November is the start of the holiday shopping season. While the retailers are announcing increases in sales and the stock market is up, home sales didn't show much improvement for the month of November.
Take a look at the numbers:
This time last year there were 150 closings. People may be out buying for the holidays but at the present time it doesn't seem like they are buying homes.
143 homes sold in Southeast Texas during the month of October, according to data from the Beaumont MLS. The majority of these homes were financed by FHA mortgages (53), followed by conventional mortgages (46), cash (25), and VA (15).
Take a look!
Noteworthy highlights:
Sales from previous October's:
Not since 2005 have there been fewer home sales in the month of October. If you were here in Southeast Texas in October 0f 2005 you can probably guess why home sales were so slow that month.
The takeaway:
Home sales in Southeast Texas continue to lag behind the pace of previous years. The number of days on the market it takes to sell a home is longer than before. If you plan to sell your home in this market its more important than ever to know the data and understand the competition. That's where an experienced REALTOR who is a local market expert can really help. When you are ready to sell your Southeast Texas home contact me, let me show you how to make sure your home is one of the homes that sells.
As we start the fourth and final quarter of 2011, let's see how home sales this year compare to home sales last year. Raise your hand if you think sales are up. Now, take a look at the chart.
If your hand is down then you are right about home sales. So far through the third quarter the total number of residential sales is lower than it was in 2010.
"There have been approximately 10% fewer homes sold this year compared to the same time last year."
In fact only two months -January and September- of 2011 had a higher number of home sales than 2010. According to the data the The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M gathers from the Beaumont MLS, there is currently a 12.3 month supply of inventory on the market.
The number of homes for sale in Southeast Texas - also know as the amount of inventory- has been above 8 months since April 2009. Its been in double digits since Feb. 2010. Most experts would agree a 6-8 month supply of homes on the market is a fair and balanced market. More than that tips the scale to the side of buyers. Less than that tips the scale to the side of sellers.
Interestingly enough the median sales price has not gone down even though inventory is up.
What is the take away from all of this? To put it in plain words, the market is complicated right now. Fewer homes are selling but the pristine ones still are selling and selling at close to asking price.
If you have more questions about the Southeast Texas residential housing market contact me. Having a professional, local REALTOR on your side is one of the smartest decisions you will make when it comes to buying or selling a home.
It is a common occurrence. Home sales slow in September. This year is no different, except they slowed more than they have the past several years.
The chart below shows the top five areas for single family home sales in Southeast Texas for the month of September.
Here's a few September's gone by:
See that! That's a 50% reduction in the number of homes that sold in September 2006 to September 2011. If you read much about real estate then you are aware 2006 is considered the peak of the market. I wonder if we will look back in a few years and call 2011 the bottom of the real estate market.
One other thing to take note of is that the average days a home spends on the market in Southeast Texas is 121. If you are thinking about selling your home you will want to keep that in mind. 4 months is the average.
If you want to know more about the Southeast Texas real estate market or single family home sales in Beaumont, Texas contact me. Its easy. Call, text, or click the link on the blog. If I don't know the answer to your real estate question I will do my best to find out.
After a month of triple digit heat most Southeast Texan's are happy to say "Goodbye August." It seems like the heat slowed everything down including home sales.
Looking at the Preliminary data 150 homes sold during the month of August. In 2010, 174 homes sold in August. In 2009, 187 homes sold. Check for yourself at The Real Estate Center of Texas A&M's Website. It is one the of best resources for home sales date for the entire state of Texas.
Broken down by area, here's a look at sales.
Three notable changes from early months:
The official summer "selling" season has come to an end. This one is going in the record books as one of the worst in the past five years. The local housing market in Southeast Texas is still plagued by an excess of inventory and not enough buyers. The homes that are selling are the cream of the crop, ready to move in or the bargain basement prices on REO's. Its a hard time to be a seller unless your home is in excellent condition or you are willing to be very aggressive with your price.
If you want to learn more information about the Southeast Texas housing market contact me today.
