Trends

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Houston Asking Prices, Rents Continue Strong Increases in March

March was another solid month of price increase in the for-sale and rental markets, both locally and nationally. Houston’s asking-price fortunes continued in March, according to the latest Price Monitor from Trulia, with asking prices in the area’s housing

Very Few Houston Homes Affordable on a Median Salary

Affordability is often crunched into a single number, but how does it differ across the spectrum of salaries? Houston’s housing market may be relatively affordable, but it only goes so far for someone earning a median salary. That was

Residential Mortgages Becoming More Available

Mortgage standards have been pretty tight since 2008, but new readings from the MBA show them to improving. On the surface, it looks pretty underwhelming. From February to March, the Mortgage Banker Association’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) increased

5 Unexpected Details About the Younger Boomer Generation

The housing downturn and economic recession introduced some very intriguing details to Younger Boomers. The Baby Boom generation is arguably the most visible generation in America right now, yet given its diversity, it still manages to surprise us. So, in

Fannie/Freddie Reforms = Higher Mortgage Rates

Discussions on how to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac get really wonky really fast, but they impact your business in very practical ways. We’ll cut straight to the chase – if current proposals to overhaul Fannie Mae and

CoreLogic: Foreclosure Markets in Houston Continue to Improve

There are many uncertainties in the world, but here’s one thing we know for sure – progress has been made on the foreclosure front. Foreclosure inventory in the Houston-area housing market dropped 33 percent year-over-year in February, according to the

With Recent Price Gains, Houston’s Housing Market Could Be Overvalued

Our local market has made quite a bit of progress since 2011, but has it advanced too far? Housing bubble talk has grown strangely common the last few months, what with home prices nationally posting double-digit increases from where they were a year

Size Matters – When it Comes to the Homes Generations Buy, At Least

The various generations differ in many ways, especially when it comes to the types of homes they ultimately buy. The last couple weeks, we’ve been combing through NAR’s latest Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends Report, and have reported

Reis: Houston Rents Up 3.8% From Last Year

In the last four years, the U.S. apartment vacancy rate has been cut in half; what’s happened at the local level? Reis, Inc. released its latest report on the nation’s rental markets yesterday, and it featured a stunning statistic:

The 7 Essential Features in a New Home in 2014

What new home features are consumers desiring the most in 2014? And which ones do they consider essential? We all know how many variables go into a new home, and we all know that every consumer is unique in

Census Bureau: Construction Spending Flat in February

February was a stable month for construction, according to the latest analysis by the U.S. Census Bureau. Construction spending in February held steady at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $945.7 billion, according to the latest numbers from the U.S.

Houston Home Prices Up 13.6% in CoreLogic HPI

Home prices continued their ascent in February, according to the latest index from CoreLogic. Home prices in the Houston area increased 13.6 percent year-over-year in February, according to the latest Home Price Index from CoreLogic. That yearly total was

4 Great Signs for the Nation’s Mortgage Markets

It’s taken some time, but it appears that we’re finally making headway through the nation’s nasty mortgage markets. Delinquent mortgages and foreclosures were undoubtedly the most public face of the housing crisis, but new research suggests that significant progress

How Much Square Feet Does $1 Million Buy You in Houston?

$1 million is a great deal of money…or is it? How much does $1 million really buy you in today’s real estate markets? How much housing does $1 million really buy you? That was the question behind a recent

Inventory in Houston Hops 6.4% in February

Housing inventory has been a most blue of topics for our local market, but have things finally turned around? We keep hearing reports that the nation’s housing inventory has turned the corner, but how true is that in our

Could the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act Rise From the Dead?

Could we see a resurrection of the popular Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, via Congressional action? When the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act expired at the start of 2014, it ended one of the most popular Great Recession-era government programs. A

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