The Houston housing market continued to feel the effects of the troubled national economy in October and residual business interruptions caused by Hurricane Ike. New monthly data released by the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR) reflects improvement from market performance in September, when Ike derailed thousands of real estate transactions. However, the number of property sales across the greater Houston area declined last month when compared to October 2007, with sales of single-family homes down 20.1 percent.
“Houston remains the envy of real estate professionals around the country, who discussed their sales and pricing concerns with us at this month’s National Association of REALTORS® conference in Orlando,” said Michael Levitin, HAR chairman and principal of HTownRealty.com. “Month’s inventory in Houston is about half the national average, and on a year-to-date basis, prices here are up about three percent from 2007. Nonetheless, we must watch closely to see what further action the federal government may take to stimulate the economy, particularly on behalf of homeowners.”
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Key Points:
The following statistics compare the subject month with the same month of the previous year.
At $194,607, the average sales price for single-family homes reached the second highest level recorded for an October in Houston, down 1.6 percent from October 2007 when it was $197,751. The overall median price of single-family homes in October was $142,000. That compares to the national single-family median price of $190,600 reported by the National Association of REALTORS®. These data continue to demonstrate the higher value and lower cost of living that prevail in the Houston market.
Lease Property Update
Demand for single-family and townhouse/condominium rentals increased in October, continuing an upswing triggered by Hurricane Ike, as many sought short-term housing while engaging in storm-related recovery projects. Single-family home rentals rose 36.0 percent in October compared to a year earlier, while year-over-year townhouse/condominium rentals were up 34.1 percent.
Other Notables:
Icon Realty Group, LLC is an independent real estate brokerage servicing Suburban North Houston, including The Woodlands, Spring, Conroe, Magnolia, Tomball, Cypress, and the surrounding area. Primary services include residential home sales, leasing, investing, and property management. Read more about Icon Realty at our website http://www.houstonicon.com/
Check out our new construction incentives on our our website and sign up up to receive a $1000 Lowe's gift card for the purchase of any Houston area new construction home at closing, no catch, no kidding!
Investors, sign up today on our website to be the first to receive notification of all types of unique investment opportunities in the greater Houston area.
Information obtained from the Houston Association of Realtors Monthly Market Press Release. Accuracy is not guaranteed, and is subject to change. For more information, see http://www.har.com.
For the thirteenth consecutive month, the Houston Real Estate Market shows a rise in home prices despite a decline in the number of homes sold.
Despite Hurricane Ike's rampage, the month of September brought Houston's overall housing market mixed results when considering all listing categories. Total property sales and total dollar volume fell, however average and median single-family home sales prices continued their steady increase on a year-over-year basis.
"Hurricane Ike effectively shut Houston's real estate business down for half of September," said Michael Levitin, HAR chairman and principal of HTownRealty.com. "Like other businesses, real estate agencies lost anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks due to power outages and damage caused by the storm, and thousands of property transactions were postponed so that sellers could make repairs. Ike did, however, help accelerate transactions involving rental properties as many people sought short-term housing."
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Key Points:
The following statistics compare the subject month with the same month of the previous year.
At $211,660, the average sales price for single-family homes reached the highest level recorded for a September in Houston, up 4.4 percent from the same period last year when it was $202,728. The overall median price of single-family homes in September was $157,500, also an all-time high for the month of September. That compares to the national single-family median price of $210,900 reported by the National Association of REALTORS. These data continue to demonstrate the higher value and lower cost of living that prevail in the Houston market.
Lease Property Update
Demand for single-family and townhouse/condominium rentals increased in September as a result of Hurricane Ike, as consumers sought short-term accommodations while initiating home repairs. Contractors, insurance adjusters and other professionals from outside the Houston area who are involved in Ike-related recovery projects were also part of that demand. Single-family home rentals rose 13.5 percent in September compared to a year earlier, while year-over-year townhouse/condominium rentals were up 17.5 percent.
Other Notables:
Icon Realty Group, LLC is an independent real estate brokerage servicing Suburban North Houston, including The Woodlands, Spring, Conroe, Magnolia, Tomball, Cypress, and the surrounding area. Primary services include residential home sales, leasing, investing, and property management. Read more about Icon Realty at our website http://www.houstonicon.com/
Check out our new construction incentives on our our website and sign up up to receive a $1000 Lowe's gift card for the purchase of any Houston area new construction home at closing, no catch, no kidding!
Investors, sign up today on our website to be the first to receive notification of all types of unique investment opportunities in the greater Houston area.
Information obtained from the Houston Association of Realtors Monthly Market Press Release. Accuracy is not guaranteed, and is subject to change. For more information, see http://www.har.com.
