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Confused About The Housing Market? Lean On Your Realtor

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If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home, you probably want to know what’s really happening with home prices, mortgage rates, housing supply, and more. That’s not an easy task considering how sensationalized headlines are today. Jay Thompson, a real estate industry consultant, explains:

“Housing market headlines are everywhere. Many are quite sensational, ending with exclamation points or predicting impending doom for the industry. Clickbait, the sensationalizing of headlines and content, has been an issue since the dawn of the internet, and housing news is not immune to it.”

Confused About The Housing Market?

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Unfortunately, when information in the media isn’t clear, it can generate a lot of fear and uncertainty in the market. As Jason Lewris, Cofounder and Chief Data Officer at Parcl, says:

“In the absence of trustworthy, up-to-date information, real estate decisions are increasingly being driven by fear, uncertainty, and doubt.”

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Buying or selling a home is a big decision, and it should be one you feel confident making. To help you separate fact from fiction and get the answers you need, lean on a local real estate advisor.

A trusted expert is your best resource to understand what’s happening at the national and local levels. They’ll be able to debunk the headlines using data you can trust. And using their in-depth knowledge of the industry, they’ll provide context so you know how current trends compare to the normal ebbs and flows in the industry, historical data and more.

Then, to make sure you have the full picture, they’ll tell you if your local area is following the national trend or if they’re seeing something different in your market. Together, you’ll use all of that information to make the best possible decision for you.

After all, making a move is a potentially life-changing milestone. It should be something you feel ready for and excited about. And that’s where an agent comes in.

What You Need To Know About Home Prices

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If you’re trying to decide whether or not to sell your house, recent headlines about home prices may be top of mind. And if those stories have you wondering what that means for your home’s value, here’s what you really need to know.

Home Prices

 

What’s Really Happening with Home Prices?

It’s possible you’ve seen news stories mentioning a drop in home values or home price depreciation, but it’s important to remember those headlines are designed to make a big impression in just a few words. But what headlines aren’t always great at is painting the full picture.

While home prices are down slightly month-over-month in some markets, it’s also true that home values are up nationally on a year-over-year basis. The graph below uses the latest data from S&P Case-Shiller to help tell the story of what’s actually happening in the housing market today:

Home Price Growth

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As the graph shows, it’s true home price growth has moderated in recent months (shown in green) as buyer demand has pulled back in response to higher mortgage rates. This is what the headlines are drawing attention to today.

But what’s important to notice is the bigger, longer-term picture. While home price growth is moderating month-over-month, the percent of appreciation year-over-year is still well above the home price change we saw during more normal years in the market.

The bars for January 2019 through mid-2020 show home price appreciation around 3-4% a year was more typical (see bars for January 2019 through mid-2020). But even the latest data for this year shows prices have still climbed by roughly 10% over last year.

What Does This Mean for Your Home’s Equity?

While you may not be able to capitalize on the 20% appreciation we saw in early 2022, in most markets your home’s value, on average, is up 10% over last year – and a 10% gain is still dramatic compared to a more normal level of appreciation (3-4%).

The big takeaway? Don’t let the headlines get in the way of your plans to sell. Over the past two years alone, you’ve likely gained a substantial amount of equity in your home as home prices climbed. Even though home price moderation will vary by market moving forward, you can still use the boost your equity got to help power your move.

As Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at First American, says:

“Potential home sellers gained significant amounts of equity over the pandemic, so even as affordability-constrained buyer demand spurs price declines in some markets, potential sellers are unlikely to lose all that they have gained.”

If you have questions about home prices or how much equity you have in your current home, contact one of our agents and they will be happy to sit down with you and crunch the numbers.

The Holiday Rush – A Real Estate Tradition

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Holiday Rush

The “holiday rush” usually refers to the shopping madness that is known as Black Friday and the last minute crush of people hurrying and scurrying from store to store looking for those last few deals, picking up last minute valentine’s day gifts, and those of us who wait until the last minute for everything. Stores love it because it fills out their bottom line during the waning moments of the year. But in real estate it happens too and for the past few years we’ve seen it even more. There are several reasons why we see a rush to buy heading into the holidays and it keeps us busy and we love seeing it and hope the tradition continues. What creates the holiday rush in real estate? Let’s take a look at some of the factors.

Corporate Relocation

As corporations end their years they make big decisions. Corporate relocations happen all the time, but we see a lot at the end of the year as companies look to the year ahead and shift priorities and personnel. Because the decisions driving the moves are not personal, they can be made without the more emotional ties of things like the holidays or disrupting a school year (often deciding factors for people in their moves).

Tax Considerations

Some people have large tax considerations to take into account and need to offload property or spend cash to help with their taxes. Accountants will recommend different tactics depends on your particular situation, so refer to them for tax advice.

Bargain Shopping

Like shoppers on Black Friday, homebuyers love a good deal. While not a de facto truth, buyers often think that if a seller is on the market during the holidays, they are desperate to unload their property at rock bottom prices. There certainly are some sellers out there in that position, but our experience shows that this is more buyers putting their hopes into their own perception of the end of year. We do find that both buyers and sellers during the holiday season tend to be quite serious about buying/selling and are often quicker to pull the trigger once they find what they want.

New Year, New You

The coming new year provides a big opportunity for change. The familiar phrase “new year, new you” applies to housing as well. Who wouldn’t want to start a fresh new life with a change of setting too? You can start decorating, change your style, have plenty of new DIY projects, and reorganize everything – a new house is a chance to do it all over again and for some people, that’s a dream come true.

