Houston Real Estate Market still holding up

The Houston market is holding up much better than the national market as a whole. 

Each market is different so listening to the national housing numbers provides no better gauge of how the market is doing than listening to a national weather report does.

If you remove all of the foreclosure sales from the overall market, pricing is only down fractionally (1.2 percent in February), because the median sales price of a foreclosed home is in the $80,000 range, versus the $165,000 median for non-foreclosure home sales.

Recent Accolades for Houston Real Estate Market:

·         Site Selection magazine: “Top Metro Market” for corporate location and expansion activity

·         Builder magazine: called Houston the healthiest housing market in the nation.

·         BusinessWeek: Katy was named the second fastest growing residential community in the U.S.

·         BusinessWeek.com: Friendswood was named the most affordable suburb in Texas in 2009

·         Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate: ranked Houston as the 8th best investment market in the world

·         Allied Van Lines’ 41st Annual Magnet States Report: Texas has taken its place as the No. 1 destination state for residential relocations for the fourth year in a row

·         Forbes: Houston was ranked as the sixth strongest housing market in the country

A January 2009 research report by Goldman Sachs listed Houston as the number one major metropolitan real estate market in the country, with an expected eight percent increase in prices during the next two years (meaning four percent per year).  Only two other cities (Dallas and Denver) were even expected to see rising prices during the same two-year period.

While the national months’ inventory is 9.7 months, Houston is only 5.9 months, which means we have a much better balance between the supply and demand.

Economists believe that Houston will rebound before the nation because we have a stronger local economy, which generated 26,800 new jobs in 2008 alone, according to the Texas Workforce Commission—the most of any city in the country.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun named Houston and Denver as his expected top two real estate markets in 2009.

Timing the market can be tricky so rather than looking for the “bottom,” consumers should determine if their current particular financial position makes it a good time to buy considering the various incentives, historically low interest rates and available choices on the market.

We are at mortgage interest rate levels not seen since the 1950s.

Opportunities are often greatest when markets are in a period of adjustment. The American Dream of Homeownership can become a reality and is particularly favorable in a stronger market such as Houston.

For those who might consider a foreclosed home to purchase: there are many great homes out there that can be purchased for significantly less than you might have been able to when they were built.  Seize the opportunity now.