Katy Texas, was originally know for it's rice fields and rice farms, and seemed so far away...how times have changed!  The oil energy corridor located on I-10 just a few miles from Katy started the growth.  The Katy Independent School District has become one of the top rated school districts in the US, which quickly added more growth to the area.  Park Ten, which stared developing 25 years ago now is home to many major corporations, shopping, and more.  What used to be rice fields are now subdivisions.  Along with the growth of course we lost some of the small town charm, endless fields for migratory birds, and vast horizons with the most incredible sunsets I have seen anywhere in the world.  In the late 80's before the major recession and oil dropped to $10 a barrel, American General bought one of the largest tracks of land to develop into a subdivision and named it Cinco Ranch.  It was a working ranch and was named after the five (Cinco) brothers who worked the ranch.  At the time of the purchase it was one of the highest prices ever paid for raw land in the far west area of Houston.  As with all development came good things as well as loosing some of the reasons a lot of people were originally drawn to the area, myself included.  The peace, quiet, and wide open spaces no longer exist, and those incredible sunsets are now blocked by homes, and office buildings.  Of course there was a lot of good things that came with the development, one of the most essentials was a place to buy groceries.  When I fist moved to Katy in 1978 and opened one of the first Real Estate companies in the area, we had to dive into Houston (Kirkwood), or into Katy proper to buy food.  Mason Road was two lanes and dead-ended at Highland Knoll...Oh the good old days, of course unless you needed milk!  The West side of Houston and Katy have become one of the best places in the greater Houston area to live, and now we have so much to choose from.  I will be writing more about the growth, prices, development as time allows, but for now I am happy I choose Katy to buy a home, to live in and to work in.  I have been in Houston since the late 60's, and would not want to live anywhere else.  Liz Carter.

Liz is the owner/broker of Liz Carter & Team Realty, est. 1976.  She has three generations of her family working with her Real Estate Co., and they are now selling homes to second generations of clients.  Visit them at http://www.lizcarter.com/.  Her firm is located at Mason Road @ I-10