Watching 30-year fixed-rate loans hovering between 4 percent and 5 percent and tax credits galore for first-time buyers, one might think it’s a good time to be in the market to buy a house.

But as the recession grinds on, statistics show buyers haven’t yet made a significant return to the housing market.

“With credit tightening, there are a lot of people who are not able to secure financing,” says Vicki Fullerton, chairwoman of Houston Association of Realtors. “They have either lost money in the stock market or are afraid of losing their job. Some others are just not willing to commit right now to applying for a mortgage loan.”

Increasingly, families are opting to lease until the recessionary clouds blow over. According to HAR’s recent study of Houston’s residential real estate market, demand for all rental properties has been on a steady rise. In Houston, single-family home leases are up more than 4 percent on a year-over-year basis, while leases for townhomes and condominiums are up more than 26 percent.

“We continue to see the leasing markets strong,” Fullerton says. “Until people’s confidence levels are back up and they can get back on their feet, rentals will remain in demand.”

Home leases popular

Demand in single-family home leasing leads the way, which is no surprise to Fullerton.

“It gets them close to what they really want, which is family ownership of a single-family home,” Fullerton says. “If they can only lease a piece of property in a school district where a child can get a good education, they are more inclined to do so.”

Still a rare occurrence even in this economy, some tenants are finding themselves back in the market after banks foreclose on landlords’ properties.

Eric Bradley, a Realtor at Houston-based In the Loop Properties, says the story he has heard from prospective tenants coming in to his office more and more has been one of involuntary entry into the leasing market.

“We are hearing from the other side,” Bradley says. “From people who were leasing because they have been forced out by owners who couldn’t pay their mortgage.”

Business has been steady at In the Loop, Bradley says. The summer months are their busy season and even in a sour economy, homes are still leasing.

“This last month has been insanely busy,” Bradley says.

Apartments flat

Demand for rental homes may be up, but Etan Mirwis, president of property management firm Rockwell Management, says demand for apartments has yet to rise, despite heavy competition between new construction and existing complexes.

While difficulty obtaining financing and an uncertain job market have sent potential homeowners into the single-family rental market, apartments have remained flat compared to last year, says Mirwis.

“If anything, Class A properties leasing has gone down,” Mirwis says. “A lot of the new Class A properties are under pressure from their bridge lenders to lease up their properties.”

But in the current climate that is difficult to do, he says. What’s more, due to triggers in their loans, some property owners must meet certain occupancy rates by a pre-set amount of time or the loan may be called. That has caused some new Class A complexes in Midtown, the Medical Center and other Inner-Loop neighborhoods to offer large concessions to potential tenants to get them in often in the form of several months free rent, Mirwis says.

“In the last 60 to 90 days, a lot of new complexes that have not offered significant specials are doing so,” Mirwis says.

Although Rockwell’s properties have not fallen under these occupancy requirements, Mirwis says he has reduced rates at some locations for the first time ever to compete with other complexes’ offerings.

Mirwis says he hasn’t yet seen an increase in demand for Rockwell’s Class B and Class C properties either, but as single-family home sales continue to slump, this is the category he suspects will have a rise in occupancy as a result.

“That’s because those once long-term renters were expected to become homeowners,” Mirwis says. “But if the faucet is being turned off, they will look for affordable, well-maintained apartment complexes.”

And so far, that faucet appears to remain closed off. According to the HAR report, single-family home sales continue to slide. In March 2009, single-family home sales were 4,355, down 13.4 percent from the same time last year and represented the 19th consecutive monthly drop. At an average sales price of $178,477, single-family home prices have slipped 5.5 percent over the same period as well.

Mirwis says within the next two to three years, well-maintained apartment properties within the Class B and C range will see an increase in demand from prospective renters. Those renters will also stay much longer.

“We are seeing fewer people move out than in the past,” Mirwis says. “Turnover for me has been down 10 percent.”

Fullerton says she is optimistic that conditions in the economy will right themselves and aspiring home buyers will return to the market. But that won’t happen until people feel comfortable with their job security, says Fullerton.

Until then, Fullerton says, “We will see a continual increase in people jumping into the leasing market.”

The Houston Association of Realtors described the first month of 2010 as “a mixed bag of readings.”

January sales of single-family homes in the Houston area slid 12.3 percent compared to the same month a year earlier, according to the latest monthly data compiled by HAR.

When broken out by segment, sales of single-family homes priced from $500,000 and above showed dramatic gains in January while sales of homes on the opposite end of the spectrum, those priced from $80,000 and below, fell.

At $144,500, the January single-family home median price — the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less — rose 11.9 percent from one year earlier. That represents the ninth consecutive monthly increase in median price as well as the highest Houston median recorded in a January. The average price of a single-family home appreciated for the fourth straight month, reaching $194,154, up 18.4 percent versus January 2009. That figure also represents the highest for a January in Houston.

Foreclosure property sales reported in the Multiple Listing Service fell by 30.1 percent in January compared to one year earlier. The median price of January foreclosure sales rose 4.6 percent to $84,750 on a year-over-year basis.

