Seller's Market in Houston metro area (Sugar Land, Katy: for sale, townhome, neighborhood)

[Chanteuse d' Opéra]

Will it always be a seller's market? I'm hearing that it will be harder and harder for millenials (I'm an elder millenial) to purchase a home. We aren't in the market to buy but know of some friends of ours who *do* and everything that they offer gets turned down or no response only to find out that someone went 20k over asking price or offered a cash payout.

Thoughts? Realtor input is always accepted as well.

[travelguy_73]

Not a realtor, but I have bought and sold a number of homes in my 25 years here. We shouldn't look at NOW and decide this is how it will be. The Houston market is generally balanced because builders just keep building, without geographic constraint. The pent up demand and COVID-induced transactions, as well as limits on materials and labor will sort themselves out.

[Jtxg]

Kind of doubt it will always be a seller's market. In fact, maybe a page down this forum someone commented that their particular area hasn't seen appreciation and they have not been able to get an offer on their house yet.

I'm an "old" millennial also. Bought a house in 2008. Home didn't go up in value for years. Sold that house only to buy an 'in-between' house. I built my (theoretically) forever home, moved in, and listed the 'in-between' house for sale after living in it for 18 months. 17 showings and 3 offers in less than 24 hours. I'll make more money on this house than the house I lived in for over a decade...and this is in a suburb 25 miles from downtown. I don't think it'll be like this for the rest of time, but it might be for another year or so.

[DeadRinger]

This aired last week on CBS regarding the housing market... its not specific to houston, but it points out its happening all over the country with a hotspot in Des Moines.... worth a watch.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/why-th...es-to-explode/

[DeadRinger]

Also worth a read:

Why You Should Wait Out the Wild Housing Market
Rising inventory is one of several signs that we may have reached peak ludicrousness. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ar...ecords/619029/

[timtemtym]

The amount of listings in our neighborhood, Montrose, have increased greatly in the last few weeks and some of the pricier homes are just sitting on the market. A house down our street was listed in Feb for 749k and now it is down to 699 after several price drops and changing agents. I'm not seeing the big appreciations, and I'm seeing lots of price drops on homes that are sitting on the market around here. Realtors were maybe overly optimistic in their pricing. Maybe they are getting better increases out in the suburbs, but not in central Houston. I think people who waited out the pandemic are now ready to sell, at least in the loop.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

Originally Posted by travelguy_73

Not a realtor, but I have bought and sold a number of homes in my 25 years here. We shouldn't look at NOW and decide this is how it will be. The Houston market is generally balanced because builders just keep building, without geographic constraint. The pent up demand and COVID-induced transactions, as well as limits on materials and labor will sort themselves out.

I would agree, but with a caveat. Right now there is a wood shortage. I just finished remodeling my home (myself) and I can tell you, the cost of a 2x4x8 was less than $3 less than 9 months ago. Right now, that same piece of wood goes for $8-$11, depending on where you go. It is adding over 30K to the cost of a new home, so building has slowed. But ironically, Houston is booming to keep up with the demand. The trades who are working on my house now told me that companies from out of town are having to bid to be able to come to Houston to build because of the boom, but at the same time, the homes are more expensive because of the wood shortage. This also causes used homes to sell for a higher price. A developer on the street behind me building 2 new homes had to take them off the market... he started before the wood shortage, and by the time the framing started, the price of wood more than doubled. The inventory is just not there at this time... keep this in mind if you read this thread months, or years later because I am sure it will be temporary.

[gwarnecke]

Originally Posted by timtemtym

The amount of listings in our neighborhood, Montrose, have increased greatly in the last few weeks and some of the pricier homes are just sitting on the market. A house down our street was listed in Feb for 749k and now it is down to 699 after several price drops and changing agents. I'm not seeing the big appreciations, and I'm seeing lots of price drops on homes that are sitting on the market around here. Realtors were maybe overly optimistic in their pricing. Maybe they are getting better increases out in the suburbs, but not in central Houston. I think people who waited out the pandemic are now ready to sell, at least in the loop.

The "hot" housing market is mostly for less-expensive suburban homes with yards. In many parts of Katy and Sugar Land, there's literally no inventory right now. Every home that hits the market is snapped in a few days.

The inner loop will always be desirable, but at a higher price point there is simply a smaller pool of buyers and homes will generally take longer to sell. If the house in question is a 3-4 story detached townhome with no yard, that will work against it as well. It's relatively easy for big chunks of these homes to be built and added to the market, which keeps a lid on prices. By comparison, a detached home with a yard inside the loop will always be a better investment.

[RVD26]

Originally Posted by gwarnecke

The "hot" housing market is mostly for less-expensive suburban homes with yards. In many parts of Katy and Sugar Land, there's literally no inventory right now. Every home that hits the market is snapped in a few days.

The inner loop will always be desirable, but at a higher price point there is simply a smaller pool of buyers and homes will generally take longer to sell. If the house in question is a 3-4 story detached townhome with no yard, that will work against it as well. It's relatively easy for big chunks of these homes to be built and added to the market, which keeps a lid on prices. By comparison, a detached home with a yard inside the loop will always be a better investment.

I wish that were the case with our home out here in Katy.
It's been on the market for over 2 weeks now and we've only received one lowball offer.
I figured by now our house would be under contract because of this "hot" seller's market.

[a_guerrajr]

Originally Posted by RVD26

I wish that were the case with our home out here in Katy.
It's been on the market for over 2 weeks now and we've only received one lowball offer.
I figured by now our house would be under contract because of this "hot" seller's market.

Link to MLS ?