Houston temperatures finally cooled a bit in September, but home sales remained hot. Sales of single-family homes climbed nearly 17 percent when compared to one year earlier and accounted for the fourth consecutive month of increased sales volume. The prices of those homes achieved all-time highs for a September in Houston. In addition, months inventory fell to the lowest level since May 2010 while pending sales rose and active listings declined. All are considered signs of a healthy and balanced housing market as the fall season gets underway.
According to the latest monthly data prepared by the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR), September sales of single-family homes rose 16.9 percent versus one year earlier. This increase followed home sales gains recorded in January, June, July and August of this year. All segments of the housing market, from the sub-$80,000 to the $500,000 and above, experienced positive sales in September. On a year-to-date basis, sales were up 3.2 percent.
“The combination of increased closed and pending sales, fewer active listings and strong pricing suggests that we are entering the fall home buying season on strong footing,” said Carlos P. Bujosa, HAR chairman and VP at Transwestern. “HAR’s September report shows rebalanced supply and demand throughout the Houston housing market with diminishing traces of the distortions caused by last year’s federal home buyer tax credit.”
The average price of a single-family home ticked up 0.4 percent from September 2010 to Read the rest of this entry »
Spoken by Julie Q. Fuelling |
HOUSTON — (June 21, 2011) — The 2010 home buyer tax credit continues to obscure an accurate gauge of how the Houston real estate market is performing. The 2010 federal incentive triggered a short-term surge in local home sales last spring that has skewed the year-over-year analysis most of this year.
When compared to the tax credit incentivized closed sales of May 2010, there were fewer home sales recorded in May 2011, according to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) report prepared by the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR). At the same time, the number of listings that went under contract this May and expected to close in the next 30 to 60 days was up more than 35 percent when compared to May 2010—yet another comparison that is skewed by the tax credit that required buyers to enter purchase contracts by the April 30, 2010 deadline.
“Getting an accurate read on the Houston real estate market remains challenging because the 2010 tax credit prompted a surge in home sales during the first half of last year that otherwise would have occurred throughout the summer,” said Carlos P. Bujosa, HAR chairman and VP at Transwestern.
The average price of a single-family home jumped 6.5 percent from May 2010 to $220,210. Read the rest of this entry »
Spoken by Julie Q. Fuelling |
Abbreviated Article Compliments of “Realtor Magazine”
Pricing a home competively from the beginning is very important. Your largest number of showings occur in the first two to three weeks. The multiple listing service and the Internet drives the majority of showings. That’s why real estate experts stress that it’s important that sellers set a competitive, realistic price from the start.
Consider sweetening the deal. Sellers may be able to lure more buyers by offering some extra incentives such as leaving that top-of-the-line washer and dryer. Some items may be difficult to move like wall-mounted flat-screen TV’s. These perks may add a little extra Read the rest of this entry »
Spoken by Julie Q. Fuelling |
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In what reads like a carbon copy of the February housing report, local home sales fell slightly in March while the average price of those homes rose.
In what reads like a carbon copy of the February housing report, local home sales fell slightly in March while the average price of those homes rose. The lower sales volume compares to sales activity in March 2010 that was driven, in part, by the federal government’s first-time home buyer tax credit incentive.
According to the latest monthly data compiled by the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR), March sales of single-family homes fell 4.4 percent versus one year earlier. As in February, the popular middle segments of the Houston housing market, consisting of homes priced between $80,000 and $250,000, experienced declining sales while the low and high ends saw an increase in number of sales. Compared to March of 2009, a year without unusual market factors such as Hurricane Ike in 2008 and the 2010 tax credit, single-family home sales were up 6.6 percent.
Luxury home sales boosted the average price of a single-family home for a third straight month. The average price rose 3.3 percent from March 2010 Read the rest of this entry »
Spoken by Julie Q. Fuelling |
Compliments of Inman News
Search giant Google will no longer support real estate listings uploaded to its classifed listings site on Google Maps, the company announced today.
Consumers will no longer be able to find for-sale, foreclosure, or rental properties through the search function on Google Maps, and real estate professionals will no longer be able to upload their listings to Google Base, the company’s classifieds site, which is being replaced by Google Shopping APIs and will not support real estate listings.
Spoken by Julie Q. Fuelling |
I’d like to share a very interesting announcement with you.
Keller Williams Premier has been named by the Houston Association of Realtors as the #1 Katy real estate office for closed units sold in 2010.
Keller Williams Premier has also been recognized as #1 in Katy for closed dollar volume in 2010.
Keller Williams Premier is located in Cinco Ranch in the Villagio Shopping Center at the intersection of Peek and Westheimer Parkway. The address is 22762 Westheimer Parkway, Suite 430.
If you are considering a career in real estate, Keller Williams Premier is where you want to be! We are known for exemplary education and we even have profit sharing! For more details and an introduction to our Team Leaders, contact me at 713-818-2404.
Spoken by Julie Q. Fuelling |
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For the fifth month in a row following expiration of the 2010 homebuyer tax credit, sales of single-family homes across Greater Houston declined in November while the prices of those homes rose. Despite the lingering sales chill, the market enjoyed boosts in both the average and median price, achieving the highest levels ever seen in a November.
According to the latest monthly data compiled by the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR), November sales of single-family homes throughout the Houston market fell 22.0 percent when compared to November 2009. However, on a year-to-date basis, 2010 single-family home sales are off just 5.6 percent from 2009 levels. Positive sales activity was recorded in the low and high ends of the housing market, with declines affecting homes priced between $80,000 and $500,000.
Luxury home sales helped drive the latest pricing gains. The average price of a single-family home increased 11.8 percent from November 2009 to $219,560 while the November single-family home median price—the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less—edged up 1.7 percent from one year earlier to $152,500.
Foreclosure property sales reported in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) Read the rest of this entry »
Spoken by Julie Q. Fuelling |
I’m not allowed to identify the agents who took these hideous photos for the HAR.com website but they are sure worth a look. Enjoy!
Spoken by Julie Q. Fuelling |
Foreclosed and foreclosing properties dominate many of today’s U.S. real estate markets–more than four years after the sharpest observers saw the market shift coming, and more than two years after the reality hit home for millions of American home owners.
While Katy is not suffering like other areas of the country, the number of foreclosures in our hometown has grown substantially. (Pictured above are two foreclosures currently on the market.)
First-time home buyers make up almost half of all buyers of bank-owned foreclosures and soon-to-be foreclosed short sale properties. They’re followed closely by investors seeking rental properties, and a third important group—homeowners who find they can move up to a bigger or better home they previously could not afford.
The truth is: These markets demand most of the same things an ordinary Read the rest of this entry »
Spoken by Julie Q. Fuelling |
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