Jerri Schick

This is a look back at several segments of sales and listings on Galveston Island for two 3 month periods over the last 12 months.

GALVESTON IN TOWN NEIGHBORHOOD

This table shows sold single family homes in the Galveston In Town Neighborhood for the 3 months ending 1/31/2010. I have highlighted the Median sold price of $120,000.

This table shows sold single family homes in the Galveston In Town Neighborhood for the 3 months ending 1/31/2011. I have highlighted the Median sold price of $94,900, indicating a decline in prices of 21% for this 12 month period.

The declines are due to the poor economy and rising unemployment, especially due to the offshore drilling moratorium. The offshore drilling moratorium has been lifted however drilling permits are still not being issued in quanties to support the industry and layoff's as a result are inevitable. Less jobs, less home sales.

The number of homes listed 12 months ago was 147 for a median list price of $138,000 as compared to 111 homes listed in the most recent 3 months with a median list price of $149,000. This increase in median list price is likely due to a number of hurricane rehabbed homes coming on the market and listing for more than they otherwise would have. The drop in the number of listings is likely due to sellers holding on, waiting for the market to recover before putting their home on the market.

This look-back realistically shows the statistics of the market place as it was 3-6 months ago. As a Realtor deeply involved in the real estate market on the island, I am seeing a change in the market for the better with an increase in buyer calls and seller inquiries. This isn't anything I can quantify yet and I hope it isn't just my eternal optimism coming through. Only time will tell, but I sense a change coming and the next set of statistics supports my optimism.

GALVESTON WEST END BEACH AND BAY

This table shows sold single family homes in the Galveston West End Neighborhood for the 3 months ending 1/31/2010. I have highlighted the Median sold price of $212,000.

This table shows sold single family homes in the Galveston West End Neighborhood for the 3 months ending 1/31/2011. I have highlighted the Median sold price of $246,000, indicating an increase in prices of 14% for this 12 month period.

The west end of Galveston Island includes mostly beach and bay resort/second homes and this market is definitely showing signs of improvement. The number of homes listed 12 months ago was 113 for a median list price of $299,000 as compared to 121 homes listed in the most recent 3 months with a median list price of $310,000. This represents a 4% increase in prices and a 7% increase in the number of homes listed over last year.

I think this is an indicator of the direction of the market for this year. Along the same lines, the investor market is also showing signs of improvement. The Multifamily median sold price has increased 20% year over year for the same 3 month period ending 1/31/2011 to $71,000 from $56,250 for the same period a year ago.

Overall I see a crack in the dark wall of the recession and I expect to see a gradual recovery in our island real estate over the coming months!

State of the Island – Real Estate Sales on Galveston Island, Near Texas

It’s a new year and I dare say most everyone is glad to see 2009 end. There is new hope and heightened expectations for better days in 2010. And I must say, it feels good already! The phone is ringing more, there are more appointments on the calendar, more pendings on the board, and it feels good!

So I decided to do a little market research using our local MLS to try and figure out where we are. Galveston Island was hit by a hurricane in September of 2008 so I had to do my research ‘around’ that event. I wanted to see how much we have recovered from the first half of 2009 to the last half of 2009 and to see how that recovery compared to the state of the market just before the hurricane.

I chose the east end of the island where most full time island residents live. Here is what I found for the first half of 2009:

January 1 – June 30, 2009

And here is what I found for the last half of 2009:

July 1 – December 31, 2009

It appears that sellers are getting about $15 more per square foot for their property than they were in the first half of last year which represents about a 26% increase in sold price. That sounds pretty good. The Days on Market have gone from an average of 98 days to 122 days on market which is about right given our economy. And the list price to sold price is up about 1% since the beginning of the year.

But how does this compare to the state of the island in 2008 just before the hurricane? How far did we fall? And how much further do we have to go to get back to ‘normal’?

Let’s look at May – July 2008, just before the storm.

