E.H. Fleming developed Southampton in the 1920s. The Southampton Civic Club was formed after a meeting on May 24, 1929. When some land appraisals doubled from 1990 to 1991, over 30% of Southampton residents protested. The Harris County Appraisal District said that because tear-down development, causing smaller older houses to be replaced with larger newer houses, is occurring, then one expects to see an increase in valuation. Values leveled off in some nearby communities. Around 2007 the company Buckhead Investment Partners Inc. proposed building a 23 story high rise building, called the Ashby High Rise, at a site at 1717 Bissonnet at Ashby. Many residents of Southampton opposed the developer's plan. Several residents of Southampton and Boulevard Oaks formed a task force intended to oppose the development, and they hired Rusty Hardin, an attorney, to help with the efforts.
In 2000 Southampton had 601 houses. Southampton's housing stock includes brick cottages, bungalows, and classical Georgian houses. The houses used side porches and used large wooden windows to help with cooling in the pre-air conditioning era. The houses have alley accesses behind them, which allow for vehicles and trash to be kept out of sight from the street and for more green space to be placed in front of houses. By 1999 many of the older houses had been remodeled to the tastes of contemporary families. Feser said that a typical remodeling project in Southampton included an addition of a master bath suite, an expansion of the kitchen, and an addition of a den. As of 2000 the houses were very expensive and in demand due to the community's central location. In 1999, Edie Archer of Greenwood King Properties said that most houses sold between $300,000 to $600,000. During that year, two renovated older houses sold for over $1 million each, and some recently built stucco-style and Mediterranean-style houses sold for closer to $600,000, while some cottages in the periphery of Southampton sold for below $300,000. Archer said that houses typically sold for $50,000 to $100,000 more in 2000 than they did in 1998. In 2001 the most inexpensive houses in Southampton were priced in the $300,000s. The original Southampton documents, established around 1925 set minimum prices for house constructions. On Sunset Boulevard, the minimum prices were from $8,000 to $10,000. For Rice Boulevard the minimums were $12,000 to $15,000. For other areas, the minimums were $5,000 to $7,000.
Demographics
In 2005 Allison Cook said "There's just more disposable income in Southampton, Houston, Broad Acres and storied Shadow Lawn than in Southgate".
Government and infrastructure
The Southampton Civic Club Inc. is the homeowner's association. The community has deed restrictions which require minimum set-backs from the street and prevent the establishment of businesses within the neighborhood's boundary. Katherine Feser of the Houston Chronicle said the enforcement of the restrictions helped "maintain a consistent feel" in Southampton. Southampton is a part of the University Place Super Neighborhood Council. The Southampton/Boulevard Oaks Patrol Service provides private security to the community and to Boulevard Oaks. It is within Houston City Council District C. The Houston Police Department's South Central Patrol Division, headquartered at 2022 St. Emanuel., serves the neighborhood. Southampton is in Texas's 7th congressional district .
Fleming Park, a City of Houston park, is located in Southampton. It has two full tennis courts, a picnic pavilion, and a playground. A "Friends of the Park" group helps maintain the park.
Media
The Houston Chronicle is the area regional newspaper. On Thursdays, residents receive the Bellaire/West U/River Oaks/Meyerland local section. The West University Examiner is a local newspaper distributed in the community . The Village News is a local newspaper distributed in the community. In the mid-20th century the community newspaper Southwestern Times served Southampton and surrounding communities. The paper was headquartered in Rice Village.
