For the 4+ years I have been calculating the inventory of homes available in ten price ranges and 19 zip codes, no zip code has had a weighted average inventory greater than a 9-month supply until today. Zip code 77056, which includes Tanglewood and the Galleria area, shows a 10-month inventory, a normal market condition, favoring neither buyers nor sellers. And right behind it is the adjacent Briargrove area, zip 77057, with a 9-month supply.
For the 4+ years that I have been calculating market conditions, the Memorial Park area (zip code 77007) was the weakest overall single-family market until today, June 24, 2008. Both Tanglewood (77056) and Woodland Heights (77009) now have a greater weighted average inventory of homes on the market (both 9 months) while the Memorial Park area has come down to 8 months. It may be a small difference but when you have been the worst market for so long, I thought it should be acknowledged in a blog post . . . We'll see if it stays that way.
BusinessWeek.com and Seattle's PayScale.com have determined where the best and worst cities are for 20 common careers and found that when it comes to making a comfortable living, Houston is at or near the top for most jobs. Cities such as New York, San Francisco, Washington, and Boston have sunk to the bottom because residents pay so much for real estate, parking, groceries, and everything else. Read more here.
Houston is abuzz over the fact that Kiplinger recently chose it as the nation's #1 city in which to live using a formula that focuses on the local economy, housing costs, and fun things to do.
The formula also highlighted the probablity of future success by focusing on the percentage of the workforce employed in the creative fields - scientists, engineers, architects, educators, writers, artists and entertainers. Houston's creative class? 31.3% of the workforce! Hurray Houston!
Loren Steffy's article in today's Chronicle illustrates one of the reasons I have, over the years, come to favor no zoning. His topic has to do with the fact that the Houston housing market has fared much better than the rest of the nation during the current slump. Steffy points to a report issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas that points to no zoning as one of the reasons Houston has been spared.
According to the report, zoning restricts the supply of housing, resulting in price increases and housing bubbles. And this is one of the best things about Houston, in my opinion. If you are a young person and want to live close to downtown, you don't have to be a zillionaire to do it like in NY, LA, San Francisco. Thanks to no zoning, the housing options are many, and living inside the loop is possible. I find many people anxious to do it, especially with such high gas prices. Just last week I showed a young couple a nice patio home priced at $269K in a gated community about 1 mile west of downtown. It was a transitional neighborhood, quickly taking off. But they didn't care in the least, in fact she said (and meant it) "I love the area." In what other big city is this possible but Houston? And all thanks to no zoning!
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
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.
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
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
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
