Are we expecting a sharp decline in housing prices soon? Me and my wife are looking to buy or first house, but prices are still pretty high. I see a lot of houses that stay on the market for a while on my running route, but they are all in the 300's.

I'm guessing you will see the prices drop some in the short term. Judging from the number of houses on the market in my area (Greathouse), I'm thinking sellers are going to have to start lowering the prices to attract buyers. Just my guess.

We're waiting as well. Hoping to buy around the time school gets out.

Another question is where are all these people who are selling their houses going? Its not like there are many jobs in other places. Not that I'm worried about them. I just hope prices come down a bunch this year.

1876,

As far as where the sellers are going, I've heard a few instances of "Moving back to Houston." Apparently a lot of companies transferred employees to Midland when the price of oil was high. Now I guess they are moving them back. However in many cases the houses in question are new construction. I think I counted 14 in Greathouse recently that were being built or were recently finished.

Also, you may consider tracking a few homes that you are interested in and watch how long they stay on the market. If any stay for a couple of months, then make an offer well below the asking price and see if you get a bite. At least that way you could get the benefit of the low interest rates. Again just my $.02.

There are a ton of houses that went up last summer and fall when labor and materials were at a premium.

They were getting the $120/sf they were asking back then. Now they're not. Last summer, you'd have a full-price offer in hand by the time you stuck the sign in your yard. Now, we're tracking several nice houses that have been on the market 60-90 days and counting. The prices haven't really started the corresponding drop yet, only slightly, but it's only a matter of time.

What is it looking like now Cowtown? It still seems the asking prices are not coming down. I think we are going to start talking to realtors next month and start heating up the search. Our lease is up in August/September, and we'd like a month to move out and do any maintenence on the house.

I think the price is really just a function of the oil price. If it stays low for much longer, the layoffs will increase and housing prices will go down. If the oil price goes back up, housing prices will go right with it. I would start throwing out lowball offers now and see if you get any bites.

76er, our realtor got a call from a builder today whose house we really liked. He wanted to know if we'd be interested if he dropped the price to $116/sf, over in the Greathouse area.

I told her to tell him that we still really liked the house, but given the fact that we're under no immediate pressure to make a move and with the current economic trend, we'd be foolish not to wait it out for a while longer.

Houses began really sitting a few months ago. We're just now seeing folks starting to come off of their asking prices. I'd expect that trend to continue, especially with the glut of new houses on the market that generally happens about the time that school gets out. We're targeting a summer move, but we're ready to do something quicker if we see signs of the market tightening back up.

Prices not budging. Latest closing report showed Feb 09 closings and average price nearly identical to Feb 08. That's not a good sign for prospective buyers.

Good news is I really don't have to make a move. I'm prepared (I guess) to buy a house in the $100/sf+ range. I'd just rather not.

Slightly different market, but in the same area. We just signed a contract on a relatively new (built in 2007) house in Andrews and paid $103 per square foot. New construction in town is going for about $115-120/sf.

In looking at the comps for the town, it looks like most people within the last year are still getting very close to asking price--if not full asking price.

$115/sg ft in Andrews? That is suprising. No offense, but why would you want to live in Andrews? If you wanted to save money on housing just go to Stanton.

I love it when people start a sentence with "No offense, but"... Because it's always followed by an offensive statement.

Lots of reasons for me to live in Andrews. I'm actually taking a new job there that will double my current salary and allow me to buy into a very successful business with "sweat equity". In other words, the longer I work for the guy, the more of the business I own. Second, it's close to family and where I grew up, but not too close. This is important because we are expecting baby #2. Third, it's back in Texas which beats the hell out of ABQ New Mexico. It's a no brainer.

And we weren't trying to save money on housing. Quite the opposite actually. We wanted a really nice house so we bought one--within our means of course.

I have a question for you. You would rather live in Stanton than Andrews? Really???

But thanks for playing...

I didn't mean my post to be offense, that's why I said "no offense." I was simply curious about your situation. I think most people would agree that Midland is the best city to live in it the area, but some are selling their homes in Midland for a huge profit and moving to places like Stanton because it is much cheaper. So, unless you prefer the city of Andrews, more power to you, but there is no way in hell I would be shelling out that kind of dough to live there. I think you are overpaying.

I agree that Midland is probably the best place in that area to live. But I'll be working in Andrews and don't want to commute. And I guess I can see people selling their homes in Midland and moving to other places to find cheaper housing. But if I were to do that, Stanton wouldn't be very high on my list.

Stanton I.S.D. is a crappy school district, and Andrews schools are MUCH better. That's important to me, plus Andrews is more of a town than Stanton (not by much, though). I guess I just don't see the appeal to Stanton. To each their own I guess...

