HOUSTON (Houston Chronicle) – Real estate experts are optimistic about the Houston market’s prospects in 2012. Several recently shared their forecasts with Nancy Sarnoff of the Houston Chronicle. Here’s what they had to say.

Housing
Houston is going to see somewhere around a 5 percent increase in home sales and maybe as much 2 or 2.5 percent increase in median price, according to Real Estate Center Research Economist Dr. Jim Gaines. He said that’s still lower than the historical norm, but those are better numbers than the last two or three years.

Housing Permits
Bohlke Consulting Group Vice President Gary Latz predicts that the annual 2011 number will be 21,500 permits. This momentum will carry forward into 2012 due to strong job growth and low interest rates. The firm projects a minimum of 5 percent growth in new-home permits for calendar year 2012 over calendar year 2011. This translates to nearly 22,600 permits.

Foreclosures
Both foreclosure postings and actual foreclosures in Harris County declined year-over-year from 2011 compared with 2010. Amanda LeCureux, managing partner with Foreclosure Information & Listing Service, expects these declines to modestly accelerate in 2012.

Apartments
Apartment Data Services President Bruce McClenny said available high-end units are scarce, and it will take up to 18 months before any significant number of new units become available. He said to expect around 9,000 units to be delivered in 2012 and approximately 10,000 units in 2013.

Office Space
Transwestern Executive Vice President J. David Baker expects continued strong job growth to generate four to six million sf of positive absorption. He said the only thing that might hold it to the low end is energy and energy engineering companies not finding enough qualified people.

Retail
Wulfe & Co. President Ed Wulfe expects to see at least a 25 percent increase, or approximately 1.5 million square feet, in new retail construction in 2012. This will exceed the total amounts built and opened in each of the previous two years. Active growth within Loop 610, particularly of supermarkets, will prevail.

HOUSTON (Houston Chronicle) – Real estate experts are optimistic about the Houston market’s prospects in 2012. Several recently shared their forecasts with Nancy Sarnoff of the Houston Chronicle.   Here’s what they had to say.

Housing
Houston is going to see somewhere around a 5 percent increase in home sales and maybe as much 2 or 2.5 percent increase in median price, according to Real Estate Center Research Economist Dr. Jim Gaines. He said that’s still lower than the historical norm, but those are better numbers than the last two or three years.

Housing Permits
Bohlke Consulting Group Vice President Gary Latz predicts that the annual 2011 number will be 21,500 permits. This momentum will carry forward into 2012 due to strong job growth and low interest rates. The firm projects a minimum of 5 percent growth in new-home permits for calendar year 2012 over calendar year 2011. This translates to nearly 22,600 permits.

Foreclosures
Both foreclosure postings and actual foreclosures in Harris County declined year-over-year from 2011 compared with 2010. Amanda LeCureux, managing partner with Foreclosure Information & Listing Service, expects these declines to modestly accelerate in 2012.

Apartments
Apartment Data Services President Bruce McClenny said available high-end units are scarce, and it will take up to 18 months before any significant number of new units become available. He said to expect around 9,000 units to be delivered in 2012 and approximately 10,000 units in 2013.

Office Space
Transwestern Executive Vice President J. David Baker expects continued strong job growth to generate four to six million sf of positive absorption. He said the only thing that might hold it to the low end is energy and energy engineering companies not finding enough qualified people.

Retail
Wulfe & Co. President Ed Wulfe expects to see at least a 25 percent increase, or approximately 1.5 million square feet, in new retail construction in 2012. This will exceed the total amounts built and opened in each of the previous two years. Active growth within Loop 610, particularly of supermarkets, will prevail.

2011 YEAR OF ‘SIGNIFICANT CHANGES’ FOR HOUSTON OFFICE MARKET

HOUSTON (Colliers International) – Houston’s office market has undergone significant changes in the past 12 months, benefiting from positive absorption, falling vacancy and rising rental rates, according to the year-end market report from Colliers International.

Increased leasing activity has been key to the year-end positive net absorption of 2.6 million sf citywide, the report said. It attributed the increased business activity to the city’s healthy economic climate. The Houston metropolitan area has gained about 77,000 jobs through November 2011, representing a 3 percent growth rate.

Overall vacancy levels decreased by 50 basis points to 15.5 percent from 16 percent, which was also the citywide overall vacancy rate one year ago. The average suburban vacancy rate decreased by 30 basis points to 15.3 percent from 15.6 percent, while the CBD vacancy rate decreased by 100 basis points to 16.6 percent from 17.6 percent.

On a year-over-year basis the citywide average rental rate increased by $0.12 per sf to $23.20. The citywide average rental rate also rose slightly to $23.20 from $22.93 per sf.

