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Welcome to the Seller's Market

By
Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Realty The Woodlands

The Woodlands

 

The Woodlands has most definitely stepped up its game in the past decade.  When the recession hit, The Woodlands blew right past the economic hurt, continuing to grow and flourish.  Today, The Woodlands is the third master planned community in the United States.  Especially with the Exxon Mobil "campus" headquarters relocating to what used to be our small suburbia, the diversity and population growth has skyrocketed and further encourages enlargement of our already booming real estate industry.  Not surprisingly, the increase in population means a decrease in the supply of housing options.  Welcome to the Seller's Market!

A quick review for our housing-savvy varied audience: a seller's market is a market in which there is less than a six month supply of available housing that is listed in Multiple Listing Services.

Impactnews.com states: "Over the past year in The Woodlands, there has been less than a two-month supply. According to Heritage Texas Properties, 2,415 homes were sold between May 2012 and April 2013 in the five ZIP codes that encompass The Woodlands. Those homes spent an average of 57 days on the market before they were sold."

Homes listed on the market are turning over in a matter of hours.  There are several factors that lend to this high demand, a couple being the low mortgage rates, the low unemployment rate (four percent lower than Houston's) and the improved economy here in The Woodlands.   

My assumption is there is consciousness about how long those mortgage rates may stay this low,” said Tim Welbes, co-president of The Woodlands Development Company. “Apparently thousands of people decided at the beginning of 2013 they had better buy something... {Plus} given the low unemployment rate in South Montgomery County, that tends to keep everyone in their property,” Welbes said. “Therefore, there is a lack of supply that is due to high employment. You keep people in their homes due to a high rate of employment.”

Construction has not been keeping up with the demand for homes, which has caused the overflow of home buyers into the leasing market.  Again, the introduction of Exxon's new headquarters will not help with the demand.  It is estimated that around 12,000 employees will be starting in 2015, the majority of which will be looking for real estate.

So the take away here for all you buyers out there is that there is no time to be picky.  Where buyers used to look at 10-15 houses before making a decision, now you're lucky if you can see 3-4 and even luckier if the house you submit an offer on accepts your offer over other buyers.  If you have better financial contingencies than your competitors and can offer a better down payment, you have a better chance of winning out.  And don't forget, you can always enlist the help of your local real estate agent!

 Picture cited from: http://www.thewoodlands.com/

Article citation: 

     Walzel, Brian.  (June 13, 2013).  Woodlands in the midst of a seller's market.  Community Impact Newspaper.  Retrieved June 30, 2013: http://impactnews.com/houston-metro/the-woodlands/woodlands-in-the-midst-of-a-sellers-market/.

Comments (2)

Li Read
Sea to Sky Premier Properties (Salt Spring) - Salt Spring Island, BC
Caring expertise...knowledge for you!

Excellent post...so important that buyers understand that if they were fence-sitters, the moment of acting for "the deal" is past.  

Jul 06, 2013 05:34 AM
Kathy Stoltman
Balboa Real Estate - Ventura, CA
Ventura County Real Estate Consultant 805-746-1793

Well stated Kathy, we have a very similar market here as well.

Jul 06, 2013 05:39 AM