Expect a Booming Real Estate Market in Houston for Spring 2014

Looking to buy or sell a home in Houston, TX? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (832) 428-6453 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. 

Real Estate Market Update for Houston in April 2014

I am going to be short and to the point today. I realize your time is valuable, so I have prepared a quick snapshot to let you know what is happening with Houston real estate. In general, the Houston market is red-hot with activity.

• There is currently only 2.6 months of inventory: This goes for all of Houston, but there are a few areas where we're seeing even lower levels of inventory like Memorial and Bellaire.
• The national average for inventory is 4.9 months, so this would help to explain exactly why our home prices are rising.
• Houston actually just experienced the 34th consecutive month where we have seen home prices increase.
• The average home price in Houston is up by 12%. The rental market is doing well too, with a price increase of 19%.
• The best segment of the market are homes that are $500,000 and above - their prices have risen by 28%.
• Homes in the $250K-$500K range have increased in price by 17%.
• We're seeing huge gains in home value, and these would probably be driven up further if there was more inventory around.
• There is a lot of new construction going on in Houston, and new subdivisions are experiencing an exponential amount of growth. Riverstone in the southwest part of the city is preparing to build 900 new homes. This is very promising for the future of real estate in Houston.

This is all I have for you today, but be sure to tune in to my report for the end of April where I will be discussing changes to Flood Insurance and how it might affect you.

So, if you're looking to buy or sell in Houston, or if you need any other information, then please give me a call.

How to Protest Your Texas Property Taxes Effectively

Looking to buy or sell a home in Houston, TX? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (832) 428-6453 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

The other day I was talking with a client about property taxes. I work with a lot of clients who are from out-of-state, and this particular one was taken aback by the amount of property taxes that we have to pay here in Houston. Keep in mind that there is no state income tax in Texas, so the revenue taken from the government comes largely from our property taxes.

How to Reduce Your Tax Burden

 

Property taxes are based on what the county assesses your property's value at, and not its true market value. The tax value and market value are two different things in this case. Tax rates in Texas are sitting right at 3%, so these tax sums can begin to add up. In order to offset these values we can protest our taxes, and there are a few different ways to do this.

• You Can Do Nothing: In this scenario the county will set the amount and you will pay. Property values will increase over time, so your taxes will rise and you will have no way of bringing them back down. Passivity will not work here and your taxes will snowball, leaving you in a bad situation. Now is the time to act.
• You Can Protest them Yourself - (more on this in a second...)
• You Can Hire a 3rd Party to Do it For You:
• Generally these parties will take about 50% of the savings that you incurred, so it's not exactly a win-win situation. If you're strapped for time it might be a valid option, but protesting on your own is relatively easy with the right tools.

To Protest Taxes On Your Own...

1. Go to http://hcad.org/ : They have an application where you can enter the amount that you expect your home value to be, and if they agree with you, then your property value is reduced and your property taxes are settled.
2. If they don't agree with your value, then you have to show up in person to protest:

• You need to be very well prepared for this. Be prepared to do some research on what comparable properties are worth and be able to prove that this should translate into your property being worth less. The lower the value, the less you pay.
• Be prepared to defend your findings with facts and verified documents.
• The county reserves the right to increase taxes by 10% every year, and can also increase your home's value based on any additions to your property.
• My property value went up 10% this year, and we also installed a pool, so it escalated even further.

This gradual increase can easily turn into a substantial amount over time, so it's best to keep fighting the tax hikes to keep your payments low, otherwise they will snowball and you will be left with an even larger tax burden. This is not a difficult process, although it can be a little time consuming.

However, I would be glad to help you with this process. If you're confused or intimidated, give me a call and I will walk you through the process. You can reach me at (832) 428-6453 or email me at Mike@HomesFromHouston.com

4 Reasons Why Houston Real Estate will Boom in 2014 and How You Can Take Advantage

Looking to buy or sell a home in Houston, TX? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (832) 428-6453 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

In 2013 the real estate market recovered, and in 2014 I'm expecting a year of growth with demand for housing on the rise, as well as 46 of 50 states showing economic improvement.

I've pinpointed 4 factors that will explain a rise in the demand for housing:

1. The repeat buyer: With lots of people having negative equity in the past years, which creates an impulse for them to move up or move down into new homes.
2. Immigration Reform: Nothing political about this one, but I expect some changes in immigration legislation, which will cause a significant segment of our population to seek permanent housing.
3. Millenial buyers: As graduates move away from home or away from high renting prices, they will seek mortgages that can be cheaper than renting prices.
4. Job Growth in Texas: Upwards of 70,000 jobs are being created in the Houston area alone, which is really driving up economic demand for housing.

With these four factors there will likely be a large demand throughout the country, as much as a 10-15% growth. In Houston, we expect a 5-6% growth, which is fairly steady in relation to the rest of the country.

However, our current supply of houses in Houston is not able to keep up with the demand, so expect new construction as well.

One big surprise that I expect to see is with interest rates. At about 4.5% right now, we expect to see them rise steadily throughout the year, and could go up to 5.5% by 2015. However, we don't expect these hikes to affect the purchasing power of consumers in Houston, because the job creation here should balance out that factor.

Overall: 2014 should be a good year for both buyers and sellers in Houston. Buyers will receive great rates and sellers will experience a high demand.

I wish you a very happy and prosperous 2014, and I'll be back with more market information soon.