San Antonio Real Estate Market Cooling?

[professorsenator]

Originally Posted by TXRose

Texas bucking national trend with growth in home sales - San Antonio Business Journal:

This is an article released today by the business journal about texas housing market trends, stating that Texas is not following the national trend, especially Austin & San Antonio.

While the article does state that things in Texas are somewhat better than the nation overall, the article states "...the housing picture [in Texas] isn't perfect. Figures show a slowdown in building permit activity in Austin, Dallas and San Antonio." I read that to mean things may be cooling a bit. The article then goes on to quote a real estate analyst who cautions that higher foreclosure rates should be expected in Texas, particularly among houses priced <$200K. Implicitly, this will have an adverse effect upon the real estate market (foreclosures drive inventory up and prices down).

In sum, while the article suggests things in Texas aren't bad as they are in some other parts of the country (checked out Ft. Myers, FL lately?) it also does not suggest everything's coming up roses, either. I would describe its tone as cautiously optimistic.

One final note: lest some gloat about how things are good in Texas now, keep in mind that just a few years ago while other parts of the country experienced enormous rates of price appreciation Texas real estate just middled along. With the real estate bust these other parts of the country are giving back some of their gains, but financially you'd still be better off buying a house five or ten years ago in, say, Boston, New York, or San Francisco than Houston, Austin, or San Antonio.

[Guerilla]

Originally Posted by F10gear

I think it is hard for people to believe that a city this size doesn't have what other major cities have. I don't think it is unreasonable to want or expect more from a city that has a population bigger than Dallas.

A common misconception. Though San Antonio's city limit population is larger than Dallas', Dallas' metro area is more than three times the size of SA's metropolitan area (Dallas at 6 million in 2006 and SA at 1.9 million in 2006).

[sahomelocator]

I'm a Realtor here in San Antonio and yes there are some over priced homes in some areas that sit. However builder inventory is low. I visit most of the builders on a regular basis and there is usually no more than 2-3 homes ready if any. Many builders had price increases 2 or 3 times during the summer months. I just won a bid for a couple after being beaten out by other buyers on two or three other homes. It seems to me there is plenty of competition for good homes in the market. Finally, I have noted a good deal of interest from people shopping for a home even after the tax credit expires which leads me to believe that people will continue buying near the current levels in the near future. I think San Antonio is through the worst of its hit in the housing market and will recover much sooner than others.

Don't forget that interest rates are at all time lowes FOR NOW. They only go up from here and waiting until later could land a more expensive home and higher rate.

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[RGJ]

and the fact that they are going by what I presume to be City of San Antonio permits may not include the building that's going on in the outlying county areas.....

[Paka]

I can't speak to builder inventory and new home construction, but we placed our home in the Seaworld area on the market and got an offer in 40 days. We had almost 20 showings the 39 days before we contracted with the buyer, and I was told that Sept is historically the SLOWEST month for real estate (I did not know that before placing our home on the market in Sept...) Anyway, we are scheduled to close just before Thanksgiving if all goes well, which indicates to me that there ARE buyers (and lookers) out there in search of a home. I think that SA is doing well based on my personal experience in listing a pre-owned home. We currently own 3 homes, two were pre-owned, one new. I am here to tell you I don't think I would ever buy a new home again....just toooooooo many $$$$$ after the closing with a new home. Pre-owned gives you lots of upgrades and things you would have to buy thrown into the purchase of the home. (not to mention the time/effort/fustration/coordination of installation of those items such as H2O softner, sprinkler system, window coverings,reverse osmosis,sod, landscaping, etc.)

[Mom2Feebs]

We have chatted with our loan officer and real estate agent about home sales in San Antonio. They seem to be doing pretty good, according to them! Our loan officer said their office is so backed up because of the new homebuyer tax credit...literally they are having to turn people away, because they can't get them closed by the last day of the deal. It's one of the biggest reasons why we had to change our close date. Now they're talking about extending it...

[doss1]

If your home is priced well, it will sell no matter what the market is doing. The people having trouble are the ones trying to sell their home for 2x what they paid before only because they paid too much when they bought it. Those kinds of homes are not selling right now and probably will not for a long time.

[kevcrawford]

Originally Posted by TexasNick

If your home is priced well, it will sell no matter what the market is doing. The people having trouble are the ones trying to sell their home for 2x what they paid before only because they paid too much when they bought it. Those kinds of homes are not selling right now and probably will not for a long time.

For the most part, you're correct. Homes are still definitely selling if priced correctly.

But, what a lot of Realtors are seeing is buyers just ASSUMING that homes are overpriced because, hey, it's a down market, right? I've seen some of the most ridiculous offers coming in on homes right now because buyers are watching too much HGTV and thinking that they can steal a home, when in fact, most sellers aren't in financial distress.

I had an offer come in on a foreclosure I listed that was about $100,000 (the house was listed at $300,000). The buyer's reasoning was because it was a foreclosure, the bank should HAVE to come off the price that much. Not realizing that the home was actually worth about $360,000 and we priced it low to begin with. Unfortunately, a lot of us are seeing this from buyers.

There are too many buyers out there right now with unrealistic expectations and too many bad Realtors that let them have those expectations.

[texas78228]

Hi
The San Antonio market is good, but like all the big cities have good areas and no to good areas, new homes in good areas with good schools like the north side, only remain a few days in the market when the price is right, if you are looking for a good deal in San Antonio, the best option are new inventory homes, this kind of homes have the best price, are energy saving homes and most of the cases you can get closing cost paid by the builder, here is a good website where you can see the houses and also you can ask all the questions you want to be sure you are doing the right purchases.

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good luck!