On the first day back to school let's do a little math. Nothing difficult here. In fact, you don't have to calculate a thing. This chart will show you home sales for the month of July broken into price ranges.
Three interesting things to note:
August is coming to an end and soon we will be able to compare the summer home sales from 2011 to the summer home sales from 2010. At last glance the numbers are down. Double digits down.
If you want to know more about home sales in Southeast Texas, contact me. There's no better time to buy and there are more reasons than ever to have an experience local REALTOR help you learn how to get the best deal on your next home purchase.
Which residential neighborhoods in Southeast Texas were really hot in the month of June? If you are talking about degrees Fahrenheit the answer is all of them, but if you are talking about the number of homes that sold in various parts of Southeast Texas then the answer is a few of them.
Take a look.
The hottest areas in Southeast Texas for the total number of homes that sold in June were: Lumberton, Beaumont W2, Beaumont W6, and Beaumont N6. These areas all had double digit home sales in June.
The top four neighborhood/areas account for 37% of the total number of home sales.
There are other residential neighborhoods/areas that had fewer than 3 home sales in the month of June that were not included on the chart.
Home sellers may also take note of the number of days that the average home stayed on the market. Its taking 124 days on average or just shy of five months for homes to close. That is the number of days from the day they were listed in the MLS to the day they close. When you're real estate agent is asking for a six month listing in this market that is just covering the amount of time its takes for most homes to sell. Data is complied from the Beaumont MLS.
Here we are half way through the year already. All the predictions for the Southeast Texas housing market at the end of 2010 were that this would be the year the housing market recovered. So, how's that crystal ball looking now? Take a look at the way the first six months of 2011 compared to the first six months of 2010. You might be surprised!
While Jan. 2011 beat the total home sales in Jan. 2010, no other month has done the same. February 2011 came close and tied the home sales in February of 2010. But since then its been all down hill in terms of the total number of homes that have sold each month.
Six months into the year there have been 883 homes that have closed. This same six months last year there were 964 homes that closed. In percentages, we are off the 2010 home sales pace by approximately 14%.
We've got a lot of catching up to do if 2011 home sales are going to end the year better than 2010. Want to know which Southeast Texas neighborhoods had the largest total number of home sales in June? Check back tomorrow.
It's official!
The residential home sales data for the month of May is in. Here's what I find the most shocking:
That is a lot of homes that are currently for sale. The total number of active residential listings in the Beaumont MLS is 1,832. In May 143 homes closed and title transferred to a new owner. At that pace it would take over a year for all the homes on the market to sell if no other homes were listed for sale.
Keep in mind the definition of a balance supply of homes on the market- as defined by The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M- is a 6 month supply. It looks like the Southeast Texas housing market is a little out of balance.
What's it mean?
Downward price pressure. When buyers have a lot of homes to choose from then typically prices go down. Remember the law of supply and demand from those high school days.
But wait, just a minute...
Before you go around making offers of half what the seller is asking, keep this in mind. Most sellers that are not distressed sellers- not a short sale, REO, foreclosure or pre-foreclosure seller- are only negotiating about 5-10% off of their original asking price.
Read that again. Maybe that's why we have multiple offers coming in on the foreclosures. When homes are priced below market value the buyers are competing to get the homes. In Southeast Texas we don't have a market flooded with distressed sellers. You have to look to find them.
So the May home sales data is a little confusing. There are a lot of homes for sale. However, we still have homes receiving multiple offers from competing buyers. Its important to have the best market data on hand when you are ready to make an offer. If you need help, you can contact me. It might save you a lot of money.
Take a look.
Data provided is from the Beaumont MLS. Altogether 130 homes closed in May. The areas in Southeast Texas with more than five homes sales for the month of May are shown above.
Interesting data on the chart:
Next week I'll compare May 2011 to the previous three year's May sales figures. It should be interesting to see how far the market has fallen since the peak years. If you want more data on home sales in Southeast Texas, contact me- phone, text, email. All questions will be answered.
