Houston Realtor - Pearland Realtor - Paul Silverman

The newest Houston Real Estate market report is out and shows the luxury home market has made a sharp rebound. Homes in the $700,000 - $799,000 range were up 56%, $900,000-$999,999 were up 19% and homes above $1 million were up 31%. This is very good news because for each and every luxury home that is sold, you will find there's trickle down effect triggering a purchase at the other price points.
The industry report for all other price ranges shows small decreases in sales but it is really an indication in the market returning to normal demand and supply. During this same period last year, we were treated to several factors artificially inflating the market. These included the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit, looser lending guidelines, and lower mortgage rates. With sales down only 1% year to date and the average sales price increasing 3%, this shows that Houston's market remains strong despite each of the factors enhancing the market in 2010 have ended. Another promising spot in the market is the sale of lots increased 19% year to date from last year signaling a rise in building.

If you are considering buying or selling Real Estate in Houston and want a Houston Realtor to help you choose a home, please contact Paul Silverman, Certified Negotiation Expert with Heritage Texas Properties to help find a home for you. Kindly visit our website at www.ourfirstnest.com .

The latest Houston Real Estate market report is out and shows the luxury home market has made a sharp rebound. Homes in the $700,000 - $799,000 range were up 56%, $900,000-$999,999 were up 19% and homes above $1 million were up 31%. This is great news because for each luxury home that is sold, there is a trickle down effect triggering a sale at the other price points.

The market report for all other price ranges shows small decreases in sales but this is an indication in the market returning to normal supply and demand. During this same period last year, we had several factors artificially inflating the market. These included the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit, looser lending guidelines, and lower interest rates. With sales down only 1% year to date and the average sales price increasing 3%, this shows that Houston's market remains strong even after all of the factors helping the market in 2010 have ended. Another promising spot in the market is the sale of lots increased 19% year to date from last year signaling an increase in building.

If you are interested in buying or selling Real Estate in Houston and need a Houston Realtor to help you find a home, please contact Paul Silverman, Certified Negotiation Expert with Heritage Texas Properties to help find a home for you. Please visit our website at www.houstonhomesource.net .

You might have had to read the title of this article a second time to make sure your eyes weren't playing tricks on you. The latest MLS statistics are out and they show a 2% drop in sales for February 2011 when compared to the same month last year. While a drop in sales is usually not greeted with open arms, let's examine why this is excellent news for the Houston market.

First, in February 2010 we were still feeling some artificial inflation of the market due to the Federal First Time Buyer Tax Credit. While this incentive fueled a sharp rise in sales, it took a lot of potential buyers out of the market that were planning on purchasing later in the year. When this credit expired last year, the market instantly felt a sharp drop in sales.

The second major factor affecting the market is the much tighter lending guidelines that have been applied the last 12 months. With everything from Fannie Mae overlays, rising interest rates, minimum credit score changes and the upcoming loan officer compensation rules that will change on April 1^st, buyers have felt decreasing purchasing ability.

The third contributing factor is the total number of foreclosure sales. In February 2011, there was a 16% drop in the total number of foreclosures sales. As we all know, distressed properties normally sell at a significantly lower than market price which has a negative effect on values and appraisals.

When you look at these three contributing factors it clearly shows that the market in Houston is returning to stability and our total number of sales are now a result of normal buyer demand as opposed to being artificially inflated by the Federal Tax Credit. When you mix in the tighter lending guidelines, this also implies that while it limits the purchasing power overall, the Houston market is still resilient and is headed in a positive direction.

Along with these market metrics, there are more reasons to be extremely optimistic for 2011. Our year to date sales have increased 2% and our average price has also increased 4% to $205,495.  In addition, Builder Online ranked Houston #7 in Healthiest Housing Markets for 2011. They estimate that in Houston building permits will rise 30% this year along with employment growth of 2.66%. 

While it is sometimes hard to interpret statistics, forecasts and reports, it is often a good idea to talk to those on the front line of the real estate market and get their opinion. When speaking with several builders and Realtors, it is apparent that the market is getting better as sales office traffic, phone calls, sales and other positive market factors have improved the last 30 days.

When you look at all these factors it paints a very accurate and optimistic outlook for 2011.

If you are looking to buy or sell real estate in Houston and need a qualified Realtor to help in your search, please contact Paul Silverman, Broker Associate at Heritage Texas Properties. You can visit his website at www.ourfirstnest.com . 

