The owner of Houston's second-tallest office building – MetLife – is putting a half-stake in Wells Fargo Plaza up for sale, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
MetLife's real estate investments boss Robert Merck told the newspaper that market conditions for Houston property had improved to the point where it felt comfortable taking this step.
"We feel this is an opportune time to test the market given the abundance of capital looking for core assets in top markets like Houston," he said.
The Journal reported that partial sales are a popular way to move property right now, since prestigious properties have been commanding higher and higher prices in recent months.
The tower is leased primarily to troubled energy firm Dynergy, which has recently rolled back the proportion of the building it occupies, the newspaper said.
The Wells Fargo Plaza deal may be a harbinger of growing activity in Houston's commercial real estate market, according to experts. This could push prices higher and provide a spur to more general movement in area property.
Report: Big deals show Houston property market could be heating up
Report: Mortgage rates rising in many categories
Statistics released recently by government-backed mortgage giant Freddie Mac indicate that rates for home loans are steadily increasing across the board, indicating a possible revival of the market.
The average rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages spiked from 4.81 percent at the beginning of February to 5.05 percent ten days in, according to Freddie Mac. The current rate is also higher than the same measurement taken a year ago, the company adds.
The rates, according to Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist Frank Nothaft, are the highest they have been since last April.
"Long-term bond yields jumped on positive economic data reports, which placed upward pressure on mortgage rates this week. For all of 2010, nonfarm productivity rose 3.6 percent, the most since 2002, while January's unemployment rate unexpectedly fell from 9.4 percent to 9 percent. Moreover, the service industry expanded in January at the fastest pace since August 2005," he said, detailing some of the reasons behind the change.
Houston real estate, like property around the country, could command increased prices despite still-strong sales, experts say.
Report: Mortgage rates spike, causing slowdown in applications
The number of Americans applying for mortgages shrank quickly over the past week, according to statistics from the Mortgage Bankers Association, thanks in part to a sharp upturn in interest rates.
The group said its market composite index, which is a measurement of the number of mortgage applications seen, sank by 7.7 percent when compared to the previous week's figures.
Michael Fratantoni, the MBA's vice president of research and economics, said the strengthening economy may have had something to do with the increased rates and slumping volume for mortgages.
"Mortgage rates increased last week as many incoming economic indicators continue to show stronger growth than had been anticipated. Refinance volume continues to be low, as fewer homeowners with equity have any incentive to refinance. We are at the beginning of the spring buying season, but purchase volume remains weak on a seasonally adjusted basis," he said.
Other economic indicators, however, have been largely positive for the Houston area, as job growth showed signs of returning and economic stress levels continued to drop, experts say.
Report: Houston property market boosted by housing starts and job growth
Several factors point to a continuation of the gradual economic recovery in the Houston area, according to a report from MetroStudy, including positive job growth numbers and improving housing starts.
David Jarvis, director of MetroStudy's Houston division, said these gains can be attributed in part to the region's public policy, which differentiate the area from many others across the country.
"The Houston market continues to face fewer market obstacles than most U.S. markets. Texas's pro-growth policies and business friendly environment will continue to benefit local housing markets and allow for 2011 to show moderate growth," he said.
The first new increase in housing starts since the recession was seen in 2010, MetroStudy reported, a 1.1 percent rise over 2009 figures, as well as a small increase – 13,000 – in the number of available jobs, though the previous year's losses were still much larger, topping out at more than 100,000.
Staying abreast of general economic development is important for both businesses expecting to be involved in Houston's property market and prospective homeowners, experts say.
Report: Houston home prices to slip
While prices in the Houston real estate market have remained relatively level, a report from Fiserv (http://investors NULL.fiserv NULL.com/releasedetail NULL.cfm?ReleaseID=546740) says that the median home price will slide slightly in the early part of this year.
According to an analysis of data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the firm says that the local median home price will drop 0.5 percent from the third quarter of last year through the third quarter of this year. However, in the year following that, prices should rebound and gain 1.4 percent.
On a national level, the firm says that home prices should stabilize in 75 percent of cities by the end of this year, and everywhere by the end of 2012.
However, the report added that despite affordable homebuying conditions across much of the country, tight lending standards from banks would dilute some of that impact.
Buyers will need a decent credit score just to be approved for a loan. According to a report last year from Zillow.com, borrowers with credit scores below 620 were unlikely to be approved for a loan, even if they had a larger down payment.
Texas home sales fall below ’09 levels
Data from the Texas Association of Realtors (http://www NULL.texasrealtors NULL.com/public/MR/About/Media/News/NR2011-02-01 NULL.cfm) finds that the number of homes sold in the state last year was down from 2009.
The Texas Quarterly Housing Report finds that there were just under 203,000 homes sold in the state last year, down roughly 5 percent from the previous year. However, much as has been the case in the Houston real estate market, prices remained strong, gaining 1 percent over the same time period.
"It's clear Texas was not immune to the economic downturn in 2010 and that showed in the number of homes sold. However, it's encouraging to see that Texas real estate held its value so well during the year, which bodes well for homeowners as the recovery continues," said Dwight Hale, 2011 chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors.
The largest reason for the drop was the data from the fourth quarter of last year, which fell 18.9 percent below 2009 levels. However, analysts said the homebuyer tax credit skewed those results, increasing sales at the end of 2009, and pulling forward others into the first half of 2010.
Overall, the prices for Houston homes have remained higher than the state as a whole. According to the Houston Association of Realtors, the median home price in December was $157,500, roughly 7 percent above the $147,400 state-wide median price last year.
(http://www
(http://www