The latest MLS release with November 2011 residential sales statistics has been posted in the HAR Newsroom. Please click HERE  to read the release. It will be distributed to the media today so it will likely be reported in the newspapers and on TV, radio and the Internet in the next couple of days. For your convenience, you may also view the video of HAR Chairman Carlos P. Bujosa discussing the statistics embedded within the release.

In an effort to keep our members as informed as possible about the real estate market, we wanted to make you aware of the latest statistics. Obviously, it is important to remember that “all real estate is local,” and these figures are for the aggregate of the greater Houston area. That is why we strive to encourage all consumers to seek the guidance and assistance of their REALTOR® who has the most experience and market knowledge about their particular localized market.

By Bryan Pope, Real Estate Center

COLLEGE STATION, Tex. (Real Estate Center) —  Sales of existing single-family Texas homes in November were up 9 percent from a year ago, according to the most recent Multiple Listing Services (MLS) data compiled by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

More than 15,000 homes were sold, data showed. The median home price was $147,600, up 1 percent from a year ago, and the state’s overall inventory was at 6.6 months.

November 2011 MLS data for many Texas cities are available online at http://recenter.tamu.edu/data/hs/. Here is a sampling (data current as of Dec. 19, 2011):

AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) – Homes and other buildings account for about 40 percent of Texas’ overall energy use, but the state is hoping to take care of that.

A statewide building code that will take effect in January should cut the energy consumption of new single-family homes by more than 15 percent, according to the Energy Systems Laboratory at the Texas A&M University System. The state tightened codes for commercial, industrial and other residential buildings in April.

Some Texas cities are being proactive when it comes to becoming more energy efficient. Building codes in Houston and Austin have already gone beyond what the statewide codes will require.

COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – Sales of existing single-family Texas homes in November were up 9 percent from a year ago, according to the most recent Multiple Listing Services (MLS) data compiled by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

More than 15,000 homes were sold, data showed. The median home price was $147,600, up 1 percent from a year ago, and the state’s overall inventory was at 6.6 months.

November 2011 MLS data for many Texas cities are available on the Center’s website. Here is a sampling (data current as of Dec. 15, 2011):

HOUSTON (Houston Business Journal) – Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP has announced plans to build a petroleum condensate processing facility near the company’s existing terminal on the Houston Ship Channel.

The locally based pipeline company said it will spend about $130 million on the project, which it will own and operate. The facility is expected to be completed in January 2014.

When completed, the plant will have an initial throughput of 25,000 barrels of oil per day, with the ability to process up to 100,000 barrels per day in the future.

The announcement comes on the brinks of the company’s $220 million pipeline that will transport crude from the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas to the Houston Ship Channel. The line is scheduled to be completed by mid-2012.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NAHB) – December marked the fourth month in a row that the National Association of Home Builders/First American’s list of improving housing markets expanded.

The improving markets index (IMI) rose from 30 to 41 markets. Eight of those are in Texas: Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Laredo, McAllen, Midland, Odessa, Sherman and Tyler.

While 20 markets (including Laredo) were added to the IMI this month, nine were dropped. Among them was Waco.

The index identifies metropolitan areas that have shown improvement in housing permits, employment and house prices for at least six consecutive months.

COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – Foreclosure activity in Texas was down last month, according to the latest figures from RealtyTrac.  November foreclosure filings for the Lone Star State totaled 10,124, down 24.3 percent from a year ago. Total year-to-date (YTD) filings were at 115,222, down 18.9 percent.  Nationally, there were 224,394 filings, down 14.5 percent from November 2010. Total YTD filings were at 2.5 million, down 30.1 percent.  There were 6,247 posted foreclosure sales in Texas last month, down 19.1 percent from a year ago. YTD postings were down 17.3 percent, at 69,473.  Meanwhile, there were 96,540 posted foreclosure sales nationally last month, down 38.3 percent from last year. YTD postings were at 994,887, down 33.2 percent.  Real Estate Center Research Economist Dr. Jim Gaines said the impact of foreclosure moratoria from the pending agreement with states’ Attorneys General slowed foreclosures for all of 2011. But that will likely mean more foreclosure activity going into the new year.  “The pent-up foreclosure processing is expected to bust loose in 2012, so we expect to see significant percentage increases in the monthly reports for at least the first half of 2012, if not the whole year,” he said.  But that’s nationally. Gaines said Texas should fare better.  “Posted delinquencies here are falling, and Texas is a non-judicial foreclosure state, so many lenders haven’t stopped processing foreclosures, thereby preventing a backlog from forming,” he said.