Apex Properties Blog and News:

Where is this market going to go: 

Where is this market going to go?

This is, by far, the #1 question we are getting from the people we talk to every day. ...and we have a theory.

Texas is a high demand state with an overall cost of living that still makes it very attractive. We believe the market demand will remain strong and properties that are priced competitively will still sell the first weekend, but the hysteria of 2021 with the 10+ offers on most listings has passed.

One interesting thing to note is that homes purchased now with a 5-6% interest rate are approximate 3% points higher than they were just 4-5 months ago.

If you put this into real life numbers, that means if you go to buy a home today around 500K and you put 20% down, that $400,000 loan is going to cost about $11,000 more per year at the outset.

That's nearly a $1,000 higher monthly payment per month, for the same house, at the same sale price, just based upon the change in rate. This means that even if housing prices flatten out a bit, technically the buyers are still paying more than they were before.

So what will this do to the housing prices going forward? We believe we're going to see an initial slowing of the market as people get used to these new numbers, but we also take the big picture view remembering that the previous markets still saw people buying homes with 6% or higher rates. They just need a little time to adjust to the new normal.

If you have a Real Estate need, please reach out, we are always available to talk.

Want to know more about how our team works?

Click HERE for our seller info package.
Click HERE to see our current listings.

Professionals perform every day.
Amateurs let life get in the way.

Featured Listing of the week! 15502 Wilsons Snipe Court Bridgeland Texas 77433

Want to know more about how our team works?

Click HERE for our seller info package.
Click HERE to see our current listings.

The Houston Real Estate Market is holding strong for now.

The Houston market is holding relatively steady right now with a 1.6 month supply. Still a strong seller's market for a correctly priced property.

In a normal market we typically have about 4 months worth of supply, so even though we are seeing a slight increase in available inventory year over year, we're still historically very low.

This should allow great properties to sell with multiple offers going forward for the near future.

Nothing exists in a vacuum though.

Opposing forces are always at work; we're still dealing with interest rates increasing which has begun to dampen mortgage demand nationwide, and yet we have lots of people relocating from other states.

Regardless of all the various economic forces at work, some percentage of the population will consistently find themselves with a need to move.

If you find yourself in that situation, please call our team.

Want to know more about how our team works?

Click HERE for our seller info package.
Click HERE to see our current listings.

Usually, the better someone does their job,
the easier it looks.
You rarely realize how hard it is
until you try it yourself.

-James Clear

Welcome to Summer: 

This one is certainly going to look a little different than the last few, but the local real estate market doesn't seem to know that! We are seeing the real estate activity in Houston increase every single week as we move away from 5/4/2020 and the end of the stay at home order. Whenever we deliver these reports people always email me back asking, "How is the market right now?" We can tell you that in the 200-400K Price range, the market is very strong. In the 200-300K range there is only a 1.8 month supply of homes in our market and in the 300-400K range there is a 3.8 month supply of homes. Both of these inventory levels favor sellers if they prepare their house correctly for sale. As you creep up towards 1M, the days on market definitely begins to grow, and the amount of inventory tends to favor buyers, but GREAT LOOKING houses still fetch top dollar. We believe that choosing a realtor with the experience to help you prepare your house will assure that you will be able to sell for the highest possible price...in the shortest possible time on market. If you're considering selling...let's talk! We can help.         Want to know more about how our team works? Click HERE for our seller info package. Click HERE to see our current listings.   THOUGHT OF THE DAY: At any given moment we have two options: step forward into growth, or step backward into safety. Choose wisely.

The May Fresh Report is In!

The interesting development this last month is that listing inventory has grown dramatically.

We have 21% more listings available than the same month last year citywide. It appears that the interest rates have finally begun to impact home buying.

This means over the next few months we will likely see days on market begin to extend and we may even see some price reductions in certain areas for the first time in months.

That said, there will always be pockets in Houston where demand will be super high and I still anticipate multiple offers and first weekend sales to be persisting in many of those areas.

Also, to put things in perspective, before this market craziness of the last 2 years we frequently saw homes sell the first weekend and full price if they were in the right condition and priced correctly, and even if the market begins to slow, it will signal a return to a more "normal" market.

I believe the general population growth of Texas is going to hedge us somewhat against any type of contraction that other parts of the country may experience.

No matter what changes we experience in the months to come, the key to a successful sale will be working with a professional that understands the market stats and is able to help their clients interpret the data to make sure they get under contract at the highest possible price in a reasonable period of time.

If you need to sell a home or buy a new one, please call our team. We are always available.

Want to know more about how our team works?

Click HERE for our seller info package.

