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CQ Brief: September Edition

CQ Brief: September Edition

Welcome to the September Market Update

Fall is finally here, so grab your pumpkin spice latte and get prepared to dive deep in what's going on in the real estate world. Whether you're an agent, investor, buyer, and more, it's crucial to know all the facts when it comes down to the real estate market.
 
Not only that, but we also have all the information you need to keep up to date with what's going on in Houston! From activities, to news, business, and more! We find it a key factor to know what's going on around us when selling houses in the Houston area. Remember we are selling a lifestyle, not just a house.
 

What's happening in Houston!

Celebrate Hispanic heritage month by attending the Festival de la Salsa on September 24th. Enjoy live performances, food, vendors, and even a salsa dance competition!
 
Info & photo via Discovery Green
 
 
A Houston developer is planning to lead a $2B renovation of the George R. Brown center Downtown. This project is scheduled to start early 2025 and will not be completed till 2028.
 
Info & photo via CultureMap
 
 
Come out to the Red Bull Showrun on September 7th at Discovery Green! Come watch legendary F1 driver David Coulthard and current Red Bull Junior Driver Arvid Lindblad make their Houston debut in two championship-winning F1 cars.
 
Info via visitHouston
 
 
Join us at our CitiQuest Properties office for our builder seminar! Going over all of our communities we have to offer and answering any questions you may have over the home buying process and more.
 
Location: 6807 Wynnwood Ln.
 
Quick Take:
  • Nationally, home prices hit an all-time high in June 2024, and we estimate that prices may have bucked seasonal trends and climbed slightly higher in July.*
  • In July, the average 30-year mortgage rate declined for the third month, falling to 6.78%, a 0.44% drop from the 2024 high reached in early May. The Fed is poised to start cutting rates in September, which tends to be around the time the housing market really slows before the holidays.
  • Sales fell 5.4% month over month and year over year, while inventory rose to its highest level since 2020. The combination of rising prices and high interest rates has kept sales historically low. Although the market is shifting in buyers’ favor, we still expect sales to decline for the rest of the year.

It's time to prepare for your Fall sales campaign

These lazy days of summer can lull you into a false sense of security if you're planning to sell your home this fall.
Consider spending some of your spare time working on your home to maximize its value, even if that means missing out on the occasional trip to enjoy the warm weather.
 
Read Full Article 
 

Houston Area Market Data

 

Rate cuts expected during slowest months in the housing market 

In June, prices rose for the fifth month in a row, reaching all-time highs. Typically, home prices begin to fall in July, but this year may be different. Currently, we estimate data to show that the national median home price rose very slightly in July. We are confident, at least, that prices have not fallen 5% from June to July, which means that July was the 13th consecutive month of year-over-year price growth. Despite the seasonal price dip, which is surely coming in the second half of the year, year-over-year price growth will almost certainly continue for months to come.
 
So why won’t prices see a major shift downward in the second half of the year? Seasonal trends already dictate that prices will decline starting around now. Combine that with high mortgage rates, slowing sales, and the highest inventory in four years, and it seems like we have the perfect recipe for prices to fall significantly. While home prices tend to increase over time, the pandemic buying boom set the stage for prices to rise more quickly than expected, and to stay high. In a funny way, higher interest rates have been incentivizing higher prices due to the cost of selling and buying at the same time. From June 2019 to March 2022, the average 30-year mortgage rate was less than 4%, and the averages for all of 2020 and 2021 were 3.11% and 2.95%, respectively. All that to say, those buyers who purchased their homes through financing, as most buyers do, in 2020 or 2021, and who plan to buy their next homes through financing at a much higher rate — they need to sell their current homes for much higher to combat the cost of financing new ones.
 
To further the point, the cost of financing the median home in June 2024 has increased 83% compared to June 2021, even though the sticker price of the median home is only up 16%. However, let’s say you bought the median home in June 2021 with 20% down, and then in June 2024, both sold your old median price home and bought the June 2024 median price home, your mortgage would only go up 55% rather than 83% because of the $60,000 price appreciation, which would bring you to ~30% equity in the new home. To be clear, 55% is still a lot, but it’s better than 83%.
 
Overall, inventory growth is great news for the undersupplied U.S. housing market. According to data from realtor.com, inventory reached its highest level since June 2020. The increasing inventory level should cause rising home prices to slow. In the pre-pandemic seasonal trends, sales, new listings, inventory, and price would roughly all rise in the first half of the year and decline in the second half of the year. Sales and new listings have been far lower than usual since mortgage rates started climbing, which is to be expected. Because we don’t anticipate sales to pick up until the spring of 2025, inventory could easily continue to grow in the second half of the year. Fed rate cuts will come right when the market really starts to slow down, so they probably won’t drive the market into a buying frenzy in the fourth quarter.
 
Different regions and individual houses vary from the broad national trends, so we’ve included a Local Lowdown below to provide you with in-depth coverage for your area. As always, we will continue to monitor the housing and economic markets to best guide you in buying or selling your home.
 

Featured Development 

*** ONLY 1 LEFT*** Beautiful Beall Square is in highly-desirable Shady Acres, which is just west of Heights Proper, on the corner of Beall St & 21st Street. This community's 7 free-standing homes are equipped with a high-end, contemporary living design. Open concept living into dining and kitchen areas feature a spacious entertaining place for all your guests. Frigidaire stainless steel appliances, black & gold touchless kitchen faucet, round LED wall mirrors, Quartz MSI Carrera countertops and porcelain tile offer luxury living. Private driveways, fenced in private green space and covered balconies leave nothing to desire. Plan B features all bedrooms on the 2nd floor with an additional game room on the 3rd floor. Schedule your tour today, these won't last long!

That's it for this month! Make sure to check back every end of the month for a new CQ Brief update! 

 


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6807 Wynnwood Ln.
Houston, TX 77008