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Texas Housing Market Sours After Homeowners Are Given Bad Advice

Texas Housing Market Sours After Homeowners Are Given Bad Advice

Miami Herald12-05-2025

The Texas housing market is facing growing challenges after a wave of former Airbnb properties flooded the market, making it harder for sellers to compete.
According to Galveston real estate agent Tom Schwenk, many investors who tried to capitalize on the opportunities the short-term rental market were mistakenly advised and purchased houses in less popular tourist destinations. These homeowners, he said, are now struggling to sell their properties.
'Galveston is a lovely place,' Schwenk told the Houston Chronicle, 'but we're not the Hamptons.'
Surging inventory across the Texas housing market signals a steep decline in competition. While the shift may give buyers an edge with potential price drops, it poses new challenges for homeowners and investors trying to sell or lease their properties.
The number of new home listings in Galveston has risen to 828 in the first quarter of 2025 from just over 500 last quarter, according to the Chronicle's analysis of data from the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR).
In its most recent housing market update, HAR described the supply of homes in the Greater Houston market as 'great news for prospective buyers,' with nearly 33,000 available on the market, the highest point since June 2011. The trend continues across the state, with the number of listings surging to 123,237 in April from 95,156 last year.
However, the oversupply has created challenges for sellers and those seeking to rent out homes purchased during a COVID-19 pandemic-era buying frenzy, Tom Schwenk, the owner/broker of Coldwell Banker TGRE, told the Chronicle.
According to real estate brokerage Redfin, homes in Galveston are on the market for an average of 105 days before purchase, up from 83 days last year. But the oversupply has not yet translated into a sharp drop in median home prices across Texas, which would signal the market entering 'correction territory.'
Shae Cottar, regional director for brokerage platform LPT Realty,wrote in early April: 'Lower mortgage rates are giving Houston homebuyers a sense of optimism, but many are still proceeding with caution. It's important to acknowledge that current economic headwinds, including the impact of new tariffs, are putting downward pressure on interest rates. These lower rates, coupled with growing inventory and moderating home prices, create an opportunity for both buyers and sellers.'
Jef Conn, chairman of Texas REALTORS, told Ramsey Solutions in January: 'We have seen listings taking longer to sell, so homes need to be market-ready and priced well in order to attract an offer. Buyers generally have more choices and a little more time to make decisions than a few years ago.'
Marco Santarelli, founder of Norada Real Estate Investments, wrote on Sunday: 'The dramatic increase in inventory, coupled with clear signs of prices dropping and underlying overvaluation, strongly indicates that the Texas housing market is undergoing a significant correction. It's a necessary adjustment after a period of unsustainable growth. While the exact magnitude and duration of the downturn remain to be seen and could be influenced by broader economic factors like the energy sector, the direction is clear: the Texas housing market is cooling down, and prices are finding a new level.'
House prices could soon react to the surge in inventory, according to real estate expert Nick Gerli, whose analysis suggests that homes are overvalued by about 17.7 percent across Texas, and he predicted home prices to drop by 4.0 percent over the next 12 months.
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Opinion - Robby's Radar: Elon Musk should join the Libertarian Party
Opinion - Robby's Radar: Elon Musk should join the Libertarian Party

Yahoo

time24 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Opinion - Robby's Radar: Elon Musk should join the Libertarian Party

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Spain's economy minister says ‘overtourism' challenges need to be addressed
Spain's economy minister says ‘overtourism' challenges need to be addressed

Hamilton Spectator

timean hour ago

  • Hamilton Spectator

Spain's economy minister says ‘overtourism' challenges need to be addressed

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Spain's economy minister says 'overtourism' challenges need to be addressed
Spain's economy minister says 'overtourism' challenges need to be addressed

Washington Post

time2 hours ago

  • Washington Post

Spain's economy minister says 'overtourism' challenges need to be addressed

MADRID — Spain could receive as many as 100 million tourists this year, according to some projections, which the country's economy minister said poses challenges for the country's residents that the government can no longer afford to ignore. Last year, Spain received a record 94 million international visitors , making it one of the most visited countries in the world. 'It's important to understand that these record numbers in terms of tourism also pose challenges,' Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press. 'And we need to deal with those challenges also for our own population.' Tourism is a key sector for the Southern European nation's economy, which grew faster than any major advanced economy last year at 3.2%, and is projected to grow at 2.4% this year, according to the Bank of Spain, well ahead of the expected eurozone average of 0.9%. But a stubborn housing crisis in which home and rental costs have skyrocketed in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and elsewhere has led to growing frustration about one aspect tied to tourism in particular: the proliferation of short-term rental apartments in city centers. The country has seen several large protests that have drawn tens of thousands of people to demand more government action on housing. Signs at demonstrations with slogans such as 'Get Airbnb out of our neighborhoods' point to the growing anger. In response, the government recently announced it was cracking down on Airbnb listings that it said were operating in the country illegally, a decision that the company is appealing. 'We are a 49 million-inhabitants country,' Cuerpo said. The record numbers of tourists illustrate the 'attractiveness of our country, but also of the challenge that we have in terms of dealing and providing for a good experience for tourists, but at the same time avoiding overcharging (for) our own services and our own housing,' he said. The Bank of Spain recently said the country has a deficit of 450,000 homes. Building more public housing is critical to solve the problem, Cuerpo said. Spain has a lower stock of public housing than many other major European Union countries. 'This is the key challenge for this term,' the minister said of the country's housing woes. On the possibility of more U.S. tariffs on EU goods, the top economic policymaker for the eurozone's fourth-largest economy said he believed the EU still wanted to reinforce economic ties with the U.S. 'From the EU side, we are constructive but we are not naive,' Cuerpo said, adding that the bloc would pursue 'other routes protecting our firms and industries' if no agreement with the Trump administration can be reached. A 90-day pause on tariffs announced by the EU and the U.S. is slated to end on July 14. About halfway through that grace period, U.S. President Donald Trump announced 50% tariffs on steel imports. The U.S. has also enacted a 25% tariff on vehicles and 10% so-called reciprocal tariffs on most other goods. On how Spain's current housing woes got here, the minister said a steep drop in construction in Spain following the 2008 financial crisis played a role. So did population growth due to immigration , Cuerpo said, and pressures from an increase in the number of tourists. While building more housing is key, the minister advocated for an all-of-the-above approach, including regulating Spain's housing market and short-term rental platforms. 'For us, there's no silver bullet,' he said.

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