Basically, real estate good in Houston.
Inventory of homes for sale has fallen to a level not seen in more than a decade. Builders are trying to keep up with a growing demand from buyers relocating here for jobs. Realtors are going to new lengths to find properties for their buyer clients.
A letter from one realty firm that recently landed in a colleague’s mailbox at home read: “If you currently own a home and are considering selling, now is the time to act!” It wasn’t the first letter like that he had gotten. “Inventory of all kinds of housing inventory is in short supply,” said David Jarvis, the Houston division president of Metrostudy, a consulting and research firm for the home building industry.
Online real estate firm Trulia recently named Houston as the top healthiest housing market going into 2013.
The ranking singled out large metros with strong job growth, low vacancy rates and low foreclosure inventory.
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Apartment development was one of the biggest real estate stories in 2012 with developers announcing a raft of new projects, many inside the 610 Loop.
Many of these complexes have already broken ground, and others will get started in the coming year.
High-rise cranes are multiplying, too.
At 40 stories, the city’s tallest apartment building should be well under way next year at the corner of Weslayan and West Alabama.
More office towers are on the rise, and some predict a big increase in development in 2013.
Consider that a bookend to the retail update. These stories are generally not specific about “city of Houston” versus “greater Houston area”, but we know that a lot of this particular construction is happening inside the Loop. Among other things, that suggests that the city’s budget outlook will continue to get better as well. It will be interesting to see what Mayor Parker’s budget for the next cycle looks like. What a difference a couple of years makes.