All Forum Posts by: Sharon Tzib

Hi Cheryl! I work with buy and hold cash flow investors here in Houston. Been an investor myself since '02. Happy to connect and answer any questions you may have. 

http://www.har.com/content/newsroom

Houston Real Estate Highlights in August

• Single-family home sales rose 8.2 percent with a total of 7,914 units sold —the greatest one-month sales volume of all time
• On a year-to-date basis, single-family home sales are up 1.5 percent;
• Total property sales rose 7.1 percent to 9,319 units;
• Total dollar volume shot up 10.6 percent to $2.6 billion;
• At $225,000, the single-family home median price rose 4.2 percent to an August high;
• The single-family home average price increased 2.4 percent to $289,519, which was also the highest level for an August;
• Single-family homes months of inventory climbed to a 4.0-months supply;
• Townhome/condominium sales rose 5.1 percent, with the average price up 1.0 percent to $202,669 and the median price up 4.0 percent to $156,000;
• Leases of single-family homes were down 2.2 percent with average rent down slightly to $1,878;
• Leases of townhomes/condominiums rose 5.7 percent with average rent down 2.6 percent to $1,604.

Hi @Amanda Haynes. I work with buy and hold cash flow investors. Feel free to pm me if you want to chat.

Hi @Heather Hibbard! Welcome to BP and the world of REI. I help investors purchase buy and hold cash flow properties in Houston. Feel free to reach out to me any time and I'd be happy to answer your questions about getting started. Good luck!

@Serkan Eren I've helped many out-of-state investors purchase buy and hold cash flowing rent-ready properties in Houston. I've also owned my own rentals out-of-state (in Indy, coincidentally), so I understand the dynamics of that as well. Feel free to PM me and we can chat more about your goals and the market here.

So this is what I would do if I were you. I would lease up the two studio apts and one side of the duplex, leaving the other side free for showings (so you don't have to bother your tenants) and available in case an owner-occupant (i.e. house hacker) wants to purchase to live in. If you do lease both sides, than make one side a shorter term, like six months, so house hackers won't be turned off completely. This way you will have income coming in and you will appeal to the widest buyer pool possible.

@John Vo So sorry, but my reference to what I eventually sold my Calif property for was strictly anecdotal - I was in no way, shape or form trying to state that is what will happen w/ Houston - now that would be self-serving lol!! 

Anyway, yes, I am confident in Houston. I think we will have some bumps in the near future, but our economy has proven to be pretty resilient, I believe it will continue to weather the storm enough to not fall off a cliff, and as long as rents hold or continue to increase, and jobs in industries other than o & g continue to be created or hold steady, it still makes sense from an investment standpoint. Also, sorry, I can't put my finger on the sites I've seen that 30% number, but it's been more than once over the last couple of years, and it depends on if you just looking at the % of jobs that are in o & g, or whether you are looking at all the ancillary businesses that service o & g. 30% is for the latter. My attachment does clearly show the number of jobs in o &g, and it's not the dominant force it once was, which is a good thing in times like these with lower o & g prices.

I love what @Keith Goodwine says. So true. So many of my investors have been complaining that the market has been too hot and prices too high; now competition is lessening and prices are normalizing and they're too scared to pull the trigger. You can't have it both ways folks!

I had to laugh at that. My first property was in N Calif back in 1998, $198K 3/1, built in the 50's, rented it for $1795. Barely cash flowed, but w/ the lower Calif property taxes, I broke just about even. In 2006, sold it for $565K! I think $140K 3/2's with 5-8% coc is pretty darn good, which is still out there in Houston, but one must dig, as you've said. I guess it's all about perspective, huh?

You are correct, no one knows what's going to happen w/ oil, but its decline started two plus years ago and Houston has more than weathered the storm. As it turns out, oil & gas accounts for about 30% of the Houston economy. And it's not our dominant industry any more. See the latest from the BLS http://www.bls.gov/regions/southwest/summary/blssummary_houston.pdf It answers @Hersh M.'s question about why do people keep moving here. Our unemployment rates are about the same as the national average, but our wages are better overall, we have a lower cost of living, no income tax, and great weather most of the year. 

Having said that, I believe Houston's market is going to start normalizing. This isn't because of any scary "bubble" or "crash" caused by oil, but because A, it's historically that time of year where the owner occupants with kids are back in school, which leaves us o/o's w/out kids, transplants, single folks and investors - demand will be down. B. inventory is up, finally (yay!!). Per July's Housing stats from HAR, we now have 4 month's inventory (http://www.har.com/content/newsroom). This is a very good thing and is already starting to have effects in the market with price decreases, something I haven't seen in the last two years at all. 

Another thing not being talked about (at least that I've seen on any of the forums) is the affordability factor. Nationwide, people are being priced out of the market, and Houston is no different. Buying a home is becoming harder and harder for folks, so if supply continues to increase but buyers can't purchase, that will have an automatic normalizing effect on our market. 

I realize anything I say as someone who makes her living selling homes can sound self-serving :) but I really am quite bullish on Houston, and I think the next six months are going to present an awful lot of opportunity for investors who still believe that Houston has a lot more going for it than just oil.

@Donald Hendricks - give @Jerry Ta a call. All of my investor clients have been quite happy with him.

Hi @Victor P.. Welcome to the world of investing :) If you care to learn more about multi families in Houston, send me a PM. I've helped clients do what you are wanting to do.