John Steen III Sells Historic Houston Home

Houston’s latest luxury sale oozes Texas history.

Oilman and King Ranch honcho John Steen III and his wife Mary Steen sold the home at 1419 Kirby Drive in Houston to attorney Ryan Pigg on May 20, public records show. The 1931 home, at one point a candidate for city landmark status, ranked among Houston’s top residential deals last month.

The five-bedroom, seven-bathroom home spans 6,300 square feet on a half-acre lot in the River Oaks neighborhood. The listing went under contract just 14 days after hitting the market at $6.5 million, ranking second among the city’s most expensive residential deals in May. The final sale price is unavailable, but the listing price works out to about $1,030 per square foot. Compass agent Mike Mahlstedt had the listing.

Katharine Mott, the city’s first woman developer, designed the property, according to the listing. The nonprofit Preservation Houston gave the Steens an award in 2022 for their restoration of the house. The city at one point considered the Steens’ home for landmark status, but it hasn’t been added to the official list of Houston landmarks.

The home sold after just 14 days on the market, according to the Houston Association of Realtors. For context, the typical Houston luxury home went under contract after a median of 40 days on market in the spring, Redfin found.

Steen is the vice chairman of King Ranch Incorporated, the Houston-based company that operates the historic 825,000-acre King Ranch in South Texas, considered the nation’s largest cattle ranch. Through his mother, Ida Clement, Steen traces his lineage to Richard King, who founded the ranch in 1853.

River Oaks is one of the city’s preeminent luxury neighborhoods, accounting for five of the top 10 most expensive residential listings that sold in Harris County last year. A fellow prewar home led the list: the 1938 mansion at 2110 River Oaks Boulevard, which asked $19 million when it sold last July.