Sales of all property types in Houston for January totaled 3,049, down 7.4 percent compared to January 2009. Total dollar volume for properties sold during the month was $565 million versus $535 million one year earlier, representing a 5.6 percent increase.

“Several overlapping factors influenced the Houston housing market as the new year began,” says Margie Dorrance, HAR chair and principal at Keller Williams Realty Metropolitan. “These include both the first-time homebuyer tax credit and the expanded credit for existing homeowners, which may have prompted more listing activity. Strong sales activity in the higher-end single-family home segment also contributed to an overall higher average sales price for the Houston market. We hope to see both sales and pricing continue to reflect a robust real estate market as the April 30 tax credit deadline approaches and we enter the traditionally busy spring home-buying season.”

January data

The number of available properties, or active listings, at the end of January edged up 2.3 percent from January 2009 to 45,210. That represents 2,025 more active listings than in December 2009, and is thought to reflect increased activity stemming from the homebuyer tax credit that expires on April 30.

January’s month-end pending sales — those listings expected to close within the next 30 days — totaled 2,783, down 13.5 percent from last year. That suggests there will likely be another sales decline when the February numbers are tallied. The months inventory of single-family homes for January inched upward to 6.1 months compared to 5.7 months one year earlier, but remains better than the national months inventory of single-family homes of 7.2 months, as reported by the National Association of Realtors.

January sales of all single-family homes in Houston totaled 2,514, down 12.3 percent from January 2009. This is the Houston market’s second consecutive monthly decline in sales. However, broken out by segment, sales of single-family homes priced between $250,000 and $500,000 jumped 21.6 percent in January while sales of luxury homes — those priced from $500,000 to the millions — surged 40 percent. By contrast, sales of homes in the below-$80,000 segment fell 28.9 percent and those priced between $80,000 and $150,000 slid 19.3 percent, HAR reports.

HAR also breaks out the sales performance of existing single-family homes throughout the Houston market. In January 2010, existing home sales totaled 2,071, an 11.9 percent drop from January 2009. The median sales price rose 13.7 percent to $133,000 compared to last year. The average sales price of $180,159 shot up 23 percent from its January 2009 level.

Condos and rentals

The number of townhouses and condominiums that sold in January rose 14.8 percent compared to one year earlier, HAR reports.

In the greater Houston area, 241 units were sold in January 2010 versus 210 properties in January 2009.

The median price of a townhouse/condominium fell 11.3 percent year-over-year to $111,500. The average price slipped 4.3 percent to $147,501 from January 2009 to January 2010.

Demand for single-family home rentals rose 4.7 percent in January compared to a year earlier. Year-over-year townhouse/condominium rentals climbed 5.1 percent.

More people made Houston their final destination in 2009, according to U-Haul International Inc.

As part of the Phoenix-based do-it-yourself moving company’s annual U-Haul National Migration Trend Report, titled “The 2009 Top 50 U.S. Destination Cities,” Houston moved up to No. 1 from No. 2.

The report was compiled from more than 1 million one-way U-Haul truck transactions occurring during a recent 12-month period.

Rounding out the Top 10 is Las Vegas; Chicago; San Antonio; Orlando, Fla.; Austin; Atlanta; Sacramento, Calif.; Kansas City, Mo.; and Denver.

More people made Houston their final destination in 2009, according to U-Haul International Inc.

As part of the Phoenix-based do-it-yourself moving company’s annual U-Haul National Migration Trend Report, titled “The 2009 Top 50 U.S. Destination Cities,” Houston moved up to No. 1 from No. 2.

The report was compiled from more than 1 million one-way U-Haul truck transactions occurring during a recent 12-month period.

Rounding out the Top 10 is Las Vegas; Chicago; San Antonio; Orlando, Fla.; Austin; Atlanta; Sacramento, Calif.; Kansas City, Mo.; and Denver.

As President of McKenzie Drake, Suzanne Carpenter has a clear vision … build a growing enterprise geared toward providing local, national, and international clients the right housing solutions. Suzanne began shaping this vision when she founded McKenzie Drake in 2009 after building a successful career in delivering relocation services to Fortune 500 companies and their employees at a previous firm. Suzanne is highly regarded for her expertise in nationwide corporate housing, apartment leasing, and real estate services. She also is a subject-matter expert in expatriates and addressing the issues that often arise in an international relocation.

Suzanne works tirelessly to promote a company culture that strives to redefine what customers expect in the relocation process. Suzanne strongly believes in face-to-face customer relationships while leveraging today’s popular technology and social media outlets … all designed to deliver McKenzie Drake clients the best relocation solution and experience possible.

Her dedication and personal commitment to her clients 24/7 has cemented Suzanne’s reputation as a leader in the corporate relocation industry. Suzanne’s customer-centric focus, combined with her excellent work ethic and positive attitude make her a professional from start to finish.

Suzanne, a native Houstonian, has been a Licensed Real Estate Agent since 2001 and earned her Brokers License in 2005. She also has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Communications from the University of Houston. Suzanne is a member of the Houston Association of Realtors, Houston Apartment Association, Corporate Housing Providers Association, Employment Relocation Council, The Greater Houston Partnership, and numerous other industry associations.