News / Features
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 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
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
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
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
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
Spring Branch Central is going to be Greater Houston’s hottest market in 2017 – or at least that’s how Redfin sees it. And it has a point. With a healthy median sale price ($297,500), a fair turnaround on listings (median
Crystal Lagoon U.S. Corp is partnering up with Houston-based Land Tejas to add new lagoons to their two master planned communities. One lagoon will cover 1.5 acres (seven times the size of an Olympic-size swimming pool) and serve as the
Taylor Morrison Home Corporation is once again the most trusted homebuilder in America, according to Lifestory Research’s 2017 Home Builder Study. Polling the opinions of more than 31,000 active home shoppers, Lifestory Research’s survey, now in its fifth year,
Ben Carson is close to becoming the next head of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and industry associations are throwing their support behind him – while many housing experts are not. In a letter sent to
The White House is the most valuable home in the nation, according to a new report from Zillow. Currently valued at $397.9 million, the White House has appreciated 15 percent since the Obamas moved in eight years ago. Zillow first
The Texas Association of Realtors just released its annual Texas Relocation Report, which uses data from the American Community Survey. The numbers confirm that Houston is still a magnetic market. Here is what we learned: 1. Houston’s population is
The Texas Education Agency announced this month that 26 Texas schools had been nominated for national 2017 Blue Ribbon Schools recognition. Five Greater Houston schools were named among the nominees: Austin Middle School, Eastwood Academy, Lyons Elementary School, KIPP
In mid-November of 2016, Ben Carson’s business manager, Armstrong Williams, told a Retuers reporter that Carson was turning down President-elect Trump’s offer to join his Cabinet, because his life had “not prepared him to be a Cabinet secretary.” Less
Our REAL DATA 2016 reports look at, among other things, the top-producing agents in Greater Houston based on total sales volume. Which Greater Houston agents saw the biggest year-over-year gains in their business in the second quarter 2016? We took a deeper
The Houston Association of Realtors released its December/year-end sales report this week, and although the association’s messaging was very positive, it may be ignoring prominent warning signs of where the market is heading. “We could not be happier with
