Houston had been hailed as one of the few markets in the country that had weathered the real estate downturn seen in most of the rest of the country—until September. It is normal to see a slowdown in real estate sales after summer has ended, but the decline in sales experienced last month was the largest in more than a decade for the greater Houston area. From a historical perspective, Houston remained ahead of 2005 in terms of sales and pricing and its inventory of homes relative to sales is still well below the past 10 year average.
Total property sales for the month registered 5,984, which was a 16.7 percent decrease versus September 2006. Properties sold during the month reached a total of more than $1.2 billion, an 11.9 percent decrease compared to last year’s nearly $1.4 billion in September sales. Additionally, the median home price for a single-family home reached $150,500 for September, and the average single-family home price came in at $202,963, a rise of 0.3 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively.
“Unfortunately, the subprime and foreclosure issues have spread beyond the boundaries of the $80,000 to $150,000 price range. As people who were relying on the sale of their home in that price range have been unable to find buyers for their homes, the sellers have been unable to move up to the next price range, which is reflected in the latest home sales figures, “ said Rob Cook, HAR Chairman and broker/owner of Robert D. Cook Properties. “As we move into the fourth quarter of 2007, the Houston real estate market is experiencing weakness, but it remains much better off that the national numbers that have been reported and are being forecast. Sales prices are holding up, and the mortgage adjustments will have to work through the system before Houston home sales likely stabilize again.”
Once again, we have a GREAT opportunity for real estate investors! With affordable housing sitting on the market for more time, people are becoming more motivated to sell -- sales prices are dropping and demand for rental property is growing = TIME TO INVEST!
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