Happy 2015! A good year for home sales?

I heard on the radio last week that the real-estate market under-performed expectations in 2014. Then the same day I read that 2015 could see another bubble in the market.

It's all local; prices and activity in one city experiencing an overheated market would signify a slow, buyers' market in another.

In the San Antonio metro, 2014 was a good year for home sales. Traditionally, the city has not experienced the volatility of other markets in Texas, and this year was no different. According to figures from the San Antonio Board of REALTORS, the time on market never rose over 4.7 months, signifying a seller's market. That occurred during the summer months, traditionally the busiest, when most homes are on the market for sale. The average sales price in November was $225,674. One year earlier, it had been $215,628.

However, on the MLS I saw many price reductions, homes coming back on the market after going under contract, and even builders reducing prices and adding more incentives than usual to sell spec homes. This indicates to me that buyers still have more clout than you'd expect in a seller's market. However, a major reason for contracts falling out is the difficulty of obtaining mortgages. Although interest rates have been incredibly low all year, underwriting guidelines have been getting more and more strict. (Strict to the point of being ridiculous, in my opinion.)

Another sign that home sales are expected to be brisk in San Antonio this year is the reappearance of flyers and ads for home-buying seminars aimed at beginning real-estate investors. That will be the subject of a future post; for now, suffice it to say: save your money.

FYI, the San Antonio MLS area and metro area includes the counties of Bexar, Comal, and Guadalupe, among others, and the nearby cities of New Braunfels, Schertz, Selma, Cibolo, and Boerne, as well as "bedroom community" cities such as Alamo Heights, Castle Hills, Hill Country Village, and Terrell Hills.