Home sales in the Tomball and Magnolia area decreased year over year in January, declining 3.6%, according to market data provided by local real estate firm The Renee Leslie Group.

What you need to know: Despite home sales rising in three of the five Tomball- and Magnolia-area ZIP codes, total home sales decreased 3.6% year over year in January.

Also of note: The median price of homes sold year over year in January increased in three of the five ZIP codes in the Tomball and Magnolia area. 77362 saw the largest percentage increase of 24.13%—going from $290,829 to $361,000.

What else: In four of the five ZIP codes in the Tomball and Magnolia area, the average time on the market decreased year over year in January. The largest percentage decrease was in 77355 at 12.66%—homes went from spending an average of 79 days on the market last January to 69 days on the market this January.

Due to property repurposing, KMR Equestrian relocated in January to a new location, officials confirmed. The business was previously located along FM 2978.

The details: KMR Equestrian offers summer camps, horse sales and leases and hunter/jumper equestrian riding lessons for beginner to advanced riders.

• 20530 Forestview, Magnolia

During the first week of early voting for the March primary election, Feb. 17-22, close to 7% of registered voters in Montgomery County cast their ballots, according to Montgomery County Election Central.

Breaking it down: Spread throughout six days, 31,061 total votes were cast—or 6.62% of registered voters—according to data from Montgomery County Election Central. The Democratic Party saw 8,265 total votes, and the Republican Party saw 22,794.  
As of Feb. 22, there were 468,963 registered voters within the county, according to Montgomery County Election Central.

The highest number of votes cast for the Democratic Party came Feb. 21; meanwhile, the highest vote count for the Republican Party came Feb. 20, according to the county election data. 
 

A total of 137,395 in-person and mail-in ballots have been cast in Harris County, more than halfway through the 10-day early voting period ahead of the March 3 primary election.

In a nutshell: Early in-person voting runs from Feb. 17-27, and election day is March 3. 

In Harris County, voters can cast their ballot at any polling location during early voting and on election day. The county has 60 early voting locations.

In Texas, to vote in either a Democratic or Republican primary election, voters do not have to be registered to vote in that party, but must choose one party's election.

Quote of note: “Primary elections are the first step to November,” Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth said via the release. “As we enter the midterm election season, I urge voters to educate themselves on the issues and candidates, and to make their voices heard early in the process.”

Some context: During the March 2024 primary election, 211,223 voters cast ballots during the entire early voting period, as previously reported by Community Impact.

After nearly four years of development, Sam Houston State University officially cut the ribbon to open its new Health Professions Building on Feb. 17.

Two-minute impact: The $65 million, 81,000-square-foot facility has been in early development since 2023, according to prior reporting from Community Impact. Built to operate alongside the College of Osteopathic Medicine, the new facility's strategic location offers students a “regional home to several major health care systems,” according to a Feb. 18 news release. This allows students in SHSU's health programs to learn and work alongside health care professionals in real-world settings.

More details: SHSU will host four programs in the new facility:

• Master of Science in Athletic Training
• Master of Science in Dietetics
• Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies
• Doctor of Physical Therapy

Hundreds of volunteers will hit the streets Tuesday night across Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties to begin the annual Point-in-Time survey, which catalogues the number of individuals experiencing homelessness on a single night in the three counties.

How it works: The Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County and The Way Home have been conducting the annual survey since 2011. The survey provides a snapshot of sheltered and unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness year-over-year.

Volunteers will count sheltered individuals Feb. 23 as the official "night of record," according to a Feb. 20 news release. Meanwhile, the unsheltered portion of the count will take place over three days—Feb. 24-26.

Why it matters: The count is typically a part of a federal funding process for local homelessness response systems like The Way Home.

"The count helps identify service gaps, geographic shifts and emerging needs across the region and allows the community to track trends over time using a consistent methodology."