Its April 19th.  Today, there are 270 pending sales showing up on my daily market monitor.  Its privileged information provided to members of the Beaumont MLS (meaning we have to pay for it).  These 270 pending sales represent all homes, lots, and commerical properties that are listed in the MLS that are now "under contract."  Meaning a buyer and seller have agreed to terms on the sale and the property is no longer available for purchase unless the current buyer backs out. 

Here's what I find interesting:

Of the 200 residential homes that are pending, 28 of them are foreclosures.  That's roughly 14% of the sales.

Four things that might surprise you about the foreclosure sales in Southeast Texas:

1. The highest asking price $315,000.  Street Thomas Road.
2. The lowest asking price $12,500.  Street S. Major Drive.
3. The average days on the market for most of these foreclosure homes is less than 60.  Compare that to the non-foreclosure sales where the average days on the market is over 110.
4. The average price per square foot for these properties is $40.  The high is $86.  The low is $8. 

Its hard to image buying a home for $8 per square foot but in Beaumont, Texas it can be done.  Just be prepared to do some repairs.  (Lots of repairs)

The Southeast Texas real estate market remains in a rut.  Home prices don't appear to be falling or rising.  Sellers seems to be willing to wait it out for the right offer even if that means more days on the market.  We have over an 11 month supply of homes out there at the current sales pace.  It really makes me wonder what's it going to take to get the housing market growing again. 

It still remains a fabulous time to buy a home.  If you are one of the few and brave that are ready to jump into home ownership, contact me today.  There are some great homes available in Beaumont!  (And other parts of Southeast Texas too…)