2013 Real Estate Market Starting Out with a Bang

2013 has been a busy year so far for real estate in Montgomery County.  Too determine how busy, I decided to dive into the MLS database to see how the residential market for single family homes has been performing.  I was not surprised to see that sales through mid-March in Montgomery County were up over 15% compared to the same 75 day period last year.  Additionally, the median price per square foot rose about 10% and homes sold about a month faster compared to last year.

Most folks believe that the new Exxon campus in north Harris County has had a large impact on the local market.  In digging a little deeper into the year to year comparison, I can see that most of the increase in sales is in the areas nearest the Harris County line.  In fact, of the 151 increase in home sales year to year, 117 occurred in the southwest part of the county.  This is also where the homes are selling the fastest, with home sellers securing a buyer an average of only 45 days after listing their home.  This is about a month faster when compared to last year.  In the last year, the data indicates that southwest Montgomery County has gone from a good sellers’ market to a strong sellers’ market.   

I was recently told by a client relocating from Exxon’s Virginia office that they have been advised to look for homes in The Woodlands,  Spring or Tomball area.  So it’s not surprising that The Woodlands is taking the lead in Montgomery County’s increased demand for housing.  But like my client relocating from Virginia, there are a number of families that prefer the charm of many of the older neighborhoods and the more tranquil areas found in the northern part of the county.  And what some are discovering is that the commuting time to some of these more northern neighborhoods is actually less than the time it takes to get to some of the neighborhoods situated deep into The Woodlands.

In checking into some of the stats for a few Conroe neighborhoods located close to I-45, I found out that 4 of the 5 homes sold in Rivershire so far this year were on the market less than 2 weeks.  Last year during the same time period, 2 of the 3 homes sold in Rivershire were on the market 6 months and more.   Granted, there were only a few homes sold during both time periods, but the rapid pace they sold this year could be an indication that the increased demand in housing is spreading north.  I noticed that River Plantation and Stewart’s Forest also showed substantial improvement.  So there is reason for optimism for home sellers throughout Montgomery County.

There are obviously still lots of concerns about the overall housing market and about the overall national economy in general.  But there are some systemic changes in Montgomery County that seem, at least to this humble Realtor, to have some staying power.  Time will tell, but for anyone that is considering buying a home in this area, you might not want to wait too long.  Increased demand typically increases prices, especially in the short term before new construction catches up with the demand.