San Antonio Realty Market Report 09/27/09
Posted by Randy Kelley on September 27, 2009
We’re Randy & Stephanie Kelley, Realtors(R) at Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio. Visit us at SanAntonioHomeQuest.com , call us at (210) 863-2661 or 867-9743, or (800) 201-9145, E-mail us kelleybus@aol.com or swkrealtor@aol.com.
Here’s how we recently answered a very good inquiry about the San Antonio realty market.
How is the real estate sales environment in your part of Texas right now? Sales activity up, down or stagnant? Despite the national economic downturn, San Antonio’s realty market hasn’t suffered - just slowed. As we close in on our usually slower Fall sales season, sales activity has picked up remarkably and there are signs the market will maintain a much faster pace than usual, at least through August and September.
Any changes/improvement since last year? Sales are up, available home inventory is down, average sold property list prices & sale prices are down, and the list to sale price ratio is down. It’s clearly a strong buyer’s market.
How about from the price aspect? Is the median up or down? The median sales price is down.
How soon before you believe the market is going to bottom out and turn the corner? The indicators all point to our slightly slower market having bottomed. It appears that we’ve turned the corner and are now heading into a much more active phase.
How harsh is foreclosure activity in your market currently? Is that worse or better than it was this time last year? Foreclosure activity has been unusually strong for San Antonio. It is clearly higher than the same time last year.
Are you seeing first time home buyers in the market going after all the REO (lender owned) inventory? Bidding wars? Multiple offers? First time home buyers have been very active in the REO market. REO properties seem to be turning well. I have not personally experienced either a bidding war or multiple offer scenario. That’s not unusual for San Antonio’s market environment, which, historically, tends to be neither over heated nor over cooled.
Are you seeing investors taking an interest in the market, or have they pulled out? There is some investor interest, but, for the time being, it seems to be minimal. Is this a good time to be a real estate investor in your market area and why? San Antonio has always held high potential for diligent realty investors who know what they’re doing. Our prices for good to excellent homes are low compared to other big cities. Rental activity is high. But rental and resale investors must be willing to accept relatively high property taxes, low average home price appreciation rates, longer holding periods to make profit, and lower average rents. That said, those down factors are more than offset by San Antonio’s record of strong and stable economic conditions, realty market stability and steady growth.
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