In Houston, Texas, massive office buildings that once buzzed with oil executives, engineers and energy traders now sit empty, with abandoned desks, computer screens and haunting silence.
The oil industry runs so deep in the heart of Texas that the series Landman, about roughnecks trying to get rich quick in the oil business, is a massive hit.
But in real life, a wave of big oil and natural gas consolidations in 2023, totaling more than $450 billion in deals, caused so many job cuts that offices were left deserted.
Of the 20 biggest US metro areas, Houston has the highest percentage of people working in the oil industry, according to Moody’s Analytics.
After the mergers and job losses the housing market in the city also felt the pinch.
In early 2025, Houston’s office vacancy rate soared to 27.9 percent, placing the metro behind only San Francisco, reports Bloomberg.
Now, sellers who can no longer afford to pay for a home are desperately trying to offload their properties.
So many homes are currently listed that in September, prices posted their biggest year-over-year decline since 2023, according to a report from CoStar.