Another Perspective

January 2007 Hot Areas

Houston Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service has released Houston's Hotness Ratio for the Houston Real Estate market.

The hotness ratio is pending sales as a percent of active listing.  The top 10 market in Houston are:

1. South Katy Area - 22.3

2. Ft. Bend Southwest - 18.3

3. Bear Creek - 18.0

4. Far Northeast - 15.8

5. Pasadena Area -15.5

6. Hempstead West - 15.1

7. Clear Lake -14.9

8. Montgomery County Northeast - 14.8

9. Montgomery County Southwest - 14.4

10. Southeast - 14.4

It's a Seller's market in all of these areas - great time to put your home on the market.

January MLS Statistics

The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University and Houston Association of Realtors have released the multiple listing stats for January.  Below is an evaluation of those figures:

January YTD 2007 – Single-Family Home Sales

YTD Review of the Market for Houston and surrounding areas:

Overall Statistics January YTD 2007

§      Single-family home sales are up by 10% in sold units over January YTD 2006 sales with 4,017 MLS recorded sold units,

§         Dollar volume sold in MLS through January YTD 2007 is $728,482,950 that is a 12% increase in dollar volume sold over the same time last year.

§         Average sales price YTD is $181,350 or 1% greater than this time last year.

§         Active listings are up by 8% with 30,819 single-family homes on the market.

§         Contracts written, which represent January YTD buyer demand in Houston are up 16% over this time last year with 3,969 homes that have gone under contract.

§         Average sales price per square foot is $82, which is 3% greater than last year. 

§         Days on the Market, a statistic that is good if it is declining has gone down by 8% since last year and the average time to sell a home in Houston is 80 days. 

§         With sales and contracts pending on the upswing thru January, and active listings and days on the market on the decline, home price appreciation, even in single digit denominations, is a high probability.

§         The breakdown of sales closed by price in January:               

§         $250,000 - $299,999               (214)            Months Inventory – 5.7

§         $300,000 - $399,999               (188)            Months Inventory – 6

§        $400,000 - $499,999               (94)               Months Inventory – 7.1

§         $500,000 - $599,999               (43)              Months Inventory – 8.2

§         $600,000 - $699,999               (22)              Months Inventory – 7.5

§        $700,000 - $799,999                (17)              Months Inventory – 8.1

§         $800,000 - $899,999               (8)                Months Inventory – 8.9

§        $900,000 - $999,999                 (8)               Months Inventory – 9.7

§         $1,000,000 or More                (24)              Months Inventory – 11.8

Houston, Aspen & Vail?

How often to you see Houston, Aspen & Vail all mentioned in an article about hot places to live?  Well, it's happened - today on WSJ's RealEstateJournal.com  there is a story by Lauren Baier Kim about what's new in real-estate markets across the U.S.  The story highlights are, Oil profits buoy Houston home sales, Americans buy second homes overseas, Neighbor of Aspen and Vail is on the rise, Renters call the shots in Palm Beach County and Fewer sales, more leases in Manhattan.  Click here for the entire story.

In another story,on Bloomberg.com crude-oil, natural-gas and gasoline prices surged to all-time highs last year, spurring record profits for Houston-based ConocoPhillips, Halliburton Co. and other energy companies.  U.S. oil futures last month set a new high at $75.35 a barrel. That means good times in the Houston market, including River Oaks, an area west of downtown with tree-lined streets that attract oilmen, surgeons and lawyers.  Some mansions sit on three-acre lots, boasting more than 10,000 feet of space and price tags topping $10 million.  That's in a city with a median home price of $147,000.  Click for the entire story.

For information on specific areas of Houston go to Houston Real Estate Market Updates.

Houston Market Update-February

Houston Overall Statistics YTD February 2006

• Single-family home sales are up by 13% in sold units over February YTD 2005 sales with 8,276 MLS recorded sold units.
• Dollar volume sold in MLS through February YTD 2006 is $1,540,532,320 which is a 21% increase in dollar volume sold over last year.
• Average sales price YTD is $186,145 or 6% greater than this time last year.
• Active listings are down by 2% with 28,535 single-family homes on the market.
• Contracts written, which represent February YTD buyer demand in Houston are up 17% over this time last year with 7,172 homes that have gone under contract.
• Average sales price per square foot is $83, which is 5% greater than last year.
• Days on the Market, a statistic that is good if it is declining, has gone down by 3% since last year and the average time to sell a home in Houston is 88 days.
• With sales and contracts pending on the upswing in the first two months of the year, and active listings and days on the market on the decline, home price appreciation, even in single digit denominations, is a high probability.

The outlook for the Houston market is good.  For details on specific areas within the city go to Houston Real Estate Market Updates.

Houston Market

Our own Toni Nelson has posted the January Houston Market Update-

Houston Overall Statistics YTD January 2006
Single-family home sales are up by 13% in sold units over January YTD 2005 sales with 3,641 MLS recorded sold units,

*Dollar volume sold in MLS through January YTD 2006 is $652,321,560 which is an 18% increase in dollar volume sold over last year.
*Average sales price YTD is $179,160 or 4% greater than this time last year.
*Active listings are down by 1% with 28,480 single-family homes on the market.
*Contracts written, which represent January YTD buyer demand in Houston is up 15% over this time last year with 3,414 homes that have gone under contract.
*Average sales price per square foot is $80, which is 3% greater than last year.
*Days on the Market, a statistic that is good if it is declining, has gone down by 4% since last year and the average time to sell a home in Houston is 87 days.
*With sales and contracts pending on the upswing in the first month of the year, and active listings and days on the market on the decline, home price appreciation, even in single digit denominations, is a high probability.

The market can vary from area to area within the city, go to Houston Real Estate Market Updates for a breakdown on your area of interest.