Oil Prices affecting Real Estate Market yet? (Houston, Galveston: best neighborhoods, for sale)

[magni]

Have you guys seen the softening in the prices yet?
I know it will depend on the location, neighborhood and the type of housing (single vs townhome etc) but perhaps sharing experiences and observations can help people thinking about buying or selling a house soon.

[txdemo]

There's a long thread discussing this: //www.city-data.com/forum/houst...blem-year.html

[Failed Engineer]

Yes it is, but in suburban areas with not the best schools. The best suburbs and loop properties are still selling at summer prices if they are in good condition and on good, quiet streets.

I'm sure it will start to trend downward even in the best neighborhoods, but not yet.

[marksmu]

It has already had a large impact on the luxury market. Homes over $2M are moving very slow. Lower end homes are still unaffected. You will see the effect in the $300K-$500K homes hit the hardest...right now those are selling about 3-5% less...but its hit or miss....a well kept home will still get a good price, and the market is softer for homes that require any work.

At least that is what I am seeing.

[d2mini]

For several months now. Katy (good schools) area getting hit especially hard with the energy corridor nearby.
Forget 2 mil, even the more modestly prices homes in the $350k range are sitting on the market for months.
Last I saw, places like Firethorne had record used homes for sale, just sitting there, getting very little traffic through them.

[lhafer]

I predict fallof 2016 for the regular markets is when you will reply see a shift.

[geolvl]

Related to this, what do you think about surrounding areas such as Galveston? Will the impact be felt there also? Do you think people will try to unload their second home?

[TexasTony]

Originally Posted by d2mini

For several months now. Katy (good schools) area getting hit especially hard with the energy corridor nearby.
Forget 2 mil, even the more modestly prices homes in the $350k range are sitting on the market for months.
Last I saw, places like Firethorne had record used homes for sale, just sitting there, getting very little traffic through them.

The 250k-350k range homes are also sitting in nearby Richmond. I happen to know lot of small business store owners in Katy/Richmond area. Most of them have been complaining of slower traffic. Atleast 25% of their regular customers have been laid off.

[chris_ut]

Originally Posted by TexasTony

The 250k-350k range homes are also sitting in nearby Richmond. I happen to know lot of small business store owners in Katy/Richmond area. Most of them have been complaining of slower traffic. Atleast 25% of their regular customers have been laid off.

25% is a bit extreme unless they sell exclusively to oil field service workers. The unemployment rate in Houston has barely budged much less gone to 25%.