What is happening with real estate values right now?
Every few months we see small changes in the housing industry, some good, some bad. What is happening right now in our own area with real estate values, foreclosures and the lending industry?
REAL ESTATE BLOG - Dave Turnquist, San Jac Real Estate
http://www.SanJacRealEstate.com
Real Estate Blog - Dave Turnquist: What is happening with real estate values right now?
MARCH 2008 UPDATE: Still a very strong buyers market. Home values have seen a slight decrease in our area over the past 3 months (around 2%). Lenders have continued to strengthen loan requirements thus thinning out the number of available buyers. If you are selling, be prepared to price your home "very competitively" according to the current market conditions (not 6 months ago or a year ago). Also be prepared to have the buyer ask for closing cost assistance from the seller.
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A Look At La Porte Single Family Home Sales Over The Past Year
Dave Turnquist
We’ve all been listening to the news every night about the mortgage crisis and the real estate bubble bursting, but are they talking about us here in La Porte or is this just mainly affecting those in the Northeast and California. Well, without a doubt the Northeastern states and California have been hit the hardest over the past 12 months, but here in La Porte we too have seen the fallout of the “Real Estate Crisis”. Based on statistics obtained from the Houston Association of Realtors MLS (Multiple Listing Service) for the 77571 zip code (La Porte), here is what has happened in our own town since April 1st of 2007 (and this is no April Fool’s joke).
Quarter # Homes Sold Avg Sales Price Avg Price per Sq Ft
2nd Quarter 2007 164 $139,319 $77.27
3rd Quarter 2007 146 $133,379 $75.44
4th Quarter 2007 113 $120,288 $68.62
1st Quarter 2008 100 $126,643 $68.98
The best month for # of homes sold was July ’07 with 54 homes sold.
The best month for Average Sales Price was September ’07 at $150,303
The best month for Average Price Per Sq.Ft. was June ’07 at $82.70
The worst month for # of homes sold was January ’08 with 22 homes sold
The worst month for Average Sales Price was November ’07 at $116,770
The worst month for Average Sales Price Per Sq.Ft. was November ’07 at $66.61
So what does all this mean you ask? Clearly we have seen a significant decrease in all 3 categories over the past 12 months in the La Porte home sale market and it is safe to say we are in a very strong “Buyer’s Market” right now, but there are a few silver linings in this cloud. First, if you are planning to protest your property taxes, this may be an excellent opportunity for you to use the market value loss on your property as leverage against the HCAD (Harris County Appraisal District) 2008 valuation on your property. If you haven’t seen your 2008 value yet, go to www.HCAD.org and look up your home.
The second bright spot in all of this is the “leveling off” effect seen between the 4th quarter of 2007 and the 1st quarter of 2008 showing that it appears that the sales prices appear to be in recovery modes and so does the price per square foot value. To sum things up on a positive note, with the thousands of people across the country losing their homes to foreclosure, whether you see the glass as half empty or half full, just be happy that you still have the glass………um, I mean house.
About the author: Dave Turnquist is the Broker/Owner of San Jac Real Estate in La Porte, TX and has been selling homes in La Porte for the past 9 years. He also teaches real estate classes as an Adjunct Professor at San Jacinto College. He can be reached via his website at www.SanJacRealEstate.com
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