Foreclosure Supply Numbers Point to Recovery in Texas

Texas continues to perform noticeably better than other states in the real estate market, local Realtors say, by avoiding an excess supply of foreclosures and other distressed properties.

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""Texas is still performing considerably better than other states in terms of maintaining balance between home inventory and demand,"" said Jim Gaines, Ph.D., an economist with the ""Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University"":http://recenter.tamu.edu/.

""Combined with the fact that Texas has maintained strong property values, this indicates that the market is absorbing foreclosed and other distressed properties without experiencing harmful excess supply,"" Gaines explained.

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According to the Texas Quarterly Housing Report released by the ""Texas Association of Realtors"":https://www.texasrealtors.com, homes in the Lone Star State maintained their value in the first quarter of 2011 despite a decrease in sales volume.

""While Texas has not been untouched by the recent economic downturn as indicated by the decrease in sales, it is encouraging to see home prices hold their value in the first quarter,"" said Dwight Hale, chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors.

Texas had 7.5 months of inventory in the first quarter of 2011. That figure is higher than the first quarter of 2010, which had 6.8 months of inventory, but lower than the prior two quarters, which was 7.6 months in the fourth quarter of 2010 and 8.0 months in the third quarter of 2010.

""Texas has avoided the real estate bubble felt in other parts of the country and continues to lead the U.S. in recovery due in large part to the leaders of our state actively protecting private-property rights in past legislative sessions,"" said Hale.

""For more than a decade, sound public policies have contributed to our quality of life and relatively low cost of living,"" Hale continued. ""As the latest numbers show, we are continuing to recover well, but we are not out of the woods yet. As a key driver of the economy, we encourage lawmakers to continue to keep the interests of homeowners foremost in their actions and protect the livelihood of Texans.""