According to the Greater Houston Partnership in its? ?Houston ? The Economy at a Glance? distributed June 2011, Houston has fared better than most and has now recovered three fourths of its job losses experienced during the recession.? For an indepth report on the Houston Economy, click here.
The Houston real estate market is currently being compared to last years? economic stimulus incentive ? the Homebuyer Tax Credit. Last year, the tax credit pulled buyer demand forward. ?When the tax credit deadline for being ?under contract? expired, and closings were completed circa July 15th, buyer demand declined.?? This year?s market is functioning under the normal market incentives found in homeownership ? mortgage interest rate deduction, building equity and currently, low interest rates.?
Houston Housing as it stands currently.?
Now is a great time to buy real estate in Houston.? Interest rates are still low, homes are well-priced and inventory is plentiful.? These assets never stay the same for long.? The single-family sales May YTD closed out at 20,343 or 7% fewer homes than last year. It has exceeded the 2010 May YTD in average sales price by 3% and is 8% above the number of homes on the market last year.?
Houston has experienced 15,146 contracts written year-to-date and is up from this time last year by 2%. This indicates the market is slowly returning to normal as just last month, contracts written were down by 2%. Contracts written are contracts scheduled to close in the future and indicate current buyer demand. ?
Houston Home Values Are Likely to Hold
Houstons? average sales price is up 3% year-to-date; yet median sales price [where half the homes sell above and half sell below the midpoint] is flat. Inventory has remained the same since last month and actually declined 2% from February to March and then 2% again from April to May.? This indicates no additional inventory has crept into the market that would inordinately hold housing values down.
| Houston Real Estate Information Services [MLS]May YTD 2011 vs. May YTD 2010 | ||
| ?Measurement | ?Amount | % change from 2010 |
| # of sales | 20,343 | -7% |
| Dollar volume | $4,270,246,267 | -4% |
| Average sales price | $209,912 | 3% |
| Median sales price | $150,000 | 0% |
| Contracts written | 15,146 | 2% |
| # of active listings | 32,223 | 8% |
The Price Class Spectrum Impact
?One definitive change in the Houston real estate market over last year has been buyer demand by price class.? Homes priced between $80,000 ? $299,999 are selling fewer units than last year and in many cases are experiencing double-digit declines.? Yet homes below $80,000 and above $500,000 [both extreme ends of the price class spectrum] are experiencing increases in buyer demand over last year.
At the high end of the price class spectrum, most notable of all price class sales increases is the
- $700,000-$799,999 range which has experienced a 37% increase over last year.?
- The second highest demand increase [29%] has been in the $900,000-$999,000 range and
- Homes priced $1 million and over are up 9% from 2010.
?The Houston overall market is so large, it rarely reflects the same trends as a submarket area located within its boundaries.? Some areas are shining brightly while others are not as lustrous.? For a breakdown of activity by area, CLICK HERE.
To see the hottest selling geographical areas in Houston, CLICK HERE.
To search for homes by price range, map and/or even foreclosures, go to www.GaryGreene.com.
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Data provided by the Houston Association of Realtors? Multiple Listing Service, and The Real Estate Center for Texas A&M and written by Toni Nelson, Director of Strategic Initiatives for Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors?
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