South Katy, TX Market Update for June 2008

South Katy, Area 36 - Defined as Katy market south of Interstate 10

 

The Katy/Cinco Ranch Area was Number 2 on the Houston Hotness Index for June 2008 because 16.9% of all active listings went under contract during that one month.

 

The area has experienced 1,326 homes sales YTD or a 6.75% decline over June YTD 2007.

           

There has been a 3.94% increase in average sales price, which currently stands at $250,461.  The median sales price where half the homes sold above and half sold below is $215,000 and that is 4.88% greater than this time last year.

 

The Katy / Cinco Ranch area has experienced a 10.83% decline in pending sales for a total of 980 YTD. 

 

There has been an increase in homes on the market as the area experienced 32.39% more listings. There are currently 1,026 homes on the market and last year there were 775.

 

The market has 4.7 months supply of inventory, which indicates an appreciating market and although supply of inventory has increased, the buyer demand has absorbed enough inventory to keep the market as a sellers’ advantage.

North Katy, TX Market Update as of June 2008

Far West – Katy - 25 (Areas north of Interstate 10)

 

 

Single family home sales in the Houston Far West area are down by 18.01% in comparison to June YTD 2007, with 1,329 recorded home sales YTD.

 

Contracts initiated June YTD 2008 are also down by 11.97%, or 1,169 total units.

 

Listings are down by 28 units in comparison to last year or 1.77% with 1,550 listings currently on the market in comparison to 1,578 last year.

 

Average sales price for the Far West area is down by .66% over June YTD 2007 and is currently $136,391.  The median sales price [where half the homes sold above and half the homes sold below] was $122,900, a 3.61% decline over last year.

 

The Far West area currently has 6.4 Months of Inventory, meaning if no other listings were taken, and current buyer demand stayed at current levels, it would take 6.4 months to deplete the current supply of homes.

 

According to the Houston Hotness Index for June, Far West had 11.7% of all inventory go under contract during the month, earning a ranking of #13 out of 45 on the Hotness Index.

 

The list price/sales price ratio of homes in the area is 97% [meaning a seller could expect a reasonably priced home to sell for 97% of the list price].  Average price per square foot in the area is $63.  Days on the market have increased substantially due to a flood of inventory, from 2007 to the present – from 73 days to 88 days.

Texas Still A Healthy Market

Texas nonfarm employment rose 2.6 percent from April 2007 to April 2008 compared with a much lower 0.3 percent annual growth rate in nonfarm employment for the United States as a whole.

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 4.4 percent in April 2007 to 4.1 percent in April 2008.

The state’s mining industry, benefitting from higher oil prices, ranked first in job creation, followed by the professional and business services industry, the leisure and hospitality industry, construction and the education and health services industry.

All Texas metro areas had positive employment growth rates from April 2007 to April 2008. Odessa ranked first in job creation followed by Laredo, College Station–Bryan and Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown. Midland had the lowest unemployment rate followed by Amarillo, Odessa, Lubbock and College Station–Bryan.