Click HERE to see our current listings.

We become
what we think about.
-Earl Nightingale

Is the market cooling?
The slight uptick in inventory levels nationwide says yes...

...in certain Houston pockets, the answer is still no.

In this latest article from Fortune magazine, national inventory levels are shown to be increasing in what is considered a sign that the market is beginning to cool.

BUT, as with all things, perspective is key. We are still well below the inventory levels we had pre pandemic, and as long as that persists, and demand is similar, there will be upward price pressure, especially in high demand areas where demand still outpaces the available supply.

I wrote 2 offers for clients this past weekend and found out on Sunday that we were in second place on both, and as luck would have it, I got both of them to come back to me on Monday when the primary deal fell through.

It pays to be nice even when it looks like you might have lost.

That said, I'm still seeing multiple offers
on most houses every weekend across West Houston.

If you have a plan to sell a house in the next couple of months, please schedule an appointment with our team as soon as you can. Time is of the essence here.

>> Read the Full Article Here <<

Want to know more about how our team works?
Click HERE for our seller info package.
Click HERE to see our current listings.

Discipline yourself
and others won't need to.
-John Wooden

"Are we in a bubble?"

A bubble implies something needs to pop and deflate. I have been of the opinion that the Houston market  is proving to be robust and Texas at large is drawing people here at a rate that is better than most other states. We don't seem to be near any sort of popping.

"Is this just how the market is going to be now?"

I believe that for the next several months at a minimum, we will still be dealing with most houses having multiple offers, especially in desirable school districts.

I just wrote an offer yesterday and I was told by the listing agent she had 4 offers above mine...and all 4 were cash. It was the first day on the market...

"Will prices ever go back down?"

Based on the last 30 years of Houston market data history...no. Even through the great recession of 2007-2010, Houston housing has steadily appreciated year after year.

If you have a plan to sell a house in the next couple of months, please schedule an appointment with our team as soon as you can. Time is of the essence here.

We'd like to show you the data for your specific neighborhood and help you get where you want to go.

If you'd like to hear more about the housing phenomenon the country is dealing with right now, please click below.

>> Read the Full Article Here <<

Want to know more about how our team works?
Click HERE for our seller info package.
Click HERE to see our current listings.

Working on a problem reduces the fear of it.
It’s hard to fear a problem when you are making progress on it
even if progress is imperfect and slow.
Action relieves anxiety.
-James Clear

Houston's FULL April numbers are here.

We're still having a robust selling season, but we are beginning to see an ever so small step down from last year's month over month numbers.

In the world of listings it is playing out in the reduction of the number of offers we are seeing on our listings.

6 months ago we were seeing anywhere from 20-40 offers depending on the price point....now we are receiving more like 4-6 offers. The market is still robust, and houses are still selling the first weekend, at or above asking, but we can see the pendulum beginning to shift.

How long will we be in the type of market where things sell the first weekend? It's impossible to know, but for right now....we are still there.

If you have a plan to sell a house in the next couple of months, please schedule an appointment with our team as soon as you can. Time is of the essence here.

We'd like to show you the data for your specific neighborhood and help you get where you want to go.

> Read the Full Report Here <

Want to know more about how our team works?
Click HERE for our seller info package.
Click HERE to see our current listings.

We must all suffer one of 2 things
The pain of discipline or the pain of regret.
Discipline weighs ounces.
Regret weighs tons.
-Jim Rohn

The Fresh Report is IN!

Very interesting development in the Houston market this past month. April marks the first month in over a year where our active listing volume grew from the same month previous year. To be sure, one data point is not yet a trend, so we'll monitor this in the months to come. The average 30 year fixed is now up to 5.48%

We took fractionally fewer listings and the closed sale prices are up 12.7% on average, so still healthy, but this could signal the beginning of a shift in the market. Can't wait to see how the rest of this month plays out and we'll see if there is another rush of buying in the next few months.

No matter where the market decides to go, the same rules will always apply; buyers tend to prefer turn-key homes in great shape, where they don't need to do much after moving in.

Our team had an extraordinary April and we helped 17 clients change their address last month and maximized their net proceeds by helping them prepare their homes for sale.

If you need help doing the same, please reach out anytime.

If you have a plan to sell a house in the next couple of months, please schedule an appointment with our team as soon as you can.

> Link to today's mortgage rates <

Want to know more about how our team works?
Click HERE for our seller info package.
Click HERE to see our current listings.

If you work hard and creatively,
you can have just about anything you want,
but not everything you want.
Maturity is the ability to reject good alternatives
in order to pursue even better ones.

-Ray Dalio