According to a recent report on home price data from First American CoreLogic, Texas was one of a dozen states to show home price increases in the past year, during a time when national resale prices fell 11.6 percent.

Texas placed fifth out of 12 states showing positive or flat appreciation. At 1.83 percent appreciation, Texas followed West Virginia (5.69 percent), New York (3.9 percent), North Dakota (3.78 percent) and South Dakota (2.32 percent).

Trailing Texas were Montana (.5 percent), Vermont (.23 percent), Kansas (.22 percent), Missouri (.16 percent), Iowa (.12 percent), Louisiana (.1 percent) and Colorado (0 percent).

Topping the list of price depreciation were Nevada (-26.9 percent), California (-26.7 percent), Arizona, (-21.3 percent), Rhode Island (-19.7 percent) and Florida (-19.5 percent).

Among the country's 35 largest metropolitan markets, three of the only four showing overall appreciation were based in Texas. They included: Austin-Round Rock at 3.92 percent, Houston-Sugarland-Baytown at 3.58 percent, and Dallas-Plano-Irving at 1.54 percent. Denver-Aurora also showed positive appreciation at .97 percent.

According to the study, the number of metropolitan markets experiencing price declines was, by far, the highest level tracked by the Loan Performance HPI. As of January 2009, more than 700, or nearly three-quarters, of all metropolitan markets were experiencing home price depreciation, up from 254 markets experiencing depreciation in December 2007 and 394 in June 2008.

Since US home prices peaked in July 2006, they have declined 21.2 percent on a cumulative basis and are currently back to the lowest price level since March 2004.

Source: First American CoreLogic

Texas employers cut payrolls by 46,100 nonfarm jobs in February, the state's fourth consecutive month of job losses, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. The state unemployment rate edged up to 6.5 percent in February, from 6.4 percent in January. The nation as a whole had an unemployment rate of 8.1 percent last month.

"Texans are facing tough economic times now with significant statewide job losses," said Tom Pauken, chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission. "However, the Texas unemployment rate remains far below that of other large states and the nation as a whole."

Texas lost 55,900 jobs in January, according to revised figures. The Texas Workforce Commission said earlier this month that based on preliminary data the state lost 75,800 jobs in January, but that figure was changed to 50,600 in a subsequent data release by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Texas lost 16,200 jobs in December 2008 and 7,600 the month before.

In February, Texas employers slashed 27,000 jobs in professional business services, 15,500 in construction and 13,600 in the trade, transportation and utilities category. The state lost 3,400 manufacturing jobs. Texas added 14,700 jobs in education and health services, and 1,600 in mining and logging. Government employment rose by 3,400 jobs.

Source: Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University

Several bills that propose implementing a sales tax on real estate, also known as a real estate transfer tax, are circulating in the 81st Texas Legislature. These proposals would substantially increase the costs of homeownership at the worst possible time. "I don't think you have to tell any homeowner that now is not the time to increase the costs associated with real estate, so we're very surprised to see these proposals this session," says Brooke Hunt, chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors. "As a state, we only rank 42nd in homeownership, but have made slow and steady progress in recent years. Legislation that shuts out even more Texas families from the American dream of homeownership would be incredibly short-sighted."

The National Association of Realtors commissioned a study to analyze the effects of a transfer tax on real estate. The report assumed a tax rate of 0.5% and a $125,000 purchase price. Based on these assumptions, the cost of buying a home would increase by about $600 and home sales would decline by almost 3%. One proposal in the Texas Senate, however, would allow the county to set the tax rate, so homebuyers could see a larger cost increase and sales could decline more than 3%. Additionally, the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University concluded that the creation of a transfer tax on real estate may create more problems than it solves, costing the state $955 million in lost economic activity with 11,575 jobs eliminated.

"Texas' resilient real estate market has helped insulate us from the worst of the economic recession," Hunt points out. "To make sure that doesn't change, we need to remove obstacles to homeownership, not create even more impediments. Real estate transfer taxes are regressive, hurting low-income Texans the most, and could provide the tipping point to send our Texas economy in the direction of other, less-fortunate states."

Sources: Texas Association of REALTORS®, Real Estate Center at Texas A&M

Back to the top

February marked another month of sagging real estate sales and pricing for the greater Houston area, following to a milder degree the trends that have played out around the country since the recession began more than a year ago. Overall February property sales fell 25.9 percent compared to February 2008, and sales of single-family homes declined by 24.6 percent, according to new monthly data prepared by the Houston Association of Realtors.

The average price of a single-family home in Houston dropped 10.5 percent last month to $182,316 compared to February 2008. At $138,970, the February single-family home median price – the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less – fell 8.0 percent year-over-year. February marked the fifth consecutive month of price declines.

Sales of foreclosure properties, which typically sell below market prices, continued to place a drag on home prices last month. In February 2009, foreclosures made up 28.0 percent of all single-family home sales in the Houston area compared to 22.6 percent one year earlier. However that is an improvement from January's 34.0 percent share of single-family homes sales consisting of foreclosures. Part of that is attributed to a 23.0 percent month-over-month increase in overall property sales.

The median price of foreclosure sales reported in the MLS tumbled 15.0 percent from $94,000 to $79,900 on a year-over-year basis. The median price of traditional, non-foreclosure single-family homes dropped just 1.2 percent from $167,000 to $165,000.

With unprecedented incentives available to homebuyers, such as an $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit and some of the lowest mortgage interest rates in history, many Houstonians are recognizing this spring as a great time to take advantage of conditions that favor buyers, and to build wealth by investing in Houston real estate.

Source: Houston Association of Realtors

Back to the top