If you are looking to buy a new home in Houston and are on the fence, your decision just became easier. Builder Magazine just ranked real estate in Houston as the #7 Top Housing Market for 2011. With an expected 30% rise in the number of permits filed, buying a new home should be easier in 2011. There will be more available inventory as Houston builders begin start building spec homes again as well as new communities opening. In coordination with all of these positive factors, interest rates are still extremely low and make this one of the most affordable times to buy a new home. For more reasons this is a good time to buy, please visit our "Why buy now" page.

If you are looking to buy a new home in Houston or surrounding area and need a qualified Realtor to help in your search, please contact Paul Silverman, Broker Associate at Heritage Texas Properties. With over 13 years experience in new homes in Houston, he can advise you in many areas of the buying and building process. You can visit his website at www.ourfirstnest.com or www.houstonhomesource.net . 

We can all remember the loan guidelines from a few years ago when just about anybody that wanted to buy a home could qualify for some type of mortgage program. While this produced a surge in home ownership, the relaxed lending guidelines is cited by some as a contributing factor in the current state of the economy. Even the most respectable economists and leaders in the real estate community agreed that their needed to be more stringent guidelines.

 In response to this, Congress along with the GSE's has made some pretty significant changes to these guidelines in the name of consumer protection. Unfortunately, they have also increased the cost and qualifications for a mortgage.

 The first area of change will be coming out April 1^st in the form of loan officer compensation changes. This is a very confusing concept to grasp unless it is broken down in a very simplistic explanation. Loan officers make earn their compensation off of points they charge. These points are usually based on the loan amount and can either be paid by the consumer (front end), paid for the consumer in return for the interest rate they choose (back end), or a combination of both. Under the new guidelines, points will no longer be permitted to be paid as a combination and must either be paid entirely by the lender or by the consumer. In addition, the compensation the lender/loan officer receives can't change based on the interest rate. While this protects consumers from artificially inflated interest rates for profit, it will increase the cost of their mortgage by eliminating the option of "spreading the points" out. There are many other ways this rule will effect the consumer but they are either too hard to explain. For full explanation please see the Federal Reserve website. http://www.federalreserve.gov/bankinforeg/regzcg.htm

Another way consumers will be affected is by the recent Fannie Mae overlays. These overlays include added costs due to normally acceptable credit scores and debt to income ratios, elimination of not counting installment debt with less than ten payments, and several others.

While all of these changes will increase the cost of obtaining a mortgage, the interest rates are still at all time lows. When looking at the new rules that will impact consumers, it is still less expensive to buy a $200,000 at today's interest rates than is was in 2002 when rates were over 7% and much more affordable than it was in the late 1980's when rates were above 17%.

If you are looking to buy or sell real estate in Houston and need a qualified Realtor to help in your search, please contact Paul Silverman, Broker Associate at Heritage Texas Properties. You can visit his website at www.ourfirstnest.com or www.houstonhomesource.net . 

Houston Realtor Paul Silverman has joined Heritage Texas Properties as a Broker Associate at their Post Oak Park location. Along with his 10 professional designations, Mr. Silverman brings over 15 years of experience in the real estate field including new construction, sales, marketing, mortgage and technology. "When looking at my choices of offices to join, I was amazed at the level of professionalism and the quality of agents, staff, and management at Heritage Texas Properties" says Silverman, "they are truly a group of professional agents who have welcomed me into their family atmosphere."

Heritage Texas Properties is Houston's largest independent real estate firm, recognized for providing distinguished residential brokerage services and a tradition of integrity since 1976.

A HUB certified business led by one of Houston's most recognized real estate leaders, Robin Mueck, Heritage Texas Properties employs more than 300 licensed real estate professionals working from multiple office locations throughout the Houston region and the near Hill Country. Their business philosophy stems from the tried-and-true concepts of attention to detail and customized personal service - hallmarks of their company since its inception.

If you are looking to buy or sell real estate in Houston and need a qualified Realtor to help in your search, please contact Paul Silverman, Broker Associate at Heritage Texas Properties. You can visit his website at www.ourfirstnest.com. 

Real Estate in Houston is off to a great start in 2011. Although it is only early February, we are already seeing some very promising signs that buying a home in Houston will be a great move this year. Our first glimpse of the market came with promising signs for the first few weeks. Here are a few:

• For the week ending January 30, 2011, total pending sales have increase 18.1 percent compared to a year ago.
• For the same week, new listings dropped 8% indicating a reduction in available inventory
• Viewing January 2011 compared to 2010, we have seen gains across almost all segments of the market.

