Help me Find the Blind Spot

[Omar Hernandez]

Hoping to get some feedback from people who know Houston or have dealt with a similar situation.

I have two new construction duplexes near Hobby Airport — 9439 and 9441 Radio Rd. Both are 2-story, 2 bed / 2.5 bath per unit, finished September 2025, fully permitted. These things are barely 8 months old with zero maintenance issues — as turnkey as it gets.

9441 is fully occupied at $1,800 per unit, $3,600 a month gross. 9439 is at 50% occupancy right now at $1,800, with the other unit turning over at the end of the month. That one could be a strong owner-occupant play for the right buyer — live in one side, rent the other, and let the tenant cover most of your mortgage. Tenant pays all utilities.

The numbers on each property:

Asking: $445,000
Price per door: $222,500
Price per sq ft: ~$212
Gross rent (fully occupied): $3,600/mo — $43,200/yr
Gross rent multiplier: ~10.3
Annual taxes: ~$9,500 (2.5% of appraised value per HCAD)
Maintenance: essentially none — 8 months old

Location context that I think gets overlooked: These are 5 minutes from Hobby Airport, about 10 miles from the Texas Medical Center — one of the largest medical employment hubs in the world — and roughly 20 minutes from downtown via I-45. The rental demand in this corridor is real and the street reflects it. There is another builder who put up 30 to 40 three-story duplexes on the same street. They are listed higher than mine and appear to be moving.

So here is what I genuinely cannot figure out. My units are cash-flowing now, priced below the competition on the same street, in a submarket with clear development momentum, and I am sitting. Is the 2-story layout actually a dealbreaker compared to the 3-story product flooding this corridor? Is the Hobby submarket still carrying hesitation with outside investors despite everything happening on this street? Or is this just a case of not getting it in front of the right people?

Genuinely want to know what the hesitation is so I can either fix it or move on. If you have bought in this area, passed on something like this, or just have a strong read on the Houston market right now, I would love to hear your honest take. What would make this a no-brainer for you, and what is making you scroll past it?