The State of Real Estate

Luxury home and condo sales help drive banner year in Texas real estate

According to an end-of-the-year report from the Texas Association of Realtors, Texas’ economic and population growth yielded significant gains in all areas of real estate over the last year. The 2014 Texas Annual Housing Report shows these boosts were powered by international homebuyers, as well as increases in luxury home sales and condo and town home sales.

For starters, Texas gains more out-of-state residents than any other place in the country, and it’s near the front of the pack for international buyers, particularly from Mexico. More than 584,000 people moved to Texas from other states in 2013, for a net gain of 138,057 people, while international homebuyers are at a five-year high, contributing more than $11 billion to the economy in a 12-month period.

“It’s a great time to live in Texas. The high demand for Texas real estate is not being fueled by speculation and investment activity – it’s driven by the thousands of people who move to the Lone Star State daily,” Dan Hatfield, chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors, said in a release.

“People are moving to Texas from across America and around the world to take part in our state’s booming economy, business-friendly environment and quality of life.”

Luxury homes priced over $1 million were a significant portion of the market’s growth. January 2014’s Texas Luxury Home Sales Report showed an average 35 percent year-over-year increase for luxury home sales in Texas’ four major metros: Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. In Austin and Houston in particular, the luxury housing market grew twice as fast as the housing market at large.

A lack of inventory — below the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University’s balanced housing market level — drove up prices 5 to 10 percent, depending on the market, but housing development increased quarter-to-quarter in the second and third quarters of 2014. That’s the first time it’s done so in three years, and home sales should continue to grow in 2015 thanks to growth in stock.

With those high prices, however, condo and town house sales were the fastest-growing sector in 2014, growing 10.5 percent in the first five months of 2014 compared to the same time period in 2013. They also spent 14 fewer days on the market compared to 2013 in the four major cities.

Even with the sub-optimal inventory, 2014 is on pace to outperform 2013 as the second-best year in home sales for the state.

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Anna Land Buy

Cox Family sells 116 acres in Anna for mixed-use development

Courtesy photo

Anna, Texas

A major land sale in Anna is paving the way for new mixed-use development. According to a release, Frisco-based Rockhill Capital & Investments struck a deal with the Cox Family to acquire 116 acres at County Road 371 and SH-5, approximately two miles east of US-75.

Younger Partners Executive Managing Director John St. Clair, Vice President Tyler Hemenway, and Associate Davis Willoughby represented the seller in the transaction. The sales price was not disclosed.

Rockhill will sell fully entitled tracts of land to homebuilders, multifamily, and commercial developers.

The single-family portion will be built in phases with development of 325 single-family lots, says Rockhill Chief Development Officer Brent Libby in a statement.

“Construction will likely begin early in Q2 2025,” Libby said. “We’ve already sold 82 of the 116 acres to homebuilder Taylor Morrison and they should break ground first.”

The remaining acres are already being snapped up including 9.5 acres on SH 5 that is under contract to a commercial developer, and interest from a user/developer on the remaining 24 acres, which is zoned for multifamily.

The Cox Family owned the land for decades and had received multiple offers on the property over the years, but were never ready to sell.

“Ultimately, the family wanted to capitalize on the land market before unforeseen market factors took place,” said St. Clair of Younger Partners. “This deal took place at the right time with the right buyer.”

The acquisition nvolved a lengthy zoning process to acquire the land. Rockhill created a Public Improvement District (PID) on the single-family portion of the land, which helped the deal move forward.

Rockhill already has land holdings in nearby high-growth cities of Howe, Van Alstyne, and Sherman, and it ain't stopping here.

“We’ll continue to source and acquire land in the area where we can add value through entitlements, and either develop the property or hold it for some time and exit to another developer or end user,” Libby says.

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