Real Estate Market Update Houston and The Woodlands
01/12/2009
Houston Real Estate Market
The following is an excerpt from the December 2008 MLS Press Release as released by the Houston Association of Realtors on January 20, 2009:
"Property sales throughout the greater Houston area ended 2008 as they began, with lower volume following two consecutive record years. Overall property sales fell 16.0 percent last month when compared to December 2007, and sales of single-family homes were down 13.5 percent. However, the figures show dramatic improvement from November, when both total property and singlefamily sales volume declined by more than 30 percent. The average price of a single-family home in Houston dropped 10.4 percent last month to $192,135 compared to December 2007, but rose 1.0 percent to $208,266 on a year-to-date basis.” For the full year of 2008, total property sales for the Houston market were down 17.3% to the year 2007. The average single-family home price, however, was up by 1%. What does this mean exactly? Well, a fewer number of properties are changing hands nowadays. The number of real estate transactions in Houston this past year equaled the number of transactions that took place back in 2005. However, the average price of a home (or, home values) continues to rise – up 1% this year over last year. That is good news for home values, obviously. The other important piece of information to take away from December’s results is that December single-family home sales were down 13.5% - a significant improvement from November’s results which were down by 30% - a sign that the real estate consumer is now again interested, and is re-entering the market. Certainly, favorable interest rates have interested and incented many consumers over the past few weeks.
The Woodlands Real Estate Market
Below is a snapshot of some key statistics from the real estate market in The Woodlands and the surrounding area. Annual results - 2008
Total units sold: -20.60% Average home price: +6.30% Average sales price/sq ft: +4.09% Inventory of listings: +17.90% New listings: -12.59% Average Days on the market (DOM): 86 days Prices in The Woodlands are very strong. Days on the market has increased by approximately 10 days compared to last year. My opinion is that the increase in listing inventory in The Woodlands is not due to resale listings, but rather new home inventory in Creekside Park, that did not really exist this time last year. In any case, sellers should be prudent in ensuring their home is in tip-top shape as buyers have more options and choices from which to choose.
Check back each month for the latest statistics from the real estate market in both Houston and The Woodlands. If you have a specific question about the market, I always welcome an email at Courtney@CourtneyBuie.com