The Houston area continues to buck the trends of the national home markets: Even as home sales recently dropped on a national scale, sales were up in Southeast Texas.
The National Association of Realtors said Friday that existing home sales were down a disappointing 4.9% in January when compared to December, and last year home sales dropped to the lowest level since 1995 for the second year in a row.
But the Vice Chair of the Houston Association of Realtors, Kat Robinson, says sales are up in Southeast Texas by 1.2% on a year-over-year basis, and there are several reasons, including the unique nature of the area.
The old saying is "all politics is local," and the same is true for real estate.
"Houston sales were up 1.2%...so whenever you see those national numbers you have to remember that real estate is very local."
Perhaps the most interesting is the variety of properties that are available here that you won't find in many areas of the nation: If you want condos and bungalows, they're available here, but so are ranches and gated community homes, starter homes and mansions.
And Ms. Robinson points out that all those types of residences are on the market at every conceivable price point, cheap, moderate or expensive.
"So if you want to live in a high-rise, that's available, or if you want to live in a single-family home with a pool, that too is available at almost every price," she says.
But then there's the seasonal aspect of it...it's hard to imagine Winter home sales creeping up in cities where brisk winds, freezing temperatures and heavy snow are the norm, but in the Houston area the Fall and early Winter can be a time for brisk home sales.
"Sales usually creep up as school comes to an end, and they creep down when we're in the holidays."
"It's just like the weather," she continues, "if you look at the national average in America, it may be 80 degrees, but that's definitely not applicable to every city in the country," and it's certainly not applicable to Houston.