Join the Holiday Rush

If you do find yourself looking for a home or need to sell your house during the holidays, let us know. We’d love to help you make the transition, no matter what your reason for doing so. We specialize in making the transitions as easy on you as possible. Happy holidays and happy homeshopping!

image courtesy of B Rosen

Top 10 Neighborhood Searches at Kimberly Howell Properties in 2016

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Top 10 Neighborhood Searches at Kimberly Howell Properties 2016

When it comes to real estate, we all want to know the same thing – what’s the neighborhood like and what’s for sale in the area. We spend countless hours online researching neighborhoods and luxury properties, often long before we ever step foot in a house or speak with a Realtor. It’s the age of the online home search and we at Kimberly Howell Properties have dedicated ourselves to bringing you a website that provides that information and gives you the latest homes for sale so that you can do your research on the neighborhoods and areas that interest you. The following list of neighborhood searches are compiled from data gathered in 2016 and represent the neighborhoods that our visitors had the most interest in throughout the year.

Top 10 Neighborhood Searches in 2016

#10 – Knolls of Woodlake – Just down the road from #9 in our neighborhood searches, it’s easy to see why these two neighborhoods rank so closely.

#9 – Walzem Farms – Coming in from the city’s northeast side, Walzem Farms is right between Fort Sam Houston and Randolph Air Force Base, making it convenient to those needing access to military bases.

#8 – Ridge at Canyon Springs – With a variety of homesites available for new construction and plenty of new homes to choose from, it’s no surprise that Ridge at Canyon Springs made the list. All of the Canyon Springs neighborhoods ranked well throughout 2016 and have been know to take top spots in years past.

#7 – Deerfield – Deerfield will always rank high on neighborhood searches, because of its location and wide selection of homes to choose from.

#6 – Bear Springs Ranch – A bit of a surprise with this one as most of the top neighborhood searches tend to be within San Antonio, but this area of Mico has proven to be popular this year. There is also high interest in the lots for sale in Bear Springs Ranch.

#5 – Encino Park – Encino Park is both a specific subdivision as well as the more widely used term for multiple neighborhoods in the area. We found that more people visited this page, which covers all of the homes for sale in the neighborhoods that make up Encino Park and has information about local businesses, the schools, and living in the area.

#4 – Canyons at Scenic Loop – We also noted a lot of traffic for the page showing just lots for sale in Canyons at Scenic Loop, but it fell just short of making the Top 10 list.

#3 – Shavano Creek – Who wouldn’t want to look at the homes for sale in Shavano Creek? They’re gorgeous homes with incredible landscaping and are always at the top of the list for neighborhood searches.

#2 – Rogers Ranch – Rogers Ranch covers a wide array of neighborhoods all in one master planned community. Community info, school info, and homes for sale can all be found on this page.

#1 – Mesas at Canyon Springs – This neighborhood took the top spot, but we also saw a lot of interest in the more generalized neighborhood of Canyon Springs (which encompasses all of the subdivisions in one page along with information about the area, schools, and local builders involved in the neighborhood).

What neighborhoods did you have an interest in this year? What neighborhoods were top spots for sales? Where do you want to live? We look forward to showing you neighborhoods are across the area through our coverage of neighborhoods as well as the many homes listed throughout the year. If there’s a specific neighborhood that you’d like to learn about and see highlighted on this website, let us know.

image courtesy of Manel

Million Dollar Real Estate in and Around San Antonio

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Million Dollar Real Estate

What would you do if you won the lottery? Fancy cars? Diamonds? Real estate? If you live in and around San Antonio, there is certainly enough million dollar real estate to choose from (over 300 homes as we write this – and that doesn’t include million dollar condos or the often high priced farm and ranch categories). So we thought we’d take a look to see exactly what is out there and available in the million dollar price range. Our criteria is simple – single family homes that are priced at $1,000,000 or up. Some of the homes are quite spectacular – who wants one? We know we could find a few in this list that we would be more than happy to settle down in.

Million Dollar Real Estate

Below you’ll find a quick sampling of what a million dollars (or more) might get you. To see all of the homes priced at $1,000,000 or up, visit our million dollar homes list.

  • List View
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See all Real estate matching your search.
(all data current as of 2/2/2023)

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

 
 

Texas Economy Slows Growth Rate

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Slow Growth

Since 2012, the Texas economy has been on a strong path, beating US growth rates month after month, but it looks like the Texas economy has started to slow down. Since August of 2015, the Texas economy’s growth rate has dipped below the national growth rate and continued its decline through the end of the year. While the numbers are showing signs of slowing down, the comparison of Texas and the US is also being affected by growth on the national scale. From December 2014 to December 2015, the state added 169,000 nonagricultural jobs with an annual growth rate of 1.4%; the US had a growth rate of 1.9% during the same period. Nongovernment jobs shows a wider gap, with 142,800 jobs added, an annual growth rate of 1.4%, compared to the national 2.2%. During this period, Texas experienced a slight increase in its unemployment rate from 4.6% to 4.7%, which is still below the national average, which decreased from 5.6% to 5%. You can see a full breakdown of the numbers on a state level as well as by metro area in the Texas Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University’s Monthly Review of the Texas Economy (PDF file).

image courtesy of kennymatic