As the Real Estate Market Continues to Weaken, Timing Is Everything

By Gale Samborne
The Erickson Tribune

Early reports from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) indicate the long-predicted bursting of the national housing bubble may finally be at hand.

Although a robust economy offers Texas homeowners some protection from a repeat of the devastating losses experienced in the 1980s, increases in Houston home values have clearly slowed.

After five straight years of record-setting activity, the NAR predicts a 5 percent decline in existing home sales for 2006. Rising interest rates and new home inventories have combined to shift the market advantage from confident sellers to cautious buyers, causing many retirees to consider the potential costs of delaying the sale of large family homes that have become increasingly burdensome to maintain.

Despite threatening clouds on the horizon, Houston homeowners still may have time to avoid the gathering storm. Even with increasingly attractive upgrades and incentives offered by new home builders seeking to reduce growing inventories, prices of existing homes are, at least in the short term, expected to hold steady.

But local professionals warn that as in any market, timing is everything, and with the strongest selling season fast approaching, hesitation can be costly.

“I advise people who have plans to downsize in the near future to list their homes now, to take advantage of the increased number of buyers in spring and summer,” says Mary Anne Adams-Tyler, a realtor whose clientele is predominantly of retirement age.

“With the market slowing overall, there is no guarantee that prices will rise enough to exceed the interim costs of repairs and taxes,” she continues. “Most people will be better off to sell now, before the market gets even tighter, and sales take longer.”