AT THE MOMENT, it is difficult to determine the direction of the market. With low unemployment, consumer confidence way up and extremely low interest rates; this would normally create an attractive market for both Buyers and Sellers. This is not happening though. The reason being is, both the Fulshear and Katy markets are driven mostly by energy prices. They are down, and this is serving as a “boat anchor” to the real estate market. The volatile stock market is not helping either. As such, the market is being tugged in opposite directions which creates turmoil and uncertainty. In addition, the market is further complicated by the amount of New Homes competing with the Resales. In short, it is a “rocky” boat ride with both Buyers and Sellers looking for certainty and stability.
July Results For Zip Code 77441:
Overall, the trend lines for the last several months have been relatively positive. This somewhat continued in July. Most rewarding was to see that Active inventory in July declined yet again for the 3rd straight month and did so impressively by nearly 11%. This is even more remarkable when considering that in the “hottest” months of the year, normally the amount of Active Listings increase. Unfortunately, the decrease was not due to increased buying activity and that is the rub. Although, the number of homes that Sold was okay and the “Months of Supply” dropped to a very low level, the concern is the lack of Buying activity that resulted in the number of Listings in Pending Status to decline by over 12%. In short, the results don’t provide a clear direction as to where the market is headed. Hopefully, this just means it was an abnormally slow month with too many Sellers that decided not be such, coupled with too many Buyers that also decided not to be Buyers.
July Results by Community
Weston Lakes:
Great news across the board for Sellers! In July, the Active inventory dropped to just (49). This was a decline of only (3) which is not a lot, but it is when you consider July is normally witness to an increase of new Listings. This is even more impressive though, because this comes after June where the Active’s dropped by (8). There’s lots more good news too. Incredibly, there are (17) Listings now in Pending Status. That is exciting. Even better? There were (13) homes that Sold in July; at an average Sales Price of $539,038 and at an average price per square foot of $130. In short, I would consider that an extraordinarily good month!
Fulbrook:
July was a bit of Déjà vu commenting on the same results results as preceding months. In June, I reported that there was (1) Listing in Option Pending and (1) home that Sold. That was identical to July’s results. The home that Sold was our Listing, just like last month too. However, what was satisfying was to see the home on Lower Oxbow go Pending. It was Listed at $1,125,000; so rewarding to see one of the higher priced Listings obtain a Buyer. Active inventory declined by (1), which would normally be good news. Unfortunately, it was because a Seller terminated their Listing. Not a bad month overall, yet next month I’m hoping to break the trend by reporting much more exciting results!
Fulbrook On Fulshear Creek:
The refreshingly positive results from June continued and flowed into July. Pleasingly, Active Inventory remained unchanged at a low level of just (21). As insight, that is nearly half of what it was at the beginning of the year. There were (7) homes in Pending Status which shows the increased Buyer interest this community is finally receiving. Even better news? There were (9) homes that Sold in July and they did so at an impressively average Sales Price of $474,566, or $132 per square foot. Sadly, there is the “dark side” of the results. Almost half of the homes in Pending are New Homes and every home that Sold was New except for (1), and it was a former Model. So, there is still a battle that rages between the Resales and the New.
Cross Creek Ranch:
The market in CCR that pits the Resale homes against the New, it’s a lot like a game of tug-of-war. Both sides are pulling hard to attract potential Buyers. No shots have been fired, but it is a “war” nonetheless. It has been this way for a long time and July was no different. There was a total of (101) Active homes on the market. Of these, slightly over half, were New. In Pending Status, the New accounted for (37) of the (55) total or 67%. For the (36) Listings that Sold, (17) or 47% were New. So, this battle for Buyers rages on. However, when combined, the overall results in July were very good for CCR. Active Inventory declined yet again to a very low level, the number of Listings in Pending Status was above average and the number of those that Sold was also rewarding. So, although the two sides are at war, together this resulted in another good month for CCR.
Fulshear Run:
Every time I sit down to write this report, I have been challenged as to how to report good news, month after month. Well, as all good things do, the “party” ends…. for one month, anyway. In July, Active inventory rose to (8), albeit that was just an increase of (1), yet that combined with no homes entering Pending Status unites to form a mild concern. However, (4) of the homes are still under construction, so that offers some explanation as to why the lesser activity. There was (1) New home that Sold, so I’ll end with that and on “good news” with hopes that August will resume the “party”.
Polo Ranch:
This is the newest development in Fulshear and it is located just west of downtown on FM 1093. It is located on gorgeous land and is expected to have 780 homes at completion with homes ranging from 1,200 to 3,400 square feet.
June was the first time we added this community to our Newsletter, so it will be interesting to witness how this community performs over time. Sales have been impressive thus far though, considering the entrance and the streets are not fully completed. There are currently (8) homes on the market (all under construction) that range in price from $209,000 to $340,515 with an average price per square foot of $123. Surprisingly, there are now (11) homes in Pending with an average Sales Price of just $206,490, yet with an average price per square foot of $139. Therefore, at the moment, it appears that Buyers are wanting a smaller home, but are willing to pay for one that is nicely appointed.
Additional Market Insight:
We are at an interesting time for both Buyers and Sellers. As mentioned, interest rates are again at near all-time lows at 3.75%. Just a few months ago, they reached 5%. So, this should be a warning for Buyers to take advantage of this opportunity NOW to obtain exceptionally low rates before they trend back upwards again. Just look at the difference this makes. If you were obtaining a $400,000 loan at 3.75%, the Principle and Interest payment (P&I) would be $1,852. Yet, with a 5% rate, with the SAME monthly payment, the loan amount would only be $344,800. That is a difference of over $55,000. And, this has nothing to do with the actual home itself. You don’t get nicer wood floors, quartz counter tops or a pool with this $55,000. It just means with a higher interest rate, you PAY MORE for the same home. Who wants to do that?
This is also a good time for Sellers to make sure they are doing everything possible to have their home in perfect showing condition. August is an odd “summer” month because it is a bit slower as Buyers are distracted by “back to school”. However, September and October tend to be two of the best months of the year. After this though, the sales activity drops just like rock off a cliff. So, the end of the “selling season” is approaching. Therefore, we recommend that you take full advantage of the market today by doing all you can to attract a Buyer to your home.
In short, this is an ideal time for Buyers and Sellers to get together, each for their own benefit and resulting in the true “win-win” scenario for both.
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