If you want to understand the bigger picture of real estate, you have to incorporate both commercial and residential properties within it. Furthermore, real estate isn’t just about the physical building. It also includes the land on which it is built, its fences, its fixtures, and its access. Not just that, but land also contains natural resources, which are also part of the overall real estate proposition. Al Hartman is a real estate expert who focuses on the Houston market in particular. Houston has one of the strongest property markets in the country, mainly because of the fact that there is a lot of oil and gas industry to be found here as well. The economy does in fact also rely on real estate, incorporating rentals, leases, sales, and purchases of both residential and commercial properties.
Al Hartman on Houston’s Real Estate Market
While Houston has a known strong real estate market, it is still volatile, just as what it is in any other city. However, Hartman has faith that, overall, it will continue to be strong. The volatile comes more from the fact that the success of businesses is often unpredictable. Hence, there is a fluctuating nature in terms of just how strong of an up or down trend the market is experiencing.
Real estate is influenced by more than just inflation and the global economy. It is far more reliant on local factors. Local events and the prices of properties within the neighborhood itself have a very strong influence on prices. What the stock exchange does, by contrast, is far less important. When the economy strengthens, so does purchasing power, which means a lot of people buy real estate. They are interested in homes to live in, buildings to conduct business out of, and properties to invest in. What this also means is that the way financial institutions conduct their business has a direct influence on how the real estate market works, since very few people have the money to buy properties outright.
Another key element of importance in the real estate market in Houston is found in appraisal businesses. It is no longer possible to simply look at a photo of a property and determine its value. Instead, professionals have to come out to determine exactly what the value is. This is down to a wealth of different factors, including everything listed above – the type of property, the natural resources, its location, the local economy, demand for properties, financial behavior of lending institutions, and more.
The Houston real estate market is a fascinating one, and it also provides a lot of professional opportunities. There are those who want to make a career out of investing in real estate, but then there are also the brokers, the agents, the realtors, and the developers. This, once again, makes it clear just how reliant the Houston economy is on its real estate, since it effectively influences every part of society as a whole.
