The Wall Street Journal, in an article dated January 24th issued this warning, "Housing Slump Starts to Hit Stronger Cities". Houston was a city expressed in the article as strong in real estate and strong in employment outlook.! The article focused on the fact that there were a few exceptional cities to the real estate slump where up until now had not been effected by the real estate slump, but areas like the Northwest, North Carolina and now, even Manhattan are feeling the effects.
The entire article can be viewed online at:
It is so refreshing to read articles that help distinguish the Houston Real Estate Market from so many other markets that are depreciating and/or slowing down.
There is no question that Houston is in a short-term period where home prices most likely will not appreciate. However, the huge expansion of the Texas Medical Center is expected to bring international knowledge workers to town. In addition, Houston is an Energy Epicenter that is expanding and auxiliary businesses will also emerge to support these industries. The Houston job market will get even stronger in the future. Whenever the job market is strong, so is the housing market.
We, at Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors believe that those that purchase homes this year will be in a position to capitalize on future appreciation in home values that will be brought on by more jobs being created in the aforementioned industries, not to mention the Port of Houston. In the Wall Street Journal, a chart displays 28 cities and Houston is ranked as one of the strongest of the 28 cities.