January 2012 San Antonio Realty Market Report
When forecasting housing and other economic trends, it seems no one has a crystal ball. The best the experts can do is look to the present conditions and short term indicators for hints of things to come.
Now, as San Antonio enters the New Year, there are clearly impressive indications that the Alamo City area is likely to see remarkable economic strides - and an interesting housing market - in the coming months.
Who are experts supporting that conclusion?
First, the respected Milliken Institute recently ranked San Antonio as number 1 on its annual list of Best Performing Cities Index. Second, Livability.com ranks San Antonio second among the best 10 places in the Nation for recent college graduates. Third, in an article last July, Forbes Magazine ranked San Antonio as number 4 in its list of the nation's next boom towns. Fourth, Kiplinger Magazine gives San Antonio high rankings as a "best value city." The list goes on and on.
Significantly, the last time San Antonio received such high rankings from so many quarters heralded the city's historic 2006 realty boom. Is it possible that 2012 will see the return of a frantic residential realty market like 2006? It's possible, but not likely, because the nation's slowly progressing economic recovery should check what could otherwise be an overheated 2012 San Antonio realty market.
Nevertheless, as pointed out in our preceding blogs, many favorable factors are converging to make 2012 an exceptional realty year for San Antonio/Bexar County and the surrounding counties and communities.
Specifically, the area's employment rate is high, the population growth is steady, and, compared to other large metropolitan areas, home prices are more reasonable than average. Mortgage rates remain historically low and lenders are aggressively seeking qualified home buyers. The Eagle Ford Shale oil play just south of town is infusing manpower, money, and materiel into the economy and spurring high demand for housing for oil and gas industry workers and their families.
To say the least, there's ample reason to believe that San Antonio's 2012 realty market will be much more active than in any year since 2006.
For data lovers, here's the picture in and around San Antonio as of 2 January 2012:
Reasonably priced and well prepared resale homes are selling exceptionally well and new home builders are responding to better conditions by bringing more new homes into production.
There are 9,598 homes listed for sale compared to 10,984 one year ago. The inventory is exceptionally low but will likely trend steadily upward as New Year listings are brought to market. For the time being, the market has drifted into the 6 months supply range, reflecting a balanced market (a condition not seen in San Antonio for many years). A balanced market favors neither buyers nor sellers.
The average sales price for the most recent closings is $181,030 compared to last year's $190,656. Sales prices are rising - a trend likely to continue through the higher paced late winter/spring and summer home selling seasons. That's a good sign for sellers.
Average cumulative-days-on-the-market (CDOM) for the most recent sales is 149 compared to 144 last year. A continuing downward trend is expected. That's a positive sign for home sellers and the San Antonio realty market generally.
Industry analysts see these data as reflecting a housing market slightly favoring seller's over buyers.
That's all for our January 2012 San Antonio realty market report. We encourage reader comments and recommendations about how to make our reports more informative and useful.
Wishing you and yours a Happy New, we're Stephanie and Randy Kelley, Realtors® at Keller Williams Legacy, San Antonio, Texas.
If you have questions, need San Antonio realty or mortgage loan advice or assistance, or just want to chat a bit about the wonderful Alamo City, please call us at (210) 863-2661 (Randy) or (210) 867-8743 (Stephanie), or email us at swkrealtor@aol.com or kelleybus@aol.com. Our SanAntonioHomeQuest.com Solutions Team is always ready to help you with your home buying or selling needs.
- NUMBER1EXPERT 
