Happy New Year!

It's a new year, and there are hopes that the recession and its effect on local real estate are over.  Greater San Antonio Builders Association recently held their annual housing forecast where the outlook was for a slowly improving market in 2011. 

The highpoints of the discussion included:

• New home construction in 2010 was up 5.5% from 2009.  Projected new home starts in 2011 are expected to be up another 9%.
• Builders have scaled back production since 2007, leaving San Antonio with one of the tightest markets in the US in supply of new homes.
• Occupancy rates in San Antonio apartments are now above 90%, representing a pool of potential home buyers in the future.
• Texas issued more than twice as many home-building permits in 2010 as the next closest state, Florida.
• In 2010, the bulk of the new home sales in San Antonio were homes priced under $225,000.

New Terminal Opening at the San Antonio International Airport

The new terminal is opening at the San Antonio Airport this week.  Terminal B, as it is being called, cost $108 million and will begin serving passengers next month.  The goal is to have final certifications complete and security checks done before Thanksgiving, when holiday travel hits high gear.

Terminal B replaces an aging 1950's era building that was last upgraded in the 1960's for Hemisfair '68.  The 251,000-square-foot structure is the crowning piece of a $635 million capital program at the airport that has created more long-term parking, doubled the facility's vehicle-carrying capacity with a bi-level roadway and improved other features, including its baggage-handling and screening system.  San Antonio hopes the new Terminal B at International Airport will have an oversized impact on both travelers and the city's aviation future.
 
 

Sales of Existing Homes In San Antonio Have Slowed

From the San Antonio Express News' Jennifer Hiller comes:

San Antonio home sellers and real estate agents aren't quite singing the summertime blues, but sales of existing homes slowed considerably in July.  The number of home sales dropped 25 percent in July when compared with the same month in 2009, dipping to 1,491, according to data released Tuesday by the San Antonio Board of Realtors. 

The likely culprit of the unseasonable doldrums: the federal government's $8,000 carrot offered to first-time home buyers and $6,500 to some current homeowners, which was available to those who could go under contract by the end of April.  The tax credits boosted the number of home sales in the springtime, but most of those deals had closed by the time July rolled around.  “What we saw in the spring market was a surge in sales for the tax credit,” said Marietta Alba, SABOR chairwoman. 



But sales volume is still up 6 percent for the year, with 10,922 sales so far compared with 10,297 by the same time in 2009.  The expiring federal tax credits are also a likely reason the median sales price rose slightly, to $160,800.  Alba said that July saw an unusually high number of sales of homes above $500,000 — a group of buyers unlikely to be swayed by the federal tax credit — and a lower number of sales below the $200,000 mark most popular with first-time buyers. 


Earlier in the year, the number of first-time buyers in the market helped push the median price down slightly.  As the market moves out of its traditional peak season, Alba said SABOR expects the rest of the year to be steady, if unspectacular. 


“Our interest rates are still remarkably low and we're glad about that. Job growth continues,” Alba said. “We're still a steady and stable market.”  Homes sold slightly faster in July than they did in 2009, in an average of 84 days, which was 11 fewer than last year. And there were 1,430 pending sales at the end of July. 

Real estate agents and home builders both have noticed a drop-off in business from the usual summer frenzy. Most home buyers try to close a deal and move before the school year starts.  “I think we saw an increase until the month of May. In June we saw a drop,” said Richard Zepeda, an agent with Keller Williams Heritage.  Now Zepeda said he has noticed that builders again are offering good incentives to buyers and larger-than-usual agent commissions, as high as 7 percent, to spur interest. 
“The interest rates are so historically low,” Zepeda said. “It's the best time to buy if you can, especially while other people are still sitting on the fence.” 

What's that Pretty Blue Flowering Shrub I See All Around San Antonio?

That pretty blue flowering shrub you're seeing in San Antonio right now is the

blue plumbago.  It is the favorite blue-flowered plant for our area. It has a growth habit like a tomato. It will grow up fences or walls or spread along the ground if it is not contained.


The foliage of blue plumbago is light green and generally evergreen. The winter of 2009-10 was an exception when most plumbagos froze to the ground but resprouted.  The quarter-size flat flower is light blue. Butterflies will feed from the flowers all year if the winter is mild. Blue plumbago prospers in sun or shade.  This photo is from my back yard in an area that gets morning and afternoon sun.  It's light blue color looks amazing near the blue waters of my pool.

There are other blue-flowering plants and shrubs in the San Antonio area... blue salvias,  the blue-flowered vitex, and the dwarf Mexican petunia which comes in blue or pink varieties.  It is an outstanding ground cover for sun or shade with an attractive blue-purple bloom. The bloom resembles a petunia but is more tubular. It is a favorite nectar source for butterflies and hummingbirds.

Happy gardening San Antonio... and why not add a little blue into your garden this summer?

1906 Creek Mountain in Encino Park - New Listing

Just listed at $179,900 in Encino Park in far north San Antonio, this home at 1906 Creek Mountain features over 2000 square feet with three bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, and a full 2 car garage.  There's a living room down with tall ceilings, brick fireplace, and an open staircase.  Upstairs is a large loft for the kids to enjoy.  Located in Encino Park near the community center, the whole family can walk to the neighborhood pool and playground.  French doors off the living room lead to a tree shaded side patio.  Updates include recent paint and carpet, and a new roof is on the way.  Cement fiber siding, storage building, front yard sprinkler system and a water softener are included.  Don't wait, call today for an appointment to see this fine home.

Home Sales are Increasing in San Antonio; Prices are Not

The May real estate numbers are in for San Antonio, and the number of sales of existing homes in May increased 19 percent to 1,928 sales compared with the same month in 2009, according to a new report from the San Antonio Board of Realtors.  But the median price of a San Antonio home dipped 4 percent to $145,900 compared with May 2009.

The increase in the number of sales this May has been credited to the tax incentives for homebuyers that ended April 30th. 

A report this week based on the Fiserv Case-Shiller Indexes said San Antonio home prices could slide slightly this year, but only by 0.5 percent. Nationally, a 3.1 percent decline is expected this year, with steep home price declines continuing in hard-hit markets such as Nevada, Arizona and Florida.  Once again, San Antonio is one of the more stable real estate markets in the country.

With around 7.8 months of inventory — meaning that if no more homes came onto the market, it would take 7.8 months, in theory, to sell the entire inventory at the current pace — the market remains tipped slightly in favor of buyers. About 6.5 months of inventory is considered a market balanced between buyers and sellers. 

The other good news?  The average number of days on the market for a San Antonio home that sold in May was 83, a quicker pace than the year before.

San Antonio Economy Gets a 400 Bioscience Jobs Boost

The big announcement yesterday was that InCube Labs is going to open a research facility in San Antonio.  It will be a research laboratory, focused on developing major medical breakthroughs.  InCube's founder and CEO, Mir Imran, is the developer of the automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator, which has become a standard in cardiovascular care.  He announced that he picked San Antonio over other Texas cities because of its research institutions, the military and the business community.

The good news for the San Antonio economy?  The company will create jobs with salaries ranging from $50,000 to over $200,000 which Mayor Julian Castro said is on track with his push for higher paying jobs in the city.  According to Imran, InCube will also launch five life science companies in San Antonio: three by the end of this year and two more within three years after that.  The companies will create about 400 jobs and will collectively spend $100 million.