As the year progresses, we will have to keep an eye on foreclosures and some constriction in lending practices. Check back for more information next month.

If you need a Houston Realtor to help you find a home, please contact Paul Silverman, Certified Negotiation Expert, to help find a home for you. Please visit our website at www.ourfirstnest.com

Houston Realtor Paul Silverman has now completed the National Association of Realtor's "Successful Relocation Representation" course. "With Houston being one of the top relocation destinations in the country, it will be a great asset to have this additional training to help families not only find a home in this great city but also feel welcomed," says Silverman.

In June of 2009, Forbes Magazine rate Houston as the #1 city to get ahead. Recently, Houston was named one of the top cities in the country to find a job. If your are a young professional moving to Houston, you should know that Forbes just ranked Houston as the #1 city for young professionals - another great reason for Houston Relocation. According to Builder Magazine, Houston is ranked as the nation's healthiest housing market and Houston was ranked the 8th most affordable city in the country. With major employment centers in the area such as Texas Medical Center, Downtown Houston, The Galleria,  Energy Corridor, NASA, The Port of Houston, and many more, there is no wonder why so many people are moving to Houston and  it was ranked the best city to live, work and play by Kiplingers.

If you are considering a moving to Houston, please contact Houston Realtor, Paul Silverman to help in your relocation. You can reach him via email at paul@ourfirstnest.com or visit www.ourfirstnest.com .

Is the glass half full or half empty? This is a common phrase used to judge optimism. When looking back at the Houston real estate in the last year, most of us would definitely see the glass as ¾ full. While several of the benchmarks showed numbers not indicative of gains, when compared to the national market, Houston did amazingly well and proved once again why buying a home is a good choice.

During 2010, single family property sales fell 5.7% compared to 2009. While trying to remain optimistic about our economy, I would have to imply that most businesses would have been ecstatic if their sales had only dropped by less than 6% last year. When you mix the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit, a major election and other economic factors, a small adjustment of 5.7% is not bad.

Total property sales during 2010 fell 4.6%, or 2,932 less homes than 2009. When you take into account the factors we have already discussed as well as the much tighter lending requirements, it's amazing that our market still had less than a total 5% decline.

Now we get to one of the most promising signs of real estate in Houston, the average price. In 2010, the average singly family home rose 4% to $211,765. Houston could quite possibly be one of the few markets that showed a gain in 2010.

So as we welcome 2011, we hope that real estate in Houston continues to outperform the rest of the country and show some strong positive gains that will prove what a great place Houston is to call home.

If you are looking to buy real estate in Houston and need a qualified Realtor to help in your search, please contact Paul Silverman, Broker Associate at Keller Williams Metropolitan. You can visit our website at www.ourfirstnest.com. 

As we begin the new year, I wanted to point out several tax deductions that some people might overlook. As a Houston Realtor, it is my hope that I can save you some money on your taxes. These were compiled from several sources.

1. Mortgage Refinancing Costs - If you own your own home and you refinance your mortgage, you can deduct the points over the lifetime of the loan. If you have a 30 year mortgage, you are able to deduct one-thirtieth of the points every year.

2. Home Improvements for Energy Savings  - You wouldn't think about it normally, but going green in your home can give you tax credits. If you make home improvements that result in energy savings, the cost of these improvements could be deducted. You are able to claim a tax deduction that is equal to 30 percent of the total cost of your home improvements made towards energy savings. The maximum amount of money you can claim on energy saving home improvements is $1,500. The downside to this is if you claimed that amount in 2009, you can't get the same tax deduction for 2010 if you made home improvements that year.

3. Home-buyer credit. We put this last on the list because it's hard to imagine any taxpayer missing this big a tax break. But some deadlines were extended and you don't want to miss out if you qualify for the credit. First-time home buyers and longtime homeowners qualify for this break in 2010 as long as they either closed a home sale by April 30, 2010 or entered into a binding contract to purchase a home by April 30th and closed on the deal no later than September 30th. The credit is $8,000 for first-time home buyers (someone who didn't own a home in the three years leading up to the purchase of a new home) and $6,500 for longtime homeowners (those who continuously owned a home for at least five of the eight years leading up to the purchase of a new home). The credit gradually disappears and is phased out for taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes between $125,000 and $145,000 (for singles) and $225,000 and $245,000 (for married couples who file jointly). Also, if you purchased a home in 2010 and want your credit quicker, you are allowed to claim it early by filing an amended 2009 tax return. More questions? See FAQs on the Home Buyer Tax Credits.

