The Woodland Acres Annex, an east side community near Galena Park, showed a 23.3 percent gain in home prices in 1998 as one of the leaders in the annual price survey. The trend for rising prices highlighted in the 1998 survey has continued during 1999. Last year was a record year for used home sales in the Houston area, but the pace in 1999 has been more brisk. It's simply a matter of supply and demand. Low mortgage interest rates also have been encouraging more people to buy homes.
Every time rates go down, it puts buying a house within reach of more families of modest means.
At one point last year, rates were below 7 percent for a typical 30-year loan. Rates have risen since then, but they are still low enough to make home-buying attractive. Low rates have prompted people to buy new homes as well. Home builders were swamped with buyers as the areas had strong job growth in 1997 and 1998. Shortages of lots, labor and building materials developed and buyers typically had to wait six months or longer for their new homes to be built.