- More Houston Single-Family Homes Were Sold in June Than in Any Month on Record, Reports HAR [Prime Property]
- Houston Second in the Nation in Number of Apartment Permits Issued Over the 12 Months Ending in May, Finds Axiometrics [HBJ]
- NewCoast Properties Starts Construction of Seagrass Beach Development on Bolivar Peninsula [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
- Nation’s Largest ‘Creative Campus’ Taking Shape Around Proposed Artist Alley in First Ward [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- Developers Hoping First Ward Art, Washington Ave Cultures Will Mix at New Brewery in Artist Alley Next to Silver Street Studios [Houston Chronicle]
- Ellington Spaceport Anchor Tenant Intuitive Machines Foresees Eventual Consolidation of Company HQ on Site [HBJ]
- Katy-Based Academy Sports + Outdoors Relocating Spring Store, Opening 2 New Locations in Missouri City and Cypress [HBJ]
- Krispy Kreme’s Anticipated Houston Return Now Bumped to End of August [Isiah Factor]
- After Contractor Default, Work To Resume on Stalled Segment of U.S. 290 Widening Project in October [The Highwayman]
- New ‘My Galveston’ Campaign Aims To Lure Young Professionals To Live and Work in Galveston [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
- Recounting the Strange History of the Vacant Property at 731 E. Eighth St. in the Heights [Houston Press]
- Philly House That Launched Postmodern Architecture Now Available for $1.75M [Curbed]
Photo of “Preservons la Creation” at 2800 San Jacinto: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
June was a good month for sales, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up about the statistically estimated 7935 sales actually materializing. That number looks too high considering it’s already the middle of the month and MLS is showing only 7698 closed single family sales for June as of this morning. That’s 237 fewer sales than the marketing arm is advertising, a one percent gain from last year instead of the four percent gain noted in the press release.
Home sales in West Houston are still softer than the general Houston market, and new construction sales are softer across the board, but noticeably so in Katy where energy sector layoffs have helped to push inventory higher compared to last year.
http://aaronlayman.com/2015/07/katy-texas-west-houston-real-estate-market-june-2015/
But still, high sales and a growing inventory provides room for all parties to find good news in the report. However, I’d think growing inventory coupled with a growing median sales price is a bad omen.
My wife and I got our engagement photos taken in front of that mural (a little more zoomed in, we were right under the spray can like got was painting us, definitely a humble image). There are some really fantastic murals in that area, and a pretty great venue as well, the Nouveau art bar. That’s where we hard our reception. I mean you have to be wary of hypodermics in the grass but otherwise its pretty cool.
Also can we get real about the First Ward as being some place for artists? Sure, you’ve got some killer gallery spaces there, but no young artist could actually afford to live there. At best you have a bunch of faux-impoverished arristos. There are pretty much only a few places left for artists to thrive inside the loop. 3rd and 5th ward are simply too dangerous and there isn’t a lot going on there in the first place (with some exceptions). That leaves Near Northside which is close enough to the Heights to be interesting (and is getting the new Fitzgeralds pretty soon) and Eastside around the Bohemios area or near Harrisburg (where there is a pretty cool little art gallery). Independence heights maybe. Dunno. Its not really in the loop and is a pretty rough area.
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But 1st ward? Please. No struggling artist could even afford that area, unless its in one of the few vanishingly small and remarkably dangerous little pockets of affordability that are still left over there.
Finally, for the HAR stuff, I would say that the increased inventory from 2.9 to 3.2 months represents declining strength in the market. Not sure how they are acting like an increased inventory is good for prices. Its good for sales, thats for sure, and maybe thats all a realtor really cares about.