaux Forner, Chaeyeon Lee, Sydney Swedick, Moleca Ghnnam, Tawfique Hasan and Alejandro Carnicer-Lombarte from the University of Cambridge; and Anton Banta and Xueer Zhang from Houston Methodist.

Abbott assembles expert team to help lure U.S. Space Academy to Texas

space race

State Rep. Greg Bonnen of Friendswood has been tapped to lead a new team that will promote Texas as the future home of the U.S. Space Academy.

Bonnen, a neurosurgeon, chairs Houston Physicians’ Hospital and the powerful Texas House Appropriations Committee. His House district is close to NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

Gov. Greg Abbott appointed the seven-member team. Last month, President Trump signed an executive order establishing the Presidential Commission on the U.S. Space Academy. Commission members, who held their first meeting this month, will recommend a permanent location for the academy.

Texas officials are pushing a site near Johnson Space Center to host the academy. Alabama, Colorado and Florida are among Texas’ competitors.

In a joint statement, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, both of Texas, issued a statement backing the state’s bid for the academy. Cruz lives in Houston. Babbin lives in Woodville, about 55 miles south of Beaumont.

“America’s space program is built across the country, but Texas is where the pieces come together,” the lawmakers said. “We are ready to lead the next generation of space pioneers and look forward to showing why Texas is the right home for the U.S. Space Academy.”

The academy’s curriculum will include technical education, leadership development and public service components. Graduates will be set up for careers in the U.S. military, civil service, and aerospace sectors.

The Abbott-appointed team will work with the Texas Space Commission to prepare the state’s proposal for the academy.

In addition to Bonnen, team members with ties to Houston include:

  • Robert Ambrose, who grew up in Houston. He worked at Johnson Space Center before becoming associate director of the Texas A&M Space Institute.
  • Former NASA astronaut Nancy Curry-Gregg, director of the Texas A&M Space Institute. She earned a doctoral degree from the University of Houston and previously worked at Johnson Space Center.
  • Former NASA astronaut Jack Fischer, senior vice president of Houston-based Intuitive Machines. The company builds spacecraft, delivers payloads to the moon and launches satellites.

“Texas is the home of America’s human spaceflight program,” Abbott said in a release. “No state can match what Texas brings to this mission.”

“NASA’s Johnson Space Center, world-class universities, a premier commercial space industry, major military installations, and an unmatched aerospace workforce give Texas every asset the United States Space Academy requires,” the governor added.

Houston university named No. 10 in nation and more top innovation news

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Editor's note: September sees a flurry of news for the innovation community, with one Houston university topping a nationwide ranking and one Houston-area NASA contractor poised to go public. Here are the five most-read Houston innovation headlines published September 1-15, 2026:

Houston university ranks No. 10 best in the U.S. in new 2027 report

Education ranking and review website Niche has released its 2027 rankings of the best colleges in the U.S., and Rice University leads as the No. 1 best university in Texas, and No. 10 best nationwide. Rice University ranked 10th in three national lists: Best Colleges in America, Top Private Universities, and Colleges with the Best Professors. Continue reading.

Houston-area NASA contractor plans Nasdaq IPO

Webster-based NASA contractor Rothe Development Inc. has filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to go public. Rothe, a minority- and woman-owned business, hasn’t yet identified how many shares it will sell and how much money its IPO might raise. Rothe plans to offer Class B common stock on the Nasdaq exchange. Continue reading.

10+ can't-miss Houston business and innovation events for September

The energy transition and AI will be the talk of this town this month, thanks to a packed calendar of Houston events. September brings the return of Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week and some of its signature anchor events, plus AI conferences and talks exploring how the technology is impacting everything from healthcare to leadership. Here’s what not to miss and how to register. Continue reading.

Amazon's robotaxi service Zoox rolls out in 'sprawling' Houston market

Amazon-owned robotaxi ride-hailing service Zoox is zooming into Houston in September, becoming the latest robotaxi operator jockeying for local riders. Initially, self-driving retrofitted SUVs with safety drivers on board will serve downtown Houston, centrally located tourist hotspots, and certain residential neighborhoods. The SUVs will test Houston roads before Zoox rolls out autonomous robotaxis here, the company says. Continue reading.

10 Houston billionaires land on Forbes' 2026 list of richest Americans

The richest billionaires in America have a collective worth of $8 trillion in 2026, a staggering $1.4 trillion increase since last year, says Forbes. American billionaires are so wealthy that it now takes an unprecedented $4.4 billion net worth to be considered one of the richest people in the country. And one local billionaire has regained the title as Houston's wealthiest resident. Oil tycoon Jeffery Hildebrand, 67, now reigns as the No. 1 richest Houstonian, the 9th richest Texan, and the 88th richest person in America for 2026. Continue reading.

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