HOUSTON’S COMMERCIAL FORECLOSURE BOOM The far greater numbers of residential foreclosures — currently spiking now that moratoriums have been lifted — may be sucking up the attention. But there’s plenty of excitement in Houston commercial foreclosures too, the Foreclosure Information & Listing Service reports: “The number of commercial properties posted for foreclosure in Harris County in the past three months is up 84 percent over the same time last year. Records show 335 commercial properties were posted for foreclosure in Harris County in May, June and July compared to 182 during the same months in 2008. Just over 20 percent of the commercial properties posted for foreclosure from May through July 2009 actually passed through the foreclosure process by going back to the lender or getting purchased at public foreclosure auction by a third-party buyer. During the same time period last year, only 15 percent of the properties were foreclosed. Ralph Murdock, president of Foreclosure Information, says most postings don’t result in foreclosures, but a significant increase in the number of postings shows that more property owners are having problems.” [Houston Business Journal]
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No, no, no. Houston’s market is wonderful. The economy is booming, business is expanding, people are buying homes and buying commercial space as they expand their businesses. Just ask HAR. Or HCAD.
To be fair, perhaps some are buying. At fire-sale prices. And quite happy. Until they find out the valuation is what HCAD says. Not what the sales price was.
According to HCAD, we have had somewhere between 25-50% increase in market value in the past year. Now if that isn’t an indication of a booming economy what is?
Very interesting Mr. Murdock’s analysis, because even this posts doesn’t means more foreclosures, it does mean that something is wrong!