I've had discussions with a few investors here recently who are looking to sink their money into something a little more lucrative then our weakening stock market. I've decided to write a post to inform others who may be thinking of investing here locally in the Houston area real estate market. If you are looking for good investments in the Houston area right now I would suggest investigating foreclosed properties, new construction, and/or lease option deals. I'll tell you why I like each of these options.
1. Foreclosures/short sales are a great way to get immediate equity in a home. There are some really good deals out there, but they typically don't last long. You have to move fast on these properties as you are typically in a bidding war, especially on the really good properties. You would definitely look for an area that is established or a subdivision a few years old that's close to being completed. You wouldn't be obligated to hold onto this type of property for any given time as compared to other investments I'm going to talk about, so long as the sales comparable's equal the net profit you are looking to achieve. If you are in a established neighborhood then your only competition is the surrounding other properties as opposed o a builder in a newer community. Regardless, you want to make sure it is in a good rental area. I have a few of these areas in mind. The obvious downside is going to be the initial investment into fixing these properties up to make them rentable or sellable. Careful planning of the repairs is imperative and should coincide with the date you plan on liquidating this investment.
2. New construction are one of my favorite investments right now. Builders are pretty desperate right now to make deals happen especially now with the end of the fiscal and calendar year approaching. With an aggressive agent and patience you can typically get 10%-15% off builder inventory homes. Sometimes with some closing cost consideration. I like these right now because there is little capital investment required up front, outside of the cost of obtaining and leasing the property. There is usually zero to very little maintenance cost in the first few years of ownership. Most homes will come with a 1-2 year builder warranty. It's easier to attract a better clientele in these types of properties because they usually command a higher rent when compared to older rental properties. The downside is that you will definitely will need to hold on to this type of property for at least 4-6 years before you can sell for top dollar and make a nice return on the sale of the property. This is to keep you from having to compete with the builder when you turn around and sell this property. These properties typically have a better chance of appreciating nicely after a few years, plus you will be able to utilize the amortization benefits. Please check out the new construction section of my website for additional information and to sign up for notification great new construction deals as we find them. Also, on our website we have a comprehensive list of local area new construction builders for you to browse.
3. Another one of my favorite types of investments right now, are lease-option investments. These are really catching on as of late. This is an excellent program considering the condition of our mortgage markets. I believe we are going to see more and more of these buyers as lenders are stiffening their credit guidelines. A lease-option investment is where there is a buyer/tenant with typically poor credit who has some cash to put down towards a home. You have to look at it a two separate transactions an actual lease and an option/purchase contract. You have your lease with all of the appropriate deposits, and you have the purchase contract that has an established purchase price for the home that you will be purchasing. With the option contract an additional deposit (typically 2-4k) is put down on the house. The buyer/tenant will sign a 2 year lease and has the right to purchase the property back from you at anytime during the 2 year lease at the price set forth in the option contract. Should they go through with the purchase then they get all of their deposits back. Should they not then they lose the option deposit and the lease deposit would be subject to the terms of the lease. Typically, the home you purchase will be a new construction builder inventory home. This is another way to capitalize on the huge discounts being offered by builders as you will turn around and sell the home back to the tenant at top dollar typically making @ 20-25k on the sale of the home, in only two years or less, with a minimal capital investment. There are a ton of advantages and minimal disadvantages. Contact me so I can send you a complete explanation and example of how this program works.
With the weakening stock market and banks freezing credit, you will not find a better time to set yourself up in the lucrative residential real estate investment market. Just visualize the amount of people who will be turned down for credit this year. These people will be turning into tenants, because they will have nowhere else to go. Don't sit around and "hurry up and wait" for your stocks to recover. Set yourself up to prosper in this down market, increase your net worth, and invest your capital in Houston's residential real estate market.
Check out http://www.houstonicon.com/index.html for all of your investment real estate needs.
We received notification today that Perry Homes is closing out their subdivision of Pinemont Park.
Located just northwest of Loop 610, Pinemont Park offers easy access to U.S. 290 and Beltway 8. The Galleria is just five miles from the community, and downtown Houston is only eight miles away. Metro Park and Ride is also nearby.
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Based on our experiences in dealing with inventory homes here at Icon Realty, it isn't uncommon to successfully negotiate discounts ranging from 10-20% off the builders suggested sales price. There are many factors that go into finding the builders bottom line. My partner and I here at Icon Realty specialize at new construction sales and negotiations here in the greater Houston area. In addition to using our knowledge and our expertise in the new construction market, we are making a special offer to our new clients. For a limited time we are offering a $1000 Lowe's gift card to our new clients upon any new construction purchase when represented by a Icon Realty representative. There is no catch, you get your gift card at closing. Please call Jeremy or Johnny at 281-296-6226. or you can contact us on our website here. Click here to learn a little more about Icon Realty and the services we offer to our clients.
