- Oil and energy sectors continue to impact a number of Houston submarkets
- More rural homes with acreage appear in greater demand
- Average sales price of a home in The Woodlands is still at nearly $500,000
Considered Houston’s luxury submarket, The Woodlands experienced a “huge dip” in home values spanning May to mid-August.
“If you didn’t put your home on the market by May or June you were screwed,” said Amy Smythe-Harris of Urban Provision Realtors.
Three different sellers she was working with in May and June saw the value of their homes decline $10,000, $12,000 and $35,000 by the time they eventually listed in mid-August.
The average sales prices of a home in The Woodlands spanning October 2014 to September 2015 was $496,390, according to the Houston Association of Realtors.
In The Woodlands, gone are the days of homes receiving multiple offers. Volatility in the oil and gas industries is the main reason for the dip in prices and offers.
According to Smythe-Harris, there is significant trepidation among both sellers and buyers, many of whom are concerned about their jobs. Most of these individuals will play the wait and see game until the first of the year.
“I don’t foresee first of the year prices getting better (for sellers),” she added.
Trepidation among both buyers and sellers has negatively impacted sales activity. From October 2014 to September 2015, total sales volume (2,077 sales) dipped by 7.9 percent on a 12-month period-over-period basis.
Smythe-Harris did point to one hot market west of the Woodlands, the “acreage community.”
Homes in the rural cities of Tomball and Magnolia that sit on two to five acres are “huge right now,” with most receiving multiple offers. During the summer this market was dead, according to Smythe Harris.
