According to a report released last week by CoreLogic, a real estate analytics firm, the state of Texas “largely bypassed the housing boom and subsequent bust,” with distressed property supplies of well under eight months’ worth[1]. Other states have supplies that extend out to nearly a year, and, when the “shadow inventory” of homes that are distressed but not yet on the market is factored in, some studies indicate that the supply in many parts of the country will extend to nearly two years. In Texas, however, Houston, the hardest-hit area of the state, has a 7.3-month oversupply.
Other cities in Texas are doing even better. San Antonio has only 4.7 months’ worth, and Austin comes in with 4.2 months. Analysts predict that thanks to this lower inventory of distressed homes, Texas will likely not experience the drops in pricing that other markets will endure when the “shadow market” is released onto the actual market sometime likely in 2011. The shadow market is primarily comprised of properties that are owned by lenders and is likely to create serious competition in the distressed-property market that will drive down the going price of homes.
To provide comparison to the Texas markets: Miami has a 33.5-month supply of distressed homes, and national average is hovering around 8 months of distressed homes. Texas also has a lower shadow-inventory number as well, which could help keep the state’s housing market stable in the coming year.
[1] http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7313146.html
