- For Spring 2023 -

Rates, Recession & Rebound — The 3 Rs of the Houston Housing Market

• Rising mortgage rates have tapped the brakes on the market
• Inflation & fear of recession have caused a bit of a pause for buyers & sellers
• Prices continue to rise, but at a modest rate & we should expect some decline
• Homeowners with low interest rates are staying put so there are fewer homes available
• More homes expected to come on the market for spring selling season
• Sellers: Low inventory & pent up demand mean it’s a great time to sell
• Buyers: Easing home prices continue to be good news for buyers not wanting to compete in multiple offer situations

Year-over-year home sales have fallen each month since April of 2022 as our

- For Late September 2022 -

Balancing Market Remains Strong Despite Low Inventory

• Sales are lower than in 2021, but when compared to a normal year (2019), they’re still up
• Prices are steadily increasing as inventory remains historically low
• Interest rates have risen to 6.75% and we don’t expect them to drop anytime soon
• Those with low interest rates are staying put so there are fewer homes available
• Sellers: Less inventory than in normal times, so still a great time to sell
• Buyers: It’s a better time to buy as the market continues to balance

As we enter the fall selling season, our market continues to balance. While headlines may be focused on how single-family home sales are down compared to the unprecedented sales

- For Early July 2022 -

Mortgage Rates See Largest Single Week Drop Since 2008

• Mortgage rates dropped from 5.7% to 5.3% for the week of July 7
• The gap between list price and sales price is narrowing
• Historically low inventory has been a factor in single-family home sales being down
• Sales are typically slow in July so we should not be comparing to early 2022 sales
• Sellers: Still a fantastic time to sell your home
• Buyers: Better time to buy as the market slowly starts to normalize

Mortgage rates have dropped by half a percent over the past two weeks (from 5.8% to 5.3%). While this is a good sign for buyers, we shouldn’t overreact as we expect mortgage rates to fluctuate heavily in the coming months. In the big picture,

- For February 2022 -

The Houston real estate market continued to soar in February with year-over-year sales up in every major category, from single-family homes to country homes to townhouses. Prices also continued to rise by significant amounts in February and inventory remained historically low.

Year-over-year single-family home statistics saw huge increases across the board: sales (23 percent), average price (13 percent), and median price (19 percent). As one major indicator of the strength of the market, February single-family sales increased by at least 33 percent for every price segment of $250,000 or higher.

This strong market is widespread too, with nearly every MLS area seeing a year-over-year increase in single-family home sales

- For January 2022 -

Simply put, we are in unprecedented times here in the Houston real estate market. We’ve been in an accelerating market since about 2013, but due to increased demand and historically low inventory, our market has really reached an entirely new level. Every major January statistic (sales, median price, average price, etc.) in every major category (single-family, townhouse, country homes, etc.) was up significantly over last year, which was the single best year we’ve ever had in the history of Houston real estate!

This boom in sales numbers and pricing is not confined to a few “hot” areas either. It really extends to all parts of the Greater Houston area, from central Inner Loop neighborhoods to far outside the loop, and

The first of our weekly market updates with Bill Baldwin, broker and owner of Boulevard Realty. In this installment, Bill provides an overview of general market trends as he sees them, including the precarious balance of supply and demand during an intense period of disruption. Bill also describes options for sellers, including standing pat and using this valuable pause in some segments of the market to spruce up listings and focus on the lifestyle and sanctuary that our homes and neighborhoods can provide. For buyers, Bill covers lending activity and changes in light of tumult in banking and financial markets. Finally, we answer questions about homebuilding, buying in up-and-coming areas, and the role of the Realtor in this new real

While we spend a lot of time together training, toasting, and tackling the world’s problems one home sale at a time, the beginning of each year always brings us a special opportunity to reflect on our successes of the year past and plan for another great year doing what we love in the only way we know how...with an uncommonly community-minded, client-centered approach and the highest level of ethics, experience, and expertise. We are humbled to say that we continued year-over-year growth now well into our second decade as a boutique, independent, Houston-owned and -operated residential real estate firm, completing our best year ever with over $239 million dollars in sales and firmly remaining in the Top 10 of firms selling inside the loop and the Top 25

Harris County Commissioner's Court moved forward with a vote to adopt interim floodplain development rules yesterday, and one of the most sweeping changes is to the stormwater detention requirements for new development county-wide. The purpose of these changes is to continue to make the region more flood-resilient in the long-run, and stormwater detention and drainage play a huge role in this. Basically, detention is any feature on a tract of land that serves to slow down the rate of drainage downstream and/or into the storm sewer system. When the rate of drainage is too fast, that puts properties which may be downstream or "lower" at greater risk of flooding, and there is obviously a chain reaction to this. While most of the current regulations at the

Boulevard's resident flood expert Bill Baldwin is quoted in the Houston Chronicle article "After supporting flood bond, Houston-area developers want to delay new building rules" on the county-wide push to modify the floodplain development code as it relates to stormwater detention and other standards in anticipation of a "growing" floodplain. Read more at the link below!

Houston Association of Realtors board member Bill Baldwin said the county must focus on developing “smart policy” and advocated for a three-month delay implementing the new rules. He lamented that a group of stakeholders, a mix of city and county officials, developers and engineers, had met just twice since the flood control district proposed the rule changes in March. “I sure would

From Bill's Facebook:

"Thank you to Mayor Sylvester Turner, Marty Lewis Stein, the Houston Planning & Development Department staff, my fellow Commissioners, and all of City Council for the continued support and votes of confidence!"