Houston Real Estate Market Update for Fall 2014

How You Can Determine the Worth of Your Houston Home

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.

 We just wanted to take a moment to give you an update on what's going on in the Houston real estate market and the nationwide market as a whole. Locally, Houston is still going very strong. Prices are up from last year, especially in the luxury home market, where prices are up 11%. The number of homes sold is currently right on par with where we were at this point last year. As far as inventory goes, we are down about 9% from last year and there are still not enough homes out there to satisfy the demand from buyers. We have about 3 months of inventory, which is well below the 5.5 month national average. 

In the national market, you may have heard through different mediums that it isn't doing so well, but that's really not the case. On a national level, this past Spring season was the best one we've had in the past 3 years. We are still looking strong as we go into the future. 

One more thing: mortgage rates, in case you haven't heard, are still at all-time lows. Locking in a rate now could see you save thousands of dollars over the life of your loan. Just something for you to keep in mind. 

If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call or send us an email.

How You Can Determine the Worth of Your Houston Home

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.

Determining the value of your home can be difficult. Texas is a nondisclosure state, which means what a home actually sells for is not publicly disclosed. The county assesses how much homes are worth and the resultant tax data is typically all that is available.

This is a problem for people who want to sell their home because coming up with a list price is difficult, especially in our strong, growing market. Many people use Zillow to get their home estimate. The problem with that, however, is estimates can be hundreds of thousands of dollars off in either direction. If you are looking for a ballpark figure, online home evaluations are just fine - but if you want a true value, an accurate estimate, your best bet is working with a real estate professional.

An agent has a better understanding of market trends than websites like Zillow and Trulia. We have access to comparable property sales and other data that help us price your home in an informed manner. Additionally, HAR.com has been consistently ranked the #1 MLS site in the nation, so you do have at least one helpful online resource.

Real estate is incredibly local - what is happening regionally doesn't apply to the multitude of micro markets, especially in a large city like Houston. If you want the best information available so you can find the value of your home, give us a call or shoot us an email. We'll help you price your home competitively so you can sell it fast and get maximum value. 

Houston Real Estate Market Update for Summer 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.

We are halfway through the year in Houston, so we thought today would be a good time to send a market update out. This will cover the Houston real estate market, as well as the nationwide real estate market as  a whole. There are a lot of things to report, so let's get started with what's going on right here in Houston.

• Market levels are up 2.6% from last year
• Sales for homes under $500,000 are down because there are just not enough properties out there for the demand, while homes listed over $500,000 have seen an increase in sales.
• There is a strong demand for properties in Houston, and the building is just starting to catch up with the demand.
• Appreciation for single-family homes is huge, with about a 10% appreciation rate

Now, here are some statistics on the nationwide housing market as a whole.

• Inventory levels around the country have risen 12% this year after decreasing in each of the last 2 years.
• New home sales are up 18%, a much larger number than was expected. Builder confidence is high and more and more builders are confident in people looking for new homes.

If you have any questions about either our Houston market or the nationwide market, please don't hesitate to call. We would love to help you sort things out.