News

News Flash - Houston Real Estate Market

April 2017

 

Hello everyone,

The Houston residential real estate market continued its strong growth in March. Demand for housing continues increase and push pricing higher across the market. The pace of sales in moderately and luxury priced housing continues to lead the way. Overall, the residential market continues to demonstrate healthy and sustainable growth.

According to the March 2017 Houston MLS Report released on April 12, 2017

  1. March 2017 had a total of 7,013 sales vs 6,278 in March 2016, an increase of 11.7% year over year.
  2. The strongest home sales activity took place among homes in the $250,000 to $499,999 range, followed by the luxury market (over $750,000), which recorded its 5th consecutive month of sales gains.
  3. "Houston home sales blossomed in March, but we also saw tremendous activity in the rental market," said HAR Chair Cindy Hamann with Heritage Texas Properties. "A healthy pace of new listings helped inventory levels grow, which is critical if we are to maintain the positive momentum."
  4. The median home price in March 2017 was $227,530 vs $215,000 in March 2016, an increase of 5.8%, the highest median price ever for March. The average price climbed 4.6% to a record-high of $284,279.
  5. Total single-family home inventory increased to 3.8 months’ supply vs 3.5 a year earlier as additional listings were added into the market. The housing inventory for the U.S. currently stands at a 3.8 months’ supply per the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Anything below 6.0 months’ supply is considered a tight market.

 

Texas Workforce Commission and Baker Hughes:

  1. In February 2017, 16,700 new jobs were added to Houston. Total jobs increased 0.6% year over year.
  2. According to recent estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau, Houston added 125,005 residents, a 1.9% increase, in the 12 months ending July 2016. Houston saw the second largest gain of any U.S metro area during that time. In addition, Houston has added 851,971 residents since the 2010 census, that’s more than the current population of the El Paso metro area.3
  3. With the increased population, Houston metro area unemployment increased in February to 5.9%, up from 5.7% in January 2017.
  4. The Baker Hughes Oil & Gas Rig Counts increased to 789 in March 2017, up 95% from the bottom of 404 in May 2016, signaling a stabilization in the energy market as producers have become more cost effective.

 

With Houston seeing continued population growth and increasing job growth, the local financial and real estate markets stand to benefit. For Texas and Houston, the rebounding energy market supports moderate job growth in 2017 and accelerated growth in 2018. As a result, the Texas metro single-family residential markets are positioned to thrive from pending population growth, job growth, and an increase in first time homebuyers.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact our office at (713) 535-2250. For more information on our company, please visit our website at www.mcalisterinv.com .

Regards,

Paul Connor , Hydie McAlister , Jim McAlister, Sr.
Principals, McAlister Investment Real Estate


Article credits:

  • www.har.com
  • Texas Workforce Commission andbakerhughes.com
  • GHP Economy at a Glance-April 2017 edition