Real Estate in Houston – 2010 – A Houston Realtor’s Perspective

Is the glass half full or half empty? This is a common phrase used to judge optimism. When looking back at the Houston real estate in the last year, most of us would definitely see the glass as ¾ full. While several of the benchmarks showed numbers not indicative of gains, when compared to the national market, Houston did amazingly well and proved once again why buying a home is a good choice.

During 2010, single family property sales fell 5.7% compared to 2009. While trying to remain optimistic about our economy, I would have to imply that most businesses would have been ecstatic if their sales had only dropped by less than 6% last year. When you mix the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit, a major election and other economic factors, a small adjustment of 5.7% is not bad.

Total property sales during 2010 fell 4.6%, or 2,932 less homes than 2009. When you take into account the factors we have already discussed as well as the much tighter lending requirements, it’s amazing that our market still had less than a total 5% decline.

Now we get to one of the most promising signs of real estate in Houston, the average price. In 2010, the average singly family home rose 4% to $211,765. Houston could quite possibly be one of the few markets that showed a gain in 2010.

So as we welcome 2011, we hope that real estate in Houston continues to outperform the rest of the country and show some strong positive gains that will prove what a great place Houston is to call home.

If you are looking to buy real estate in Houston and need a qualified Realtor to help in your search, please contact Paul Silverman, Broker Associate at Keller Williams Metropolitan. You can visit our website at www.ourfirstnest.com.