Houston Real Estate Market Forecast 2018

What’s the Forecast for the Houston Housing Market for 2018 and beyond?

A bloomberg reports says it well: “Far from declining, prices and rents are expected to rise given the sudden housing shortage. Out-of-state investors have even started to swoop in to acquire damaged homes to repair and sell or rent.” “It’s one of the few cities that’s been fast-growing and relatively affordable. That’s going to change now,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist for Redfin.

The new economics of Houston will take hold. Research reveals that hurricanes typically raise home values for 3 to 4 years, so there’s no reason to expect any change. In addition, Houston has been home to immense sprawl creating very cheap housing but that access to cheap land may change.

Pre Harvey forecasts were of growth, and post-Harvey, Houston may have one of the strongest markets going into 2018 and 2019.

The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metro area reportedly created 43,200 jobs in October, according to the Texas Workforce Commission – the largest singlemonth job gain on record. This job and economic strength will drive home sales and draw in more workers from other states and cities.

With the price of oil rising slightly, the Houston economy looks poised to excel in 2018. Rents and home prices will rise. And if billions were knocked off Houston property values, that’s about to get recovered in 2018. The situation might well be the same for Los Angeles real estate as the fires go out and rebuilding begins in LA County.