4. Tax-free profits - Another major advantage of home ownership is that, in most cases, you don't have to pay taxes on any profit you make when you sell your home. The law allows you to exclude from taxes up to $250,000 in profit from the sale of your principal home -- $500,000 for a couple who file jointly. This exclusion also covers the sale of a parcel of land adjacent to your house, unless it's used for business. There are some stipulations, however. The home must be your principal residence, and you (and your spouse, where applicable) must have lived there for at least two of the previous five years. You can only claim the exemption once every two years. If you don't meet those requirements, you may still claim a partial exemption if the sale was due to a change in your place of employment, necessary for health reasons, or due to other unforeseen circumstances.

5. Property taxes - You can claim property taxes you pay as an income tax deduction. This applies to both your principal home and any others you may own. Any money held in escrow to pay future taxes, however, is not deductible.

6. Moving expenses - The government allows you to write off many of your moving costs when you buy a new home if it's at least 50 miles closer to your job than your old home. To qualify, you must continue to work full-time in the general area of your job for 39 weeks during the following year. If you're self-employed and work in your home, any move of 50 miles or more will make your moving expenses deductible. However, you must also work full-time near the new location for 78 weeks during the next 24 months.

7. Equity Loan Interest - You may be able to deduct some of the interest you pay on a home equity loan or line of credit. However, the IRS places a limit on the amount of debt you can treat as "home equity" for this deduction. Your total is limited to the smaller of: $100,000 (or $50,000 for each member of a married couple if they file separately), or the total of your home's fair market value -- that is, what you'd get for your house on the open market -- minus certain other outstanding debts against it. IRS Publication 936, Home Mortgage Interest Deduction, available at www.irs.gov , explains the details.

8. Home Improvement Loan Interest - If you take out a loan to make substantial home improvements, you can deduct the interest, with no dollar limit. However, the work must be a "capital improvement" rather than ordinary repairs. Qualifying capital improvements are those that increase your home's value, prolong its life, or adapt it to new uses. For example, qualifying improvements might include adding a new roof, fence, swimming pool, garage, porch, built-in appliances, insulation, heating/cooling systems, landscaping, or more. (Keep in mind that increasing the square footage of your home could trigger a reassessment and higher property taxes, though.) Work that doesn't qualify for an interest deduction includes repairs such as repainting, plastering, wallpapering, replacing broken or cracked tiles, patching your roof, repairing broken windows, and fixing minor leaks. Wait until you are about to sell your home to gain tax benefits from repair work. (See Selling Costs below.) However, you can use a home equity loan up to the limits discussed above to make repairs, and deduct the interest.

9. Selling Costs - If you decide to sell your home, you'll be able to reduce your taxable capital gain by the amount of your selling costs. (You may not have to worry about your gain at all if it's low enough to fall within the exclusion described below, but if your profits from the sale look higher then the exclusion, take a closer look at this section.) Real estate broker's commissions, title insurance, legal fees, advertising costs, administrative costs, and inspection fees are all considered selling costs. All selling costs are deducted from your gain. Your gain is your home's selling price, minus deductible closing costs, selling costs, and your tax basis in the property. (Your basis is the original purchase price, plus the cost of capital improvements, minus any depreciation.)

10. Mortgage Tax Credit - A home-buying program called mortgage credit certificate (MCC) allows low-income, first-time homebuyers to benefit from a mortgage interest tax credit of up to 20% of the mortgage interest payments made on a home (the amount of the credit varies by jurisdiction). The maximum credit is $2,000 per year if the certificate credit rate is over 20%. (See IRS Publication 530.) You must first apply to your state or local government for an actual certificate. This credit is available each year you keep the loan and live in the house purchased with the certificate. The credit is subtracted, dollar for dollar, from the income tax owed.
 

If you need a Houston Realtor to help you find a home, please contact Paul Silverman, Certified Negotiation Expert, to help find a home for you. Please visit our website at www.ourfirstnest.com

Houston Realtor Paul Silverman is one of more than 50,000 members of the Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council (REBAC) of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, who have attained the Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR®) designation. As the world's largest association of real estate professionals focusing specifically on representing the real estate buyer, REBAC is "The Voice for Buyer Representation," with more than 50,000 active real estate professional members of the organization throughout the world.