IS THE SKY FALLING?

On Monday, Jan. 7, We attended the annual San Antonio Housing Forcast presented by the San Antonio Board of Realtors and the Greater San Antonio Home Builders Association.  The news was both bad and good.  There were several presenters whose satistics show that the 2007 was down substantially from that of the record breaking 2006. But the market was nearly identical to 2005, which was a pretty good year.  

This was supported by the analysis presented by Jack Inselmann of Metrostudy Inc.  We're trying to get a complete copy of Jack's presentation but if you click on this link you'll see a summary of what was said.  The point continues to be. . . The sky is NOT falling in San Antonio!!! 

Just so you know, you can't believe everything you see, read and hear in the media.  We wanted you to know the evidence is strongly pointing to continued market growth, here in San Antonio.  Yes, the rest of the country seems to be heading into a housing recession, and yes, there are many places throughout the country that have experienced downward pressure on real estate prices, but they aren't San Antonio. 

Just look around you and see all the new constuction, office buildings, highways, new homes etc. happening here in the area.  Then talk to all those NEW people moving to town from the parts of the country that ARE experiencing economic downturns, and you'll see that SAN ANTONIO is where the jobs are and expansion is occurring.

Here are some points to consider that I've borrowed from Josh Sigman at Legacy Mutual Mortgage:

·        The “bad” statistics provided by the national news media focuses on the largest markets (CA, FL, AZ, NV ect.) and is not tailored to our local area or other medium cities with steady growth.

·        Yes, San Antonio has had a huge influx of investors over the last 3 years and now there are a lot of homes on the market. However, overall, we are back to a “normal” level of activity similar to 2005 which was the second best real estate year in San Antonio.

·        Contrary to the media, loan availability is still very good so the fear of not qualifying is a bit over-rated.  (100% loans, Jumbo loans, stated income loans ect. do exist!) Guidelines have tightened up some but it is intended to protect the consumer as much as the banks.  This is a good thing for borrowers.

·        San Antonio employment growth is still going strong.  More jobs equal the need for more housing, a major factor in offsetting potential downturns in real estate, shielding us in large part from the depreciation that other cities are experiencing.

·        Homes in this market are at worst holding there value, with several areas (North East, North Central, I-10 corridor, Alamo heights, and Boerne) still enjoying modest appreciation. 

·        Interest Rates remain lower than average on standard loan programs with a small rising trend.  Taking advantage of these low interest rates will help keep payments lower.

·        The average days that a listing is on the market is at its highest levels since 2004.  This means that there is a large supply and buyers have the ability to get both “a good deal”, and to find what they are looking for.