Year end results: Houston real estate holds it's own

Are you ready for the annual Texas real estate market statistics or am I the only person who ever gets excited about these things?

Ready or not, most December 2007 market statistics for the largest Texas real estate markets will be released within the next 2-3 weeks. I'll discuss them here, of course.

Houston releases their market statistics earliest, so will probably be covered first.

I have to say that the Houston market is one of the best all-around real estate markets in Texas. I spent my holiday vacation in Magnolia, Texas on the far Northwestern side of Houston. If I had to move from Austin, I'd live in Magnolia. It's rapidly growing, has tons of acreage lots and land, and is not far from the popular Woodlands area.

HOUSTON PRE-ANNUAL MARKET UPDATE   

Here's a quick primer for what you're going to see during the official annual  real estate market reports for Houston.

• Number of homes in Houston sold were down 3% at the end of November, but the year will probably beat 2005.
• Job growth and strong Houston leasing prompted commercial investors to increase construction on new commercial buildings.
• The Houston office market did well with 5.4M square feet under construction or being renovated, especially in the Energy Corridor and in Downtown Houston.
• The Houston residential market started off extremely strong until the mortgage market meltdown during the second half of the year. This was good news to landlords, who finally saw their rents increase.

All-in-all, the lending market will hold the key to how real estate will do in 2008. With tighter restrictions on commercial investors and residential buyers, buying be suppressed. If you can buy, now is the time. Once the mortgage markets come back, there will be increased competition.

Overall, Houston is one of the top markets I'd recommend for relocating, buying a second home or investing in Texas. There's a larger variety in the market and ample opportunities. Feel free to contact us for referrals to top Houston real estate brokers.

RELATED LINKS AND PAST STORIES

Previous Annual Texas Real Estate Forecast (Posted January 2007)

Some sage Advice to Out-of-State investors (June 2007)

Best Places to Buy in Texas (January 2007)

Houston held its own against the downturn

Where will you be during the Texas Real Estate Bust? (April 2007)

Comments

[Phoenix az real estate]

Always good to hear that markets are holding steady in this turbulent time. I had been hearing a lot of things about Houston going both ways, so this is definitely positive news!

[Dee Copeland]

Thanks for the comment!

I think it's easy to think that the market is doing really bad on the smaller level. The market didn't do extremely well, so it's considered "down". If you're a home owner and properties on your street take forever to sell, it makes you feel as if it's the "market" when your home is probably just overpriced based on current buyer habits.

I'm still going to invest in Texas. I'm won't go back to landlording anytime soon. If I were to invest right now, it would be loaning private funds on infill development. I'm testing an idea that I had called http://www.FreeEvictions.com to help provide alternatives to tired landlords.

[anonymous]

Dee, why no update on the Austin market? Data is avalible, correct? I've found it on other realtor's blogs.

[tyron]

hello dee
i found your blog a while ago and i see it has continued to grow and flourish... The Houston market is still robust I am amazed, but there are a gang of homes on the market still! Perfect time to be buying!

[Dee Copeland]

Thanks, Tyron! I'm looking to post the updates soon. Looks like Austin stats for November should be out and I hope to have December soon as well.

We're looking for readers to be interviewed about their markets. They can be real estate pros or not. Contact me if you know someone who fits.