Housing on the mend? Not so soon, experts say

McALLEN — Sales of existing homes in July reached levels not seen since before the recession, but they fell again in August, according to Realtors and the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

While most insiders agree the Hidalgo County market has stabilized, the quick rise and fall in sales suggests it’s still not yet on the mend.

“Some people are saying that we’re coming out of this recession, but where are they looking?” said Deborah Martin, a McAllen-based Realtor.

Year-to-date home sales are down from 2008 and have fluctuated month to month, but in June and July they rose to levels on par with the same months in 2006, according to data from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

In July 2009, the number of homes sold was 176, the same amount that sold in the same month in 2006.

More than 250 homes were sold at the market’s peak in November 2005.

Sales figures for August have not been released yet, but Realtors said that sales fell again.

As the recession mounted in the fall, banks stopped lending. With consumers wary of taking on more debt, home sales fell, hitting the bottom in November 2008. Sales increased in the ensuing months, ultimately leveling off in March 2009, suggesting the market was again stable. A decline in median home prices has also abated, according to data from the center.

“There’s definitely an upward swing, or upward movement in the works,” said Charles Marina, a Realtor with First American Realty. “It’s not going to be like a rocket shooting up. It’s the healthy way … a subtle increase.”

Another encouraging sign for the housing market is the relative strength of the county’s economy. Manpower Inc., an employment services firm, said in a report earlier this week that the McAllen area ranked fourth on a list of cities predicted to have the strongest job growth in the fourth quarter of 2009.

McAllen is expected to increase employment by 10 percent, according to the study.

The reluctance of lenders to finance mortgages for people with any credit blemishes continues to be a problem. Dick Henry, president of the Greater McAllen Association of Realtors, said that close to 20 people who made offers on a four-bedroom brick home in Donna his firm remodeled have been rejected for financing. The home was appraised at $77,500.

“The requirements for loans anymore are really rigid,” Henry said. “It’s the standard they should have been upholding.”

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Sean Gaffney covers business, the economy and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.