The community features one- and two-story homes with spacious, open designs. Minutes away from nearby schools and parks. To view more information about Pinemont Park then please check out Perry Homes Pinemont Park website. Below is a list of their final inventory homes.
Sq Ft. Elev Story Bed Bath Price
5111 CARSON HILL LANE 1403 2 1 3 2 $199,900
Step into style in this charming, spacious one-story home. The entry opens to a dining room and leads to an open living room that flows into the island kitchen. Kitchen offers GE appliances, granite countertops, ceramic tile backsplash, recessed can lighting and 42-inch job-built cabinets. The master suite features a window seat in the bedroom and a garden tub, separate glass-enclosed shower, double sinks and walk-in shower in the bath. Abundant storage and closet space. Upgraded landscaping. 10-foot ceilings and lots of natural light. A two-car attached garage completes this home.
6015 TENTON PARK LANE 1495 2 1 3 2 $204,900
Elegance and luxury are yours in this beautifully designed one-story home. A beautiful, 11-foot coffered ceiling extends through the entry as it opens to a spacious living and dining area. The kitchen has GE appliances, granite countertops, ceramic tile backsplash, recessed can lighting and 42-inch job-built cabinets. Master suite with large bedroom, plus garden tub, separate glass-enclosed shower, double sinks and walk-in closet in the bath. Abundant storage and closet space. Upgraded landscaping. A two-car attached garage completes this home.
5123 CARSON HILL LANE 1772 4 1 3 2 $229,900
Elegant 11-foot mansard ceiling in entry. Dining room flows into kitchen and living room. Master suite with large bedroom, garden tub, separate glass-enclosed shower and walk-in closet. Two-car attached garage.
5127 CARSON HILL LANE 1648 1 1 3 2 $209,900
With features you would expect to find in a larger home, this one-story home is an ideal fit for your lifestyle. The entry opens to a formal dining room with an elegant gabled ceiling and leads past the kitchen and morning area to the living room. The kitchen has GE appliance, granite countertops, ceramic tile backsplash, recessed can lighting and 42-inch job-built cabinets. Master suite with garden tub, separate glass-enclosed shower and large walk-in closet in the bath. Storage and linen closets. Landscaping package and backyard sod. 10-foot ceilings and lots of natural light. A two-car attached garage further enhances this home.
6011 GILMAN TRACE LANE 2161 2 2 3 2.5 $224,900
Filled with designer-inspired accents, this two-story home is the perfect choice. The entry opens to a formal dining room and leads to the open living room. A bay window in the morning area overlooks the backyard. Kitchen has GE appliances, granite countertops, ceramic tile backsplash, recessed can lighting and 42-inch job-built cabinets. All bedrooms upstairs. Master suite with garden tub, separate glass-enclosed shower, double sinks and walk-in closet. A generously sized game room offers additional space. . Storage and linen closets. Landscaping package and backyard sod. A two-car attached garage further enhances this home.
6119 GILMAN TRACE LANE 2790 1 2 4 2.5 $247,900
Highlighted by soaring ceiling heights and a versatile design, this beautiful two-story home has it all. The entry stretches past both formals and leads to the open family room with a wall of windows and an 18-foot ceiling. The family room flows into the kitchen and morning area. Kitchen with breakfast bar, GE appliances, granite countertops, ceramic tile backsplash, recessed can lighting and 42-inch job-built cabinets. Master suite has large bedroom, plus garden tub, separate glass-enclosed shower and a walk-in closet. Upstairs game room. Abundant closet and storage space. Landscaping package and backyard sod. A two-car attached garage completes this home.
View the original posting here by my business partner Johnny Schiro
The Woodlands is home to over 1,500 employers, resulting in over 43,000 jobs. As of January 2008, 40% of the primary household earners in The Woodlands both live and work here.
A majority of the employers in The Woodlands can be categorized as the following industries: Oil & Energy, Biotech, Professional Services, Transportation, Healthcare, and Education. Top employers and number of employees, by industry, shown below:
Energy:
Biotech
Professional Services
Healthcare
Education
Transportation
The map shown below is a work-in-progress (color coding by industry, links to employer sites, and additional employers to be added soon).
The Woodlands Employment - View Larger Map
Learn more about The Woodlands here. The Woodlands Chamber of Commerce and the South Montgomery County Economic Development Partnership are also great sources of information about employment and commerce in The Woodlands.
My goal is to provide my clients with unparalleled service, effort, and expertise while maintaining these values: placing my client needs before my own, integrity, and excellence in all that I do.
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
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