While the sub-prime mortgage mess and falling home prices make front page news nationwide, local residents of Houston Texas are asking themselves is Houston also headed for a severe real estate correction?
Houston is one of the top five metropolitan service areas (MSA) in the country with thelowest risk of falling home values according to PMI Mortgage Insurance Company and HoustonFacts.
PMI Mortgage Insurance Company calculates risk scores for housing markets, predicting the chance of decreasing home values in the near future. The Houston housing market ranks among the lowest risk markets compared to cities nationwide.
How Is Houston Faring Compared To The Rest of the Nation?
According to the data, Houston has experienced a5.93% annual housing price appreciation in first quarter 2007, a .41% appreciation over the same period last year.
This contrasts with some of the highest risk markets (and their annual price declines over the same period), including:
San-Bernardino-Ontario, CA (-17.5%);
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ (-32.8%);
Las Vegas-Paradise, NV (-14.4%);
West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL (-30.3%)
where homeowners are getting trounced.
Why Houston Texas?
Recent economic data shows that Houston has an incredible healthy job market. Strength of a local economy can be measured by the number of new jobs created. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Houston has added over 75,000 jobs in the last year and is the #1 city in the nation for job growth.
Many of these jobs are being created in energy related industries, medical and professional services fields.
Houston has recently scored as the top city in the country on several key growth metrics including:
#1 Job Growth (source US Bureau of Labor Statistics March 2007)
#1 Lowest Cost of Living among 24 MSAs with population greater than 2M (source ACCRA Cost of Living Index 2006)
#1 Most Affordable Housing among 24 MSAs with population greater than 2M (source ACCRA Cost of Living Index 2006)
#1 Largest Immigrant Communities in the US (source Center for an Urban Future April 2007)
#1 Residential Building Permits
What Does This Mean For the Houston Housing Market?
Real estate trends (in absence of a market bubble) closely follow the increase of the local population and job growth.
As Houston has not experienced the samereal estate bubble price run-up that the East Coast or West Coast experienced in the past decade and is creating new jobs at the fastest rate in the country, this translates to positive trends for the Houston real estate market and increasing housing prices.
Statistics from the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) show the year to date median housing price continues to increase, and that 2007 is expected to be the second best year ever for the residential housing market.
HAR data from November 2007 shows that Single Family Homes and Townhomes/Condos are a Sellers Market, while High-rises are in a Buyers market based upon months of available housing inventory.
The increasing scarcity of available land in Houstons Inner Loop combined with population, job and household growth in the entire city, make the fundamentals for residential housing in the Inner Loop very positive.
For more information, and a listing of some of thebest values on Houston Townhomes and Houston Single Family homes based on price, square footage, location and amenities, please contact Paige Martin at Paige@HoustonProperties.com or 713-384-5177.
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To speak with a Houston Realtor atHoustonProperties.com about attractive Houston area homes and investment properties, call713-384-5177 today or contactPaige@HoustonProperties.com for more information.
Paige Martin is a member of the prestigious Martha Turner Properties' Circle of Excellence, an award given to honor the company's top producers. Paige is a member of HAR, TAR and the National Association of Realtors. Her website, , features over 500 pages of Houston real estate information and details on over 40,000 properties of Houston Texas Real Estate for sale as well, as free tips on how to quickly sell Houston homes. Paige Martin, Realtor, Martha Turner Properties.
