San Antonio Real Estate

I have some good news to share!

Effective, Monday, July 10, 2006, I joined Keller Williams Realty. Keller Williams Realty is one of the fastest growing real estate companies in North America and has been voted one of the best places to work.

I have had a great 12 year relationship with RE/MAX, but feel this move is right for me, my team, and our clients. With the change of real estate brokerages comes the opportunity to expand the services that I and my team may provide to you, our most valued clients.

Should you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Christina Whipple
Alamo Home Team
Keller William Realty

With all the recent debate over what businesses should be allowed on the San Antonio Riverwalk, I thought it might be interesting to review a short history of this San Antonio landmark.

The stream, known to the Payaya Indians as Yanaguana, was variously utilized over the first three centuries by Franciscan missionaries, explorers, soldiers, and even a settlement of Canary Islanders.

Through the late 1800s and early 1900s, San Antonio's increasing population and expanding boundaries experienced an increasing degree of problems brought about by flooding. In fact, if flood control measures had not been taken in the 1920s, later commercial development along the river would have never happened.

Engineers in 1919 struck an ominous chord with a study predicting that heavy flooding of the San Antonio River could damage the city severely. It was a warning that came through with devastating results.

On September 9, 1921, a cloudburst over the Olmos Basin and San Antonio River put 9 feet of water on Houston Street downtown, which resulted in flooding that killed 50 people and caused millions in property damage.

Expedient remedies were called for by many of the frightened residents and businessmen who wanted to ensure that such a tragedy would not reoccur. For three years after the calamity, flood control plans were worked on by city officials and the Army Corps of Engineers, whose plans called for straightening the river in several spots.

By 1926, the commissioners were receptive to the moral story presented to them two years earlier and the final flood control plan was approved. The plan would aid the river bend during periods of heavy rainfall by utilizing a new bypass channel. A floodgate and two dams helped accomplish this goal and the bypass channel was completed in 1929. The major feature of the plan, the building of Olmos Dam, was completed in 1927 north of the downtown area, in Olmos Basin.
In their desire to preserve the natural course of the river and prevent the demolition of historic sites called for in the plans, Miss Emily Edwards and a band of concerned women organized in March 1942 to form the San Antonio Conservation Society.

Since 1962, eight hotels and a major shopping center have been built and currently anchor positions on the River Walk. They opened in the following order: El Tropicano, 1962 (reopening in 1991 as the Holiday inn Riverwalk North); Hilton Palacio del Rio and Hotel La Posada, 1968 (La Posada reopening in 1970 as La Mansion del Rio); Travelodge an the River, 1971: Marriott Riverwalk and the Hyatt Regency San Antonio, 1979; Holiday Inn Riverwalk, 1987; and Marriott Rivercenter and Rivercenter Mall, 1988.

Restaurants of all sizes, shapes and culinary colors abound. More than 50 dining establishments are present along the River Walk. Casa Rio Restaurant was the first, opening in 1946. Every year brings in new prospects. Recently, the Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood have joined in the success.

Events produced by the Paseo del Rio Association are direct descendants of those envisioned by people who desired to use the waters of the San Antonio River in creative ways. These events periodically lend an additional ambiance to the River Walk.

During the past three years, there has been a global boom in housing prices, sales volume and construction. According to reports in the Wall Street Journal and other media, home prices in Shanghai surged 26 percent last year and 90 percent since 2000. In the past year, prices climbed 19 percent in Hong Kong, 48 percent in Bulgaria and France, 63 percent in Spain and nearly 100 percent in South Africa.

In the United States, the median home price rose nearly 33 percent during the past three years and 13 percent in 2005, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO). The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports the number of homes sold increased from 5.6 million in 2002 to an annualized level of nearly 7.1 million in 2005. The number of new single-family dwellings built increased 6.7 percent over the past year, from 1.531 million in 2004 to 1.635 in 2005.

Texas' housing boom reflects an active and growing housing market, but one experiencing a much slower rate of increase than the rest of the country. From 2002 to 2005, the Texas median-priced home increased from $124,500 to an estimated $136,500, a modest 9.6 percent. The average house price grew from $155,600 in 2002 to $174,100 in 2005, an 11.9 percent increase. MLS sales during that period increased from 201,422 to 265,886, a 32 percent increase.

National media have portrayed the rapid appreciation of housing as a price "bubble" that could suddenly and dramatically burst, leaving homeowners and the market reeling. But here in Texas, is a housing bubble fact or fiction? Could the housing market explode like an overinflated balloon? Probably not.

