A quick look at Houston’s Housing Market in 2011
With a quick glance at the overall tends in housing throughout the nation, we see that the market is not quite up to where it was before the economic crisis that has affected different industries in the last few years. Houston has provided somewhat of a departure from most of the real estate numbers of the United States. The city and surrounding area has been consistently ranked among the best markets in the nation, even when real estate isn’t thriving. Along with great statistics showing the success of the area, developers and real estate professionals are continuing to use a number of techniques in an effort to keep the market thriving.
When the Houston Association of Realtors gave a return on their recent statistics, they showed improving numbers for the area. In both medium income homes and homes over $500,000 there was a heavy increase varying from 19 to 26 percent. In comparison with the rest of the United States, many areas were seeing declines of up to 40 percent. Therefore, a gain of around 22 percent in housing purchases for multiple income brackets is extremely impressive. In overall housing sales, the Houston area has only experienced a very slight drop, as the national drop was nearly 10 percent.
The Houston area has consistently ranked among not only in the top ten markets in the nation, but it has also charted near the top numerous times. Recent publications such as the National Business Journal and Forbes have each listed the Houston area as one of the top performers in real estate, especially in comparison to the rest of the United States.
In Forbes’ ranking, Houston was charted as the number three housing market in the nation behind Pittsburgh and Louisville. Also, Austin and Dallas charted in at the bottom of the top 10. According to a recent report by the National Business Journal, the Houston area is the strongest market for housing in the country. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are over $4 billion in private housing projects in development within the area. This is nearly 20 million more than the second place city on the list.
In addition to the lofty stats that are being recorded about the local housing market, Houston apartment, condominium and housing developers are continuing to explore new features in an effort to keep their properties on the cutting edge. Most prominently, a number of area developers are turning their focus to eco friendly building habits and amenities in their property. As far as building goes, developers are looking towards using eco friendly products throughout such as toxic free paint and insulation installations. A number of properties are also increasing sustainability through the use of solar panels, as well as looking into new additions such as rain water irrigation in an effort to improve all facets of eco friendliness.
Even though this is just one example of the forward thinking going on in Houston, there’s much to talk about. Area developers seem to be looking ahead and attempting to stay in line with the best new real estate features out there. This progress along with continuous numbers showing the success of the local market will only continue to push the Houston area real estate picture to the forefront.
Article written by Emma Summers.
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