Strictly a Buyer's Agent

Memorial's Gone Gray - In Inventory, That Is

For the first time in years, the weighted average market condition in the Memorial area (zip 77024) has turned from navy blue (a seller's market) to gray (a slightly soft market). I started making these calculations in 2004 and at that time, the Memorial Park area (zip 77007) was gray most of the time, or NOT a buyer's market. In 2008 it has been joined by several others, including Woodland Heights (77009), Museum District (77006), Tanglewood (77056), Briargrove (77057) and now Memorial (77024).

To learn more, follow this link: http://www.westurealestate.com/marketWatchAllAreasSummary.htm

$2 Million Home Market Emerges in Bellaire

Today's market condition update showed ten houses for sale in Bellaire priced above $2,000,000. There have been no sales in that price range in the previous twelve months in Bellaire so it will be interesting to see if the marketplace will support these prices. If I were to guess I would say yes. It is a very popular community with good schools and the commutes to downtown and the medical center are not bad. 

Surprisingly Blunt Talk about a High-Rise

In the Sunday Houston Chronicle I read with interest the comments of the operations director for Developer Sales Group, which markets condos at the Mosaic on Hermann Park. a new twin-tower high rise under construction that will have 790 units for sale when completed. To date, they have closed on "about 65 units".  To read more about the Mosaic, the credit crunch and the impact on high-rise properties, you can read more here:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/sarnoff/5713519.html

Money Magazine Lists Museum District as 12th Best Urban Neighborhood for Retirement in US

In 2007 Money Magazine rated Houston's Museum District as the 12th best urban neighborhood in the US for retirement. It noted its proximity to the lush Hermann Park, with Miller Outdoor Theater, oustanding zoo, public golf course, reflection pond, rose garden, IMAX, and many other amenities. Add several museums, the world-renowned Texas Medical Center plus Rice University and you have an outstanding urban neighborhood.

Read the entire article here: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0710/gallery.bpretire.moneymag/12.html

National House Pricing Model Shows Prices Bottoming in Mid-2009

The Case-Schiller model measures the residential housing market in 20 metropolitan regions across the United States using repeat sales of houses to measure market strength. Moodys.com and Fiserv Lending Solutions have used the Case-Schiller data to create two interesting scenarios for national housing prices. One shows that house prices will hit bottom and begin to climb again in mid-2009 under the most likely economic scenario. A more pessimistic scenario shows the turnaround delayed until 2010 if there is a severe recession or other economic shocks.

You can see the chart here. Remember, this is not reflective of Houston where prices have not suffered like many other locations.

http://www.economy.com/home/products/case_shiller_indexes.asp

Unsold Homes Elsewhere Also Hurt Houston

Although Houston's housing market is holding up much better than the rest of the US, the impact of the housing decline is being felt in a different way here - tranferees moving to Houston who cannot sell their homes in other cities and therefore cannot buy a home here.  Some may decide to move and rent, but more are deciding to forgo the transfer alltogether. This may lead to what experts fear will be a record-low rate of domestic migration in 2008. To read the entire New York Times article, click the link below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/03/business/03labor.html?em&ex=1207454400&en=24bd9405313127dd&ei=5087%0A

Houston: The Next Great World City?

A recent article from The American - A Magazine of Ideas suggests that Houston may be positioned to emerge as the next great world city.  The author notes that due to recent trends in job growth and net migration rates, "Opportunity Cities" have arisen primarily in the southern US such as Atlanta, Dallas and Houston.  But of these, only Houston is uniquely positioned in the global economy due to its port, energy industry, and internationally-minded business-service firms.

Another important factor for Houston's emergence as the next great world city is its history of tolerance and immigration. Many come seeking opportunity and many find it.

Read the article here: http://american.com/archive/2008/march-april-magazine-contents/lone-star-rising

Don't be confused about the Energy Corridor . . .

Today's market condition update for the Energy Corridor shows the $500-$599K market to be "normal" for the first time in recent memory but this will likely not be the case for long. For the last several years this area (zip code 77079) has been one of the most difficult for buyers with housing inventories very low month after month. Why? There are millions of square feet of office space nearby that is home to companies such as BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Citgo and others. Their employees transfer into Houston from all over the world, resulting in a very active housing market and one that can be very difficult for buyers. The best thing to do is move into temporary housing for at least a few weeks, wait for new listings to come on the market and be the first to see them with your agent! With a little luck, you'll end up in an A property in the Energy Corridor.

On the Tipping Point?

For years now the market has strongly favored sellers in eight of the ten price ranges (and areas) I calculate market conditions for on Monday-Friday of each week. It seems now to be on the brink of change since today's update shows four price ranges ready to tip over into a "slightly strong" market of 8+ months of inventory:

http://www.westurealestate.com/marketWatchAllAreasSummary.htm#average

It may be that this increasing inventory will be absorbed as it has been in years past. The coming weeks will tell the tale.

Heights Area May Be Signaling Coming Weakness in 77008, 77009

Every Monday I update market conditions in the Heights area for zip codes 77008, 77009, and 77018. For the past few weeks the inventory of homes on the market has been creeping up slightly. Zip code 77009 has officially dropped out of the "seller's market" category it has held since I started making these calculations in 2004. Zip 77008 may do the same soon. Stay tuned.