News

Hello Everyone,

The Houston residential real estate market, following a slower July, rebounded strongly in August. Demand continues to grow in moderately priced housing and demand increased for higher-priced homes as well. The residential market continues to perform well with strong increases year-over-year in both home pricing and pace of home sales.

According to the August 2016 MLS Report released on September 15, 2016:

1. August 2016 had a total of 7,914 sales vs 7,667 in August 2015, an 8.2% increase year over year. This a rebound from July’s slower sales figures and is the greatest one-month volume of sales of all time. Overall, year to date, total home sales are up 1.5% vs 2015.
   
2. "August proved to be a strong month for the Houston real estate market, which was welcome news after the slowdown in July," said HAR Chairman Mario Arriaga with First Group.
   
3. The median home price in August 2016 was $225,000 vs $217,000 in August 2015, an increase of 4.2%, that’s the highest median price ever for August. The average price climbed 2.4% to $289,519, which is also an August record.
   
4. Total single-family home inventory did increase to 4.0 months’ supply vs 3.5 a year earlier as additional listings were added into the market. The housing inventory across the U.S. currently stands at a 4.7 months’ supply per the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Anything below 6.0 months’ supply is considered a tight market.

 

The Economy at a Glance:

1. Houston lost 8,600 new jobs in July, according to data from the Texas Workforce Commission. Houston always experiences significant job losses mid-year as educators on 10-month contracts are without work during the summer months. These job losses are typically recouped when school begins in the September jobs report.
   
2. Sectors recording notable growth in July were professional and business services (+ 5,100 jobs), construction (+2,100 jobs) and trade, transportation and utilities (+1,500 jobs). The largest losses recorded were in the government (-14,400 jobs) and education and health services (-1,800 jobs) sectors.
   
3. The Houston metro area unemployment for July increased from 5.5 % in June to 5.8 % in July 2016.
   
4. Following nearly 18 months of decline, oil & gas rig counts increased to 497, up from the May bottom of 404.

 

As the price of oil continues to stabilize, we expect to see a bottoming out of the job losses experienced in the energy market and a moderate recovery (mirroring the increase in rig counts) starting in 2017. The Houston single-family residential market continues to grow despite the recent slow-down in the local economy. Economic forecasts for 2017 and beyond support sustainable growth for the Houston’s housing market. 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
Principal

Hydie McAlister
Principal

Jim McAlister, Sr.
Principal