Before the storm, homeowners were getting $93 per square foot on average as compared to $74 per square foot on average over the last 6 months. So we are still down about 21%. Now I realize that some of the decline can be attributed to the down turn in the economy, but I think that is only about 5% - 6%.

Here is May – July 2007 which shows that the downturn in the market from 2007 to 2008 is about 5.5%, $98.80 per square foot versus $93.32 per square foot.

If we assume the downturn in the economy is contributing about 5% to the decline in the market on the island then it seems we are still down about 16% from levels before the hurricane.

I know that many areas in the rest of the nation have been hit far worse by the recession than we have here in Texas. And I am going to go through this exercise again at the end of April so I can determine if what I am feeling is being reflected in the numbers for 2010.

I do so hope that 2010 brings buyers and sellers together again and better times for everyone.

When I was several years younger I rode a motorcycle for recreation with a bunch of friends on weekends. One weekend we were returning home from a ‘run', coming down I45 towards Galveston Island.

Galveston has at least one connection to the Shuttle Mission that will be landing in just about one hour from now. Mission Specialist Christopher Cassidy is one of the astronauts on the current mission. And his father, Jack Cassidy, my friend and neighbor and real estate investment enthusiast owns multi-family property on the island, just down the street from me!

We are all so very proud of our astronauts, for the pioneering work they do to further our understanding of the universe we live in.

Thank you Mission Specialist Christopher Cassidy and welcome back to earth! And thank you Jack for being a great neighbor and friend, especially during the trying times during the aftermath of hurricane IKE.

Jerri Schick, e-PRO Realtor, CDPE

Galveston Island, near Texas

It Was Just Like HGTV!

A young couple attending university called me one day to see a duplex we have for lease. So I met them there and showed them a sad and neglected apartment. Such is the state of the market where I live and work, having gone through the hurricane last year, many residences are just not what they used to be. And that is not a good situation in a community of university students looking for a place to live near the school.

So I asked them if they had thought about buying a place instead of renting and that it might actually be easier and more financially sound in the long run. I told them about the $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers. I think that is what sold them on the idea.

We sat down at the office and I explained to them how buying a home worked, from getting pre-qualified for a mortgage, the search, the offer, negotiations, the acceptance, appraisals, inspections, closing and filing for their tax credit. They had lots of questions and did lots of research on their own. And off we went to find a condo that was walking distance to school and in their price range.

The only bump in the road came when my first time buyers went off on their own and found a FSBO condo that they just fell in love with. I knew something had happened because I didn't hear from them for a week. Little did I know that the FSBO sellers were trying to convince my buyers that they didn't NEED a Realtor and that they would be able to buy this condo with the seller's guidance.

OMG. I could feel my heart start racing with the shot of adrenaline coursing through me when my buyers came to me for advice. Thankfully, they had talked it over and had come to the conclusion that yes, they probably could do this on their own, but they would feel so much more comfortable and confident having someone trained (and trusted) in real estate sales on their side!

We worked out how the commission would be paid in a FSBO situation, crafted an offer and I called the sellers to present it. I told my buyers that it would be best if they left the room while I talked to the sellers. (My buyers were very nervous!)

Well, it was not pretty! Neither buyers nor sellers were on the same page about anything even though they had talked together amicably and smiled at one another as they talked over the particulars of the sale. (That's why you need representation). Thankfully I had sent my buyers out of the room while I presented the offer to the seller. So they weren't there when the seller, exasperated, asked to speak to them (so she could harangue a commitment from them). I simply said they aren't here. After the phone call, I sent the sellers an email expressing my apologies for any misunderstandings and inviting them to make a counter offer.

Needless to say the FSBO deal didn't work. But that's okay because I quickly took my young buyers back out and showed them a Bigger, less expensive condo (it didn't have all the pretty things in it) and they were able to see the value even in the empty spaces!

We made the offer on the bigger unit and by now my newbie buyers felt like veterans of the process.

The closing was last Friday. They brought me cookies and I ate them all. They tried to read every word of the closing documents and the closer gently nudged them on. And afterward we hugged and took pictures.

And it was, Just Like On HGTV!