Sharon Hillhouse
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Looking Good: Foreclosures Are Down Locally, New Construction is Up Nationally.
It looks like both Austin and the national real estate markets are beginning to show more signs of life. We might not be out of the woods completely yet, but we’re definitely starting to see a few of the positive trends that I talked about in my last few blogs beginning to have some staying power.
None of us likes to focus on the negative, but for sellers both here in Austin and nationwide the inventory of foreclosed properties has had a huge impact on the overall housing market in many ways. As you may be aware though, Austin has weathered this storm in particular better than almost any other market in the country.
According to Foreclosure Listing Service Inc. (FLS), for the fourth month in a row foreclosure postings for the upcoming Aug. 2 residential auctions in the Austin, Texas, metro area have dipped below 1,100. And, postings have either declined or remained the same for the past six months when compared to the year-ago period as well. Both are very good signs for our local market.
“Statistically, when we hit six consecutive months of decline … that is typically considered reflective of a rebounding foreclosure market," said George Roddy Sr., president of FLS.
The 1,059 postings for the August foreclosure sale were a full 11% below the 1,193 recorded in the same period last year. That’s a significant decline. Year-to-date postings for January through August stand at 9,677, down 4% from the same time period in 2010.
Looking at the national side of things the U.S. Commerce Department recently reported that “housing starts” (new home construction) jumped significantly more than had been anticipated during the month of June.
Builders broke ground on almost 630,000 new homes (at an annual rate), which was a a full 15% more than in May, and the highest level in five months! And, in a sign of stability for future construction activity, the number of new home building permits saw a jump of 2.5% as well over May.
Closer to home here in Central Texas, almost 1,800 new homes were started by builders in the second quarter (April-June.) This represented a incredible 36% increase over the first quarter of 2011 and almost matched the level in the same period last year when the federal tax credit was still in effect. Without the artificial influence of last year’s tax credit demand for new homes in Austin is mainly coming from the vibrant Austin economy and the resulting job growth.
If you’d like to discuss this or if I can be of service in any way with your real estate needs please feel free to give me a call or send an email.
Best regards,
Sharon
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