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[rps324]

The gap between last years sales and this years sales is beginning to narrow. Is this a sign of a recovering market or wishful thinking?

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What are you seeing in your neck of the woods?

[flipper]

The gap between last years sales and this years sales is beginning to narrow. Is this a sign of a recovering market or wishful thinking?

story link

What are you seeing in your neck of the woods?

Things are still strong in my neck of the woods (the willows/77035).

Not many foreclosures hit the MLS. Well priced houses go under contract in days. Well remodeled houses go under contract in days. Average houses sell in "average" time.

All in all I'd say there is a lack of supply that is keeping the demand and prices high.

Looking forward to others opinions.

flipper

[TheNiche]

The gap between last years sales and this years sales is beginning to narrow. Is this a sign of a recovering market or wishful thinking?

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What are you seeing in your neck of the woods?

Houston had a lot of things going for it that soften the blow. First and foremost, we have a growing economy, so whether as owner-occupied or rental units, there is a growing number of households with which to physically occupy excess inventory. Secondly, our market wasn't all that out of balance in the first place as compared with many other cities, and many builders only pulled back because they were financially distressed from bad deals in other cities or because the credit markets froze up so that they couldn't get the money to proceed. As the Chronicle suggested, I suspect that we're going have a pretty tight market at some point in the near future.

But one thing that has plagued Houston has been its relatively high foreclosure rate. It can be explained away on account of that we have such low-cost for-sale housing; with so many more poor households able to buy a home, we open expose ourselves to the risks associated with their financial incompetence. The good news is that the really problematic local foreclosure problem is largely confined to neighborhoods in lower price points--the bad news is that so many of our neighborhoods fit that category.

EDIT: Btw, I realize that local realtors think that times are terrible...but they don't live in Phoenix. Things could be much worse.

Edited May 21, 2008 by TheNiche

[Scott08]

Since my house has been on the market for around 4 months now without an offer, I'm thinking things aren't too rosy in my area. I've had a fair amount of showings but the feedback I get is too vague for me to want to change anything to make it sell faster. Interestingly only one of those surveyed thought the price was too high and I have reduced once. It seems to me that houses in my area (North Norhill) over $300K seem to sell and so do those on the bottom i.e. $220K and less. Those fallling in between, right where mine is, are languishing. There also seems to be a glut in Norhill and the Heights area in general. If I was desperate to sell, I'd be pretty upset about now, but since my potential move is dictated by choice rather than necessity, I'm not going to do a fire sale price just to get out of it. I've pretty much given up on selling it during my current contract period with the realtor. My plan now is to go back to making improvements on it after the contract expires and maybe try again when the market gets better.

[KatieDidIt]

Exceedingly strong just west of the Beltway,Wilchester area 500,000 for a house in original condition , or with some slight updating now. This is a big jump from last year, maybe upwards by 150,000 on some streets. Four years ago you could have picked up the same house for 300,000.

A house just sold down the street in 3 hours for 800,000. They are going to knock it down.

I think the building in the Energy Corridor and the new City Centre are helping to push prices.

Edited May 21, 2008 by KatieDidIt

[crunchtastic]

Bill England has just taken on another couple of rehabs here in Eastwood; he seems really optimistic right now on the way the prices are going for the neighborhood.

[rps324]

My personal experiences with the market have over all has been very different from what I am reading in the paper.

First off I am swamped. Most of the agents I talk to are swamped too. Of course we are talking about closer in areas, I don't know if it is any different in far out areas or what. But personally I am not experiencing some horrible slow down, maybe I am an exception, I don't know.

Secondly good inventory in a lot of areas has been an issue. For example in the east end markets, there's next to nothing good. It's either junky stuff or things so overpriced they wouldn't have sold in the best of times and aren't going to sell now. I think a lot of sellers are hearing the news and deciding now is not the best time to put their home on the market, especially if they have a lot invested in it and need to get top dollar out, so the "better" homes seem to be harder to come by. In Eastwood there is nothing like Crunchtastic's house. No nice, move in ready bungalows. There really isn't anything to pick from that doesn't need a complete, complete overhaul, more or less. In Idylwood its the $419,000 job on MacGregor and a couple on Sylvan, that's it. I have one coming up in there though. In the north of Bellfort section of Glenbrook I just put one on, but other than that there are a couple that IMO are not going to command the prices they are asking. There is one on Colgate that is decent, not extraordinary, and one on Glen Prairie someone just put on for $149,900 that is actually pretty nice, but that is about it. There isn't much in Lindale Park either and mine on Joyce is going under contract.

I think there was a good portion of the recent foreclosures that hit places like Live Oak lofts, Reata, and 2400 McCue that were more mortgage fraud/straw buyer deals than people who couldn't pay. I have no statistics to back that up, but I have seen some signs that lead me to believe that. For example, I sold one in Live Oak and it still had all the brochures in the appliances, they had never been used, I don't believe the unit had ever been occupied, but it was a foreclosure at something like $75,000 less than HCAD appraisal.

The window of opportunity on many of those specific bargains seems to have passed. I had a client trying to get one of the good foreclosure or short sale deals at 2400 McCue and after four attempts, the last two we offered $5,000 above list price, we still were outbid. We ended up at Reata after a well priced unit came back up following a snafu with the first buyers financing. There are still ones out there, but they are not priced like they were, or at least it seems that way. The bargain units have/were/are whatever being snapped up quick at well located projects.

I am seeing softness in the more moderately priced resale town home market though. There are still a lot of foreclosures putting down ward pressure there. I am seeing foreclosures coming up for $20,000 - $35,000 less than what they were selling for a couple of years ago. Many times those (foreclosures) are a little rough around the edges, but people are definitely looking for bargains in that type of market. It makes it harder for the "regular" listings.

I am surprised to hear of trouble in Norhill. If I am remembering Scott08's house right, the front porch has been taken in, and I am betting that is really hurting you. Not that the porch is the whole problem and there are no market conditions to contend with, but people who buy in that whole Heights/Norhill setting want a front porch and if the overall architectural "cute factor" has been diminished by a front porch enclosure, that could be killing you in that market. Can you post a pic of that one? I think I know which one it is but I am not sure.

[Scott08]

I sent a link to the HAR pictures to you Robert for your professional review.