Houston housing prices buck national trend

Houston Business Journal

Housing prices in Houston rose 1.8 percent in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the 2009 fourth quarter, making the region the country’s third highest performing major market in terms of quarterly price gains, according to a new report by a real estate valuation analysis firm. A monthly national housing report from Truckee, Calif.-based Clear Capital showed that the country as a whole saw home prices dip by 3.9 percent in the 2010 first quarter. That’s the index’s first quarterly decline since June.

The national numbers were up 5.1 percent, however, from the same time last year. Showing an even more positive trend, prices in the Bayou City climbed 10.6 percent compared with March 2009. Houston’s quarterly performance was impressive, relatively speaking. By contrast, the next highest-performing major market – San Diego – showed only a 0.9 percent quarterly gain. Tied for top of the list were San Jose and Honolulu, both reporting quarterly gains of 1.9 percent. “Although yearly price changes remain positive compared to last winter's lows, the most recent declines reflect the fragile and volatile state of many housing markets and could signal a trend to renewed lows off last year’s levels for several markets,” said Alex Villacorta, senior statistician for Clear Capital, in the firm’s report.