News / Features

When does owning in Houston become a better deal than renting?

Buying a home in Houston is a great deal – so long as the owner stays in it for almost two years. That was the conclusion of Zillow’s latest Breakeven Horizon report, which calculates how long the average homeowner has

Two signs that Houston’s housing market is in for a correction

The most consequential question facing the housing industry today is: Are we approaching a correction? National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in January that 2016 was the market’s best year since the Great Recession. He thanked job

Congress and Trump both take shots at Dodd-Frank

Republican lawmakers and President Donald Trump delivered a one-two punch to Dodd-Frank today, signaling the beginning of a legislative brawl that could see the law entirely dismantled. It began in Congress, where Senate Republicans won an unusual 52-47 vote

2 stats that could sign an end to inventory shortages

Builders need to build – a ubiquitous sentiment throughout the country, and what some experts believe is the solution to widespread inventory shortages. Two new stats suggest that may be exactly what’s going to happen in 2017. The first stat

Meet the first-time homebuyer of 2017

This year could be the year of the first-time homebuyer. Of course, that’s what experts said last year too. But this year it might actually happen. Of course, there remain barriers to entry – tight credit, inventory shortages, high

The 7 characteristics of 2017’s Silent Generation buyers that agents need to know

Understanding buyers is going to be especially important this year – interest rates and prices are rising, inventory shortages remain commonplace throughout the U.S., and our housing market is now operating under a president promising a broad spectrum of

3 explanations for strong sales in the Spring market

Spring is consistently one of the top-selling markets in Greater Houston. Last year, the Houston Association of Realtors recorded more than 2,825 sales in the Spring area – which was not only more sales than most markets in Greater Houston,

Rise Communities receives recognition by the AAREA

Rise Communities has been named “Developer of the Year” by the Asian American Real Estate Association. Recognized for the quality of two new communities – the master-planned community of Cane Island in Katy, and the Texas 288 master-planned community in Meridiana

The safest – and most dangerous – city in Greater Houston

Seven Texas cities rank among the 100 safest in the country, while five rank among the most dangerous, according to Neighborhood Scout and the latest FBI crime data. That’s information buyers are going to want to know. Greater Houston made showings

New condominium in Houston’s Midtown opening in 2019

Surge Homes is developing a brand new condominium, The Isabella at Midtown, a $42 million mid-rise development, with 208 condo units. Prices start between the $150,000s and $600,000s. VIP Reservation Program sales are available providing home buyers an opportunity to secure

Builders reveal what their 10 biggest problems are in 2017

Homebuilders across the nation faced crippling labor shortages in 2016; in fact, it was the biggest problem they faced all year. Don’t expect anything to change in 2017. Eighty-two percent of builders say the No. 1 problem they expect

Houston construction caps off 2016 in disappointing fashion

The Houston new construction market concluded 2016 in underwhelming fashion, according to research from Dodge Data & Analytics. In December, Houston saw more than $564 million in total residential construction spending, which is a 12 percent decline from Nov. 2015. Moreover, year-to-date construction spending, which

Houston most unequal housing market in Texas

Houston has one of the most unequal housing markets in the country. In an analysis of the country’s biggest housing markets, Redfin compared avg. luxury home price with the bottom 95 percent of the market, respectively. Of the 10

Texas a top 20 destination for retiree homebuyers

There are few better places to retire in the country than Texas, according to a new report from WalletHub, and the state’s real estate market stands to gain big because of it. Basing its analysis on more than 30 data

What to do about Fannie & Freddie? How the Trump administration could change the mortgage industry

The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae, created in 1938) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac, established in 1970) are government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) in their eighth year of conservatorship under the FHA. That is an exceedingly

Trump administration suspends planned FHA insurance premium reduction

In one of its very first moves since assuming power, the Trump administration has suspended a reduction in FHA mortgage insurance premiums. Originally announced just 11 days ago, the reduction would have lowered insurance premiums 25 basis points (or

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