As for overpaying, well I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. You should have prefaced your statement "there is no way in hell I would shell out that kind of dough to live there" with "no offense". That would have made all the difference in that statement.

agpharm,
I was curious about the lot size that came with your house in Andrews. My wife and I bought in Midland three + years ago and everything we looked at had absolutely no back yard at all. I tell her all the time I feel like we're living on a postage stamp. Of course back then, there were only 300 or so houses on the market, so we took what we could get. Either way, welcome back to Texas.

glassjaw,
Do you live in Stanton or Midland? Are there still many houses being built in Stanton? The reason I ask is because a friend was looking to build in either Greenwood or Stanton. He too thought that Midland was overpriced.

I just moved from Midland to Houston. It's not like I have a hard-on for Stanton or anything, I just suggested it because it is close by and apparently Andrews has housing prices similar to Midland, which begs the question, why not just live in Midland? I will agree that Andrews is niced than Stanton though. I lived in Midland for the majority of my life, so I feel that I have a good sense of home values there. 115-120 per sq foot seems high, although it does cost more to build than to buy. At the height of the housing bonanza about a year or so ago very nice, updated homes in the good parts of town were going for about 100 per sq ft. Homes that needed work were going for about 75 give or take. Right now it is probably about the same, except homes are not selling as quickly.

Pharm, I got no problem with Andrews at all, its a nice little town. I would just expect prices to be lower there than in Midland. I'm assuming your a pharmacist, so I imagine your making some bank due to the fact that it's hard to get your kind out that way. So, spend it however you like, what do I know, I'm just a random internet entity.

Thanks WW99. The lot is a quarter acre and we've got a pretty good sized back yard. In addition to that there is a "guest quarter" building out back that is not included in the square footage. It's ~400 square foot and is heated and cooled. It is soon to become my man cave.

Regarding new construction in Stanton, I know there is a new development that is north of town with some pretty nice homes. I'm not sure if they are still building or not, though. From the road, the houses looked pretty sharp.

WW99, I would rather live in Greenwood than Stanton, but its probably a little pricier. Right now I would still rather spend the extra dough to live in Midland because its nicer, and I think the value will hold up better over time. Buying anything in the area right now is a gamble, if this bust turns out to be long term and serious layoffs start happening, then youd be screwed. However, I don't think that will happen, so I would just keep my eye out for a reasonable deal, maybe a fixer-upper.

Glassjaw,

Guess I'm a little sensitive today. Sorry about that. We just made a really big life decision and it felt like you were raining on my parade a little. Part of the reason that we bought the house is that my wife is a big city girl. She's a bit nervous about being in such a small place so the house is a bit of a compromise for us.

Plus, when you add in the square footage from the "guest quarters", it comes out to ~$89/sf.

When we started looking, I was kind of surprised that the house prices in Andrews were comparable to Midland as well. Seemed odd to me. Granted, we were looking mostly at new construction and houses <5 years old. We looked at some older stuff, but didn't find anything we really liked. Either that or it would have needed a lot of work. And we just aren't in a position to fix up a house (young kids) even though I would have liked to.

Glassjaw,

I tend to agree about Greenwood , but I grew up in a very small town. There's something to be said for solitude. Of course being able to sell a house in a down market is why we bought in Midland. Good luck in Houston.

agpharm,

Congrats on the man cave. I actually thought about buying some land outside of town and building a barn, but I just can't justify it. Also I've met a few people through the Knights of Columbus in Andrews, and they are all good guys. I'm sure you will enjoy it. Good luck with the new job.

WW99: That's great news! I wasn't certain if they had a Knights of Columbus chapter at the parish or not. Good to hear that they do.

FYI -

Average Sales price for Feb was $194K - 2008 average was $193K. Median price is $172K versus 2008 average of $173K

Units sold: Jan 62 Feb 90

Homes under contract: Jan 84 Feb 138

Residential Building Permits are down 40% from Feb 2008.

Available inventory: 575 (was at 200-300 for much of '06 and '07 - now closer to '02-'04 average)

Average Days on Market has increased to 74 days from 2008 average of 56

Kinda skimmed through all the posts. I bought my house in 92 for $82K. It's worth about $195K in today's market.
I believe homes are about 20-30% overvalued right now. I'm looking to upgrade or remodel. If I buy, I'll probably wait a little while. I would really like to buy in Greentree, Mockingbird hts, Grassland.
More and more homes are going on the market everyday, but prices are still holding up.

If you don't mind buying an older home, you won't have to pay 100+ per foot. My brother n law just bought a very nice 4 bedroom 3 bath with pool for about $79/ft.

We got a house at just the right time Summer 2005:
$150K for 3000 ft2
Now it would be
$200-250K for the same house today.

I have seen a few "reduced" signs added recently.

Still holding out for a summer tanking in the housing market. I can't believe houses haven't really come down at all since last year.

Don't hold your breath.

Yeah, thats what it looks like.

Holding steady.

Luckily, my wife has decided that she likes the little cottage we're renting in old Midland, and we've got an agreement in place to purchase it at the end of our lease. It's not nearly worth the rent I'm paying, but the sales price is very fair.

Anyone know of good rentals near the Midland area? My parents are moving out there, but only for a 2-3 years so they are not looking to buy. They need to be no more than 30 miles from Midland, and would prefer a place where mom could bring out/keep her horses. Thanks!