Several factors indicate that while Texas' housing market is doing well by historical standards, it is not experiencing a price bubble. Important indicators include:

*Texas' home prices have appreciated at rates significantly less than the national rate.
*Texas' current rate of home price increase is about equal to the "normal" rate of the past 15 years.
*Across the country and around the globe, lower mortgage interest rates and easy mortgage credit are primary reasons for home price increases.
*The median-price-to-median-family-income ratio in Texas is not disproportionate to the historical norm.
*Residential construction in the state has maintained a reasonable balance between supply and demand, avoiding a shortage or excess supply situation.
*The inventory of houses for sale is only slightly less than "normal," reflecting relative balance between supply and demand in the marketplace.
*The national housing bubble, to the extent it exists, appears to be localized to several states and specific metropolitan areas with extraordinarily high rates of home appreciation.

Markets continually change and adjust to the primary factors that impact them. Some factors become more important at certain times, and other factors may have surprising effects, either good or bad. The economic outlook for the rest of 2006 includes modestly higher interest rates and continued increases in employment and personal income levels. These factors are among the most important to the housing market and housing prices.

If the rate of new home construction continues at the current pace with small-to-modest cost increases, there is no reason to anticipate a housing shortage that would drive prices up. If mortgage interest rates increase, as is generally regarded as probable, sales volume may decline somewhat, leading to more modest price gains.

As the overheated coastal housing markets begin to cool, Texas may see increased investor enthusiasm as focus shifts to Texas where price appreciation has been more moderate.

Source: Texas Real Estate Center

Over the next ten years, the San Antonio metropolitan statistical area will experience a 3.4 percent increase in employment each year while the population will grow at an average 2.7 percent annual rate over the same period. Personal income will jump 8 percent each year over the same period in the metro area - which encompasses Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe and Wilson counties, according to an Economic Forecast Study conducted by Jon Hockenyos with TXP Inc. in Austin on behalf of the city of San Antonio and Bexar County. Regionally, the population within the Interstate Highway 35 corridor - which stretches from San Antonio to Austin - will grow 2.3 percent annually over the next ten years, jobs will grow at a 2.8 percent annual rate, and personal income will grow at a 7.2 percent annual rate over the same period. TXP's Hockenyos expects economic development in the Alamo City to flourish once the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas Inc. plant opens this fall. This will create 2,000 factory jobs and another 2,000 on-site supplier jobs. Fort Sam Houston, because of the latest round of base realignments and closures, expects to gain 13,500 jobs and $800 million in new construction. The San Antonio area also should see the continued strength of the tourism, aerospace, biosciences and financial sectors. The report also notes that the "the total impact of relocation activity will add more than 25,000 jobs to the local economy over the next several years."

Source: San Antonio Business Journal

How does limited service representation affect a property's time on the market and selling price? Research sponsored by the Texas Real Estate Center revealed that limited service representation can indeed have significant impacts.

Limited service representation and discount brokerages in single-family residential markets have been widely scrutinized by the real estate industry. The Internet portal Yahoo! moved from the sixth most visited real estate website to second (behind realtor.com) through its series of partnerships with limited service and discount brokerages. Some of these brokerages offer consumers menu-based pricing, with fees for specific services, such as listing the property on a MLS system, rather than an across-the-board fee for full representation. Others advertise sharply lower commissions while still promising to provide consumers with all of the traditional services.

Limited Service Research Results
Most of the study results were statistically significant, indicating valid relationships exist between limited service representation and marketing performance (time to sale and sales price). The empirical results show that limited service listings sold for 1.7 percent less than typical exclusive-right-to-sell listings and took 17.1 percent longer to sell. Given that the typical discount offered by limited service brokers is approximately 2 percent, there does not appear to be any net gain to sellers using limited service representation.

For example, if the limited service broker charges a total 4 percent commission, then the commission plus the 1.7 percent lower price
is approximately equivalent to a 6 percent commission from the seller's perspective. This would indicate that limited service brokerage offers no dollar advantages to the seller over typical brokerage when using the exclusive right to sell contract.

If "time on maket" is taken into consideration as well, then limited service brokerages could actually COST the seller depending on the fixed costs of carrying the property on the market (mortgage, maintenance, etc...).

But what about agent experience?

Other research has shown that agents with limited service brokerages, either no service or menu-based-pricing, tend to be less experienced than those with traditional brokerages. The Texas Real Estate Center study revealed Sellers using listing agents with less than two years of experience received 1.1 percent less for a house compared with sellers who used agents with two to five years of experience, and the marketing time was 1.9 percent longer. While 1.1 percent may not seem to be a large amount, it represented more than $1,900 for the average property in the study. If the listing agent had more than five years of experience, the seller received 0.8 percent more than sellers who used agents with two to five years of experience, and the property sold 1.5 percent faster.

Source: Texas Real Estate Center