HOUSTON, TX GENERAL INFORMAION
Known as both the Bayou City and Space City, Houston, Texas was founded in 1836 and named after General Sam Houston. With a population of close to 2 million, it's the 4th largest city in the United States. The city has been a dynamic center of business since the early 1900s and is also the leader in space technology, being home to NASA and the Johnson Space Center. The port area is thriving and connected to the city by the Houston Ship Channel. Other well known areas are Interstate 10's Energy Corridor, the Galleria, and the world class Texas Medical Center. Houston's feel is diverse, with both a high rise skyline and waterways like the Buffalo Bayou, which winds through the city.
Recently, downtown Houston has been transferred into a dynamic area of the city for both entertainment and residential living. Many new lofts and townhomes have been built in and near downtown and other buildings have been converted from commercial to residential use.
Houston has major league football, baseball, basketball ( men's and women's), and soccer teams, as well as AHL hockey. It also has separate horse and greyhound racing tracks.
For the theatre lovers, Houston is one of the few cities that has permanent ballet, orchestra, opera, and theatre companies.
Houston offers most everything you could possibly desire in real estate.
Fell free to view our INTERACTIVE MAP of Houston.
HOUSTON, TX HOMES SALES - MARKET REPORT, MARCH 2010
Note: Due to the large volume of homes sold, I usually need two months to compile data. So in March, I'll be using January data, obtained from the Houston Association of Realtors.
Although the whole nation, including Houston, has been affected by the economy and bad debt,the problems have affected Houston housing much less than most other areas of the country. According to a Builder magazine March 2009 article, Houston tops the list of the nation's healthiest housing markets. Here's a little bit of history: The year 2007 was the second best year in Houston on record based on the HAR stats. Total property sales were lower in 2007 than in 2006, but total dollar volume was a record high. So in a nutshell, less homes were sold, but for more money.
This trend continued in 2008, until October, when both total sales and average prices declined. This was probably a result of both the troubled economy and Hurricane Ike. Since then, both stats continued to be less than those from the previous year until September, partially due to the fact that many of the sales were foreclosures at below market prices. However in September 2009 total single family home sales increased 32.0% from September 2008. The main reason is that real estate and many other services were basically shut down for several weeks following the hurricane in 2008. In October 2009, total single family home sales increased 13.8 % from October 2008 and in November 2009 sales increased 32.8 % over last November. I'm sure that the " Ike Effect" played a factor in this statistic also. December numbers appear to be more realistic. December sales numbers decreased by 2.1 % from Deember 2008.
In January 2010, total single family home sales decreased 12.3% from last January. If you break it out, homes priced at $500,000 and above increased and homes priced at $80,000 and below decreased. The January 2010 average sales price increased from last year by 18.4 % to $194,454, the highest January price in Houston history. The median price which is a price where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less was $144,500, a 11.9 % increase from January 2009, the 9th straight monthly increase. Foreclosures sales decreased 30.1 % from a year earlier.
Townhomes and condo January sales increased 14.8 % in total sold from January 2009. In January 2010, the average sale price was $147,501, a 4.7 % decrease from last year.
In closing, the Houston housing market is still stronger in pricing than other areas of the country, although the foreclosures, more stringent lending requirements, lower oil prices and poor economy have affected us. Our employment numbers and cost of living are considered some of the best in the country. Houston's favorable job and housing market have been mentioned in recent issues of BusinessWeek, Financial Times, Newsweek, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, and Kiplinger's Personal Finance. NAR's chief economist, Dr. Lawrence Yun has predicted that Houston and Denver would be the top US cities in home price performance in 2009. In Houston, in recent years, you have been able to purchase a home for less than in many other cities and the value has increased. According to the National Association of Realtors, Houston's current median sales price for a single family home is $144,500 compared to the national average of $177,500. Month's inventory in Houston is 6.1 months compared to the national average of 7.2 months. This indicates the great value of living in Houston. If your credit is good and you look on the bright side, interest rates have declined to near 50 year lows and the inventory is up, making this a good time to buy. Mortgage folks are seeing indicators that rates may increase this year though.
The new stimulus package has been extended until April 30, 2010 and the income limits to participate have been increased. This will help first time homebuyers up to $8000 in tax credit and the repayment provision has been eliminated. In addition, a new program has begun which could give folks up to $6500 if they buy a new home after living in their existing home for 5 years. Please call me for details, but the tax credit is good for homes priced up to $800,000. Interest rates have begun to increase and I've read that 1% increase in interest rates will wipe out a 10% reduction in cost, so if you have been waiting to buy at the bottom, it's something to consider. I read in the Houson Chronicle that "the experts" are predicting that Texas will be the first state to recover from the economic downturn.
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