38% Decline? Housing Down 43%-57%: Have We Arrived?

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Re: 38% Decline? Housing Down 43%-57%: Have We Arrived?

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I can't agree with you on Houston. We did not have a major real estate boom here in the 2000's, so we are not having a major estate bust. Also, prices never skyrocketed here like they did in other parts of U.S.

I disagree. Prices do not have to rise in order for them to fall, especially when there are external influences at work. You cannot simply measure how far down the rabbit hole goes based on the mound of dirt around it.

Most importantly, the local economy is healthy right now, due to energy industry concentration.

I don't know about you, but I listen to bizradio (AM 1110), and I hear them say this all the time. The one thing I haven't heard is: what was so unhealthy about the economies of Florida and California?

Just because people have a good job, doesn't mean they didn't get a 2/28 on a house they couldn't afford.

I'll throw out a few numbers. Per Houston Chronicle article in 2001, it took till 2000 for home prices to get back to 1981 levels, on an inflation-adjusted basis.

Here's some numbers from May 2008, let me know if the Chronicle reported them:
YOY Total Property sales -17.8%
YOY Pending sales -15.6%

I live in an upscale neighborhood, beautiful, broad, tree-lined streets and well-maintained homes. There's a custom, 2800 sq ft home built in 1976, on my block, listed for $179,000 - it will never sell for that price - maybe $165,000 to $170,000, but that's it. How do I know - because that's what the typical home in sub-division sells for.

I grew up in Kingwood. I know all about the burbs of Houston.

[World Traveler]

Re: 38% Decline? Housing Down 43%-57%: Have We Arrived?

I seem to have ruffled a few feathers.

Re: RE in Houston, I agree with those who say it's slowing down, but I don't believe that it will fall as far as in California, Florida, N.Y., for example, because it never skyrocketed as far, %-wise, as those places did.

All national surveys show that Houston and its suburbs have very affordable real estate and home prices, among large U.S. cities. No controversy there.

Re: the Houston suburbs. Kingwood, being a master planned community, has had much more stable and higher home prices over a long period of time than where I live, which is NW Houston suburban area, where there are no huge, master planned communities.

Just a lot of new home construction and new subdivisions over here in NW quadrant , north of FM 1960, between 290 and I45. All along FM 1960, immediately north and south, there are subdivisions built at time of 1970's, early 1980's oil boom. They're very nice neighborhoods, but prices have not gone up significantly because of all the competition from the new homes. So if you're looking for a good deal, a great 25-year-old home, in a very nice neighborhood, for under $200,000, that's where to look.

Glad there are other Houstonians on iTulip. I've been in Houston since 1975 and in current home since 1992.