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Texas and Houston Buck National Real Estate Trends; Erratic Economic Outlook, However, Affects Single-Family Market

Houston (PRWEB) April 24, 2008 -- Texas appears to be bucking the national trend of rising property foreclosure rates, and in Houston, single-family home prices are holding up, despite the seventh consecutive monthly slide in overall property sales. But multiple challenges face both home buyers and sellers, according to one real estate veteran.

"Respected sources of industry trends are serving up some bright spots in residential real estate," says Steven Kleiman, Founder and CEO of Oakington Realty of Houston. "But the fact remains that Houston' housing market is clearly 'unsettled.' The erratic economy is putting some first-time home buyers on the sidelines even as it attracts a diverse group of bargain hunters for high-end housing.

"Although Inner Loop (inside IH 610) homes appear to be largely retaining their value levels, buying and selling tactics are changing dramatically as sales of luxury residences dropped significantly in March," Kleiman emphasized.

Oakington Realty, founded in 2004, handled more than $40 million worth of high-end property transactions in 2007, up from $30 million in 2006. The homes, ranging from $200,000 to more than $1 million, were in Houston's most prestigious Inner Loop (IH 610) neighborhoods -- Afton Oaks, Bellaire, Braes Heights, Memorial Park, Montrose, Museum District, River Oaks, Southgate, Southampton, Tanglewood, West University, et al. (www.oakingtonrealty.com)

California-based RealtyTrac recently reported a total of 10,700 Texas properties entered the foreclosure process during March, down more than 16% from the volume of filings recorded in March 2007, but up 5% over February filings.

Nationally, default notices and bank repossessions increased about 57% and 129%, respectively - on a year-over-year basis -- an indication that more defaulting homeowners are simply walking away and deeding their properties back to the foreclosing lender. By comparison, auction notices jumped 32% percent.

"Texas only appears to be bucking the trend because the deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure process allows the lender to take possession of the property without putting it up for public foreclosure auction," Kleiman explained. "Houston, on the other hand exhibits a much clearer picture when one looks closely at March figures provided by the Houston Association of Realtors® (HAR)."

Houston Home Sales at '08 High

Houston home sales in March reached their highest level of the new year, with the average price of a single-family home continued to increase, up 2% in March over the year-ago month to $208,105. The median price of a single-family home was flat at $151,000, reported the Multiple Listing Service of HAR.

"Additionally, total March sales of single-family homes in Houston came in at 5,113 or 16.4 percent lower than March 2007 and the steepest decline since sales began to slide this past September," MLS-HAR reported.

"After enjoying monthly gains since last fall, sales of homes priced above $500,000 fell 15.7 percent in March. That directly impacts the high-end neighborhoods inside and outside Loop 610, Kleiman noted. "Single-family homes in Houston priced below $80,000 showed a 4.1 percent improvement in year-over-year sales activity.

"Obviously, brokers and their clients need to recognize the emerging trends brought on by the sub prime mortgage meltdown, the decline in interest rates, the growing drought in credit markets and significant lay-offs in a variety of industries," observed Kleiman, a member of the National, Texas and Houston Association(s) of Realtors®.

"All parties should be prepared to approach negotiations with greater flexibility and a spirit of compromise. Give and take should not descend into bitter pushing and shoving," he said. "Bargain hunters should not act like vultures and home sellers should not expect a lottery-like premium. Reality rules."

Oakington Realty, a niche real estate firm, pairs traditional and innovative marketing strategies with electronic communications technologies. Its six full and part-time sales associates work with buyers, sellers, investors and developers. The company offers high quality marketing campaigns plus realistic fee structures to the long-underserved, high-end real estate community.

Declining Sales. . . and Taking Longer

HAR also reported existing home statistics for the single-family home segment of the real estate market: "In March 2008, existing single-family home sales totaled 4,206, a 15.7% drop from March 2007. The Days-on-Market statistic for March dropped to 87 from 92 in February, but exceeded the 80 days recorded in March 2007.

For more details on average and median sales prices of existing homes and townhouse/condos, go to: http://www.har.com/mls/dispPressRelease.cfm

Kleiman, a Houston native, who grew up in the Fondren Southwest area and resides in the Braes Heights neighborhood (between Bellaire and West University), also specializes in finding urban-in-fill properties - vacant land and potential housing tear-downs -- sought by buyers, developers and homebuilders.

"Houston, the nation's fourth largest city and the largest metropolitan area in the state continues to add jobs and residents - an estimated 75,000 and 100,000, respectively in 2007. Not all those newcomers will be pushed into rental or multifamily properties, however. Apartment vacancies are shrinking and many multifamily projects are looking for lines of credit or investors," he said.

HAR-MLS has recognized Kleiman for his sales accomplishments in each of the past four years. In the second quarter of 2007, he was one of Houston's Top-Producing Buyer's agents in MLS sales transactions based on the number of buyer-size deals and on dollar volume.

"In February, we reported calculations by PMI Mortgage Insurance Company that ranked the Houston housing market among the lowest risk markets compared to cities nationwide," he recounted. http://www.houstonfacts.org/lowest_risk_markets.html

"Those same scores show risk of home values falling in 2009 in all U.S. metropolitan statistical areas and divisions. So, Houston's long-term immunity to the economic downturn - 'recession,' according to some pundits -- remains to be seen," he stated.

Pending sales at the end of March -- those listings expected to close within the next 30 days - reached 4,585, 18.9% lower than last year with the inventory of single-family homes in March at 6.3 months, a slight increase from 6.1 months in February.

"Those figures, while suggesting another possible sales decline for April, also indicate upwards of a $700 million worth of residential property changing hands," Kleiman emphasized. "Home sellers who are actively preparing their property for potential spring and summer buyers and engaging aggressive, knowledgeable brokers are going to fare better than those homeowners retreating to the sidelines."

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS:

Steven Kleiman, CEO, Oakington Realty, Inc., Houston, 713-875-9040; www.oakingtonrealty.com

Preston F. Kirk, APR, Kirk Public Relations, Austin TX, 830-693-4447

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