Houston

1
Houstons Homebuilding Boom Expected to Last a
While

• There is more new home construction going on in
  Houston than any other city in the U.S., and the
  building boom is going to intensify in the next
  few years before some softness occurs in 2018, a
  national housing consultant predicts.
• "Construction is growing much faster here than
  anywhere else and the economy is much stronger
  than anywhere else," says housing consultant John
  Burns, who heads Irvine, Calif.-based John Burns
  Real Estate Consulting.
• Houston had more new-home starts last year than
  the entire state of California, he says, and it
  will continue to be the nation's top spot for
  building for a long time.
• Burns was in Houston last week to address
  developers, home builders and real estate brokers
  at the Urban Land Institute's Suburban
  Marketplace conference.
• Burns notes that Houston's new home prices are at
  an all-time high. He says that with the economy
  strong and the supply of new homes very tight,
  home prices will continue to rise, probably about
  5 percent this year, followed by a 4 percent gain
  next year.
• "With only a three months supply of houses on the
  market, prices have to go up," Burns says.

2
Census Bureau Confirms What We Know

• The U.S. population is shifting to the South.
  From 2010 to 2013, 51 percent of the population
  increase in 52 major metro nationwide occurred in
  the South, according to Census Bureau data.
• In comparison, the West accounted for 30 percent
  of the increase, followed by the Northeast at 11
  percent and the North Central (Midwest) area at 8
  percent.
• The Census Bureau data also shows that nearly
  785,000 more people moved to major metro areas in
  the South than moved away. Thats far more than
  the 170,000 domestic migrants who moved to major
  metro areas in the West. On the other hand, the
  Northeast lost 485,000 net domestic migrants
  while the Midwest lost 280,000.
• The largest growth in domestic migration was to
  Texas. The Census data showed the largest
  domestic migration growth between 2010-2013 in
  Dallas-Fort Worth, followed by Houston, Austin,
  Phoenix, Denver and San Antonio.
• In terms of population growth, the New York metro
  area retains its top position, but two Texas
  cities have crept into the top five. Dallas-Fort
  Worth (6,810,913) overtook Philadelphia
  (6,034,678) to become the fourth largest metro
  area, and Houston (6,313,158) ranks number five.
• For more information, please see
  http//bit.ly/Pl7TP8.

3
Weekly HAR Market Stat

• As more springlike weather settles in across
  Houston and around the country, so does the
  likelihood of a brightened housing market. In
  Houston, that means the promise of a greater
  supply of housing inventory and the seasonal
  effects of spring home sales. Here is the latest
  snapshot of local market performance.
• In the Houston region, for the week ending March
  30
• New Listings decreased 0.2 to 2,204
• Pending Sales increased 21.3 to 2,126
• Closed Sales decreased 16.5 to 1,725

4


Open Your Mind to Learning
Graduate REALTOR Institute GRI-1 Finance The
GRI designation is the most widely recognized of
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of three courses, each is taught by experts in
their respective fields. This module offers
Finance Theory Practice, Investment Taxation,
and Cultural Diversity Fair Housing. GRI
courses may be taken in any order and satisfy
your 9 hours of non-legal MCE requirements. TREC
rules mandate that each student be on time. A
calculator is required. Please make sure to bring
your license number to class. TAR provides a
one-time, 50 coupon for qualifying students who
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with TAR that the coupon is valid and the
discount will immediately be applied. All other
courses are full-price. Date April 10,
11, 14 15 Time 815 a.m. 5
p.m. Location HAR Central Investment
295

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Register at www.har.com/edu