HOUSTON – Houston ranks No. 2 in housing starts, slightly behind Dallas, which leads the nation.
In other words, the Lone Star State is the shining star in homebuilding so far in 2017.
Houston recorded 25,789 housing starts for the 12-month period ending in March 31, 2017, according to Metrostudy. In the same 12-month period Dallas had 30,017 starts.
Showing a little softness, Houston home builders recorded 6,567 home sale closings in the first quarter, a 3.8 percent decline from the first quarter of 2016, Metrostudy reported.
Houston has suffered through a period of slow job growth, as the local economy grinds through the aftermath of the decline in the energy industry.
Metrostudy predicts a 3 percent to 4 percent increase in starts in 2017, followed by 7 percent to 9 percent in 2018.
“Houston continues to experience a very competitive new home sales environment although builders have begun to succeed at selling through previously built up spec home inventory,” said Lawrence Dean, regional director of Metrostudy’s Houston market.
Metrostudy, a national firm founded in Houston over 40 years ago, said the leading price band for housing starts is the $200,000-to-$300,000 price range.
“Builders have generally expressed being pleased with their overall sales volume in 2017 but did report margin suppression at the higher price points,” Dean said.
The Metrostudy report follows strong results reported last week in the Houston existing home market.
The Houston Association of Realtors reported April 2017 was the strongest April in the history of Houston real estate for single-family home sales.
The record-setting April followed a record-setting March. The strong Spring sales indicates that the Houston market is heading toward its best year on-record.
A total of 6,583 single-family homes sold in April, up 3.1 percent from the 6,387 sales in April 2016, the Houston Association of Realtors reported,
“The Houston real estate market had another strong showing in April among sales and rental properties alike, and as we had hoped, inventory levels got a healthy boost,” said HAR Chair Cindy Hamann with Heritage Texas Properties. “The latest Texas Workforce Commission employment update states that 13,300 jobs were created throughout greater Houston in March, the most since September 2015, so we remain optimistic about the local economy.”
May 15, 2017 Realty News Report Copyright 2017