Houston Housing Numbers Skewed by 2010 Tax Credit
June 22nd, 2011
In Houston, the real estate market may be doing pretty well – but it’s hard to know for sure, says the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR). The group just released its numbers for this May, adding a caveat that while last month’s sales numbers appear to have dropped, it is likely because “the 2010 federal incentive triggered a short-term surge in local home sales…that has skewed the year-over-year analysis most of this year”[1]. While at first this sounds like HAR might just be looking on the eternal bright side that most realtors’ associations prefer, they do appear to have a point: the number of listings under contract this May and expected to close in the next 30 to 60 days is up more than 35 percent over last May. Again, this may be attributed to the tax credit, which required buyers to enter purchase contracts by the end of April 2010. In other good news for real estate in the Houston area, the price of single-family homes in the area jumped 6.5 percent over the past year and foreclosure property sales are down 3 percent.
In light of these numbers, it looks like Houston is doing pretty well. Do you think that this is because of the tax credit, in spite of it, or due to something else all together?
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[1] http://www.worldpropertychannel.com/us-markets/residential-real-estate-1/houston-home-sales-houston-association-of-realtors-har-houston-condo-sales-texas-real-estate-report-houston-mls-listings-home-buyer-tax-credit-carlos-p-bujosa-4441.php
June 22nd, 2011 at 9:08 AM
Texans are really smart. They make doing busines easy for investors, They keep their markets strong to make purchasing for commercial and residential a happening. Yes the tax credit is a great help. Just check out the reduced forclosure market there.