The New Year Shows Promising Housing Market for San Angelo

SAN ANGELO, TX - The real estate market for San Angelo looks to be promising for 2017 based on recent information provided by the San Angelo Association of Realtors and the A&M Real Estate Center.

The following numbers represent home sales for Tom Green County compared to information released on the Midland County Permian Basin real estate market.

Tom Green County

(Most Recent Data from San Angelo Association of Realtors).

Midland County

(Most Recent Data from Texas A&M Real Estate Center).

Refer to the PDFs below to see the full data sheet for Tom Green County.

San Angelo Local Market Area (PDF)

​Click here for Stats

Tom Green County: Dec. 2015 to Dec. 2016

The overall data reports for Dec. 2015 compared to Dec. 2016 for Tom Green County shows significant increase in varying categories.

Of the 579 residential houses sold in Dec. of 2015, 117 were new properties. This is compared to the 602 total last December with 137 new residential houses.

For housing sales, residential properties 70.93 percent priced at $199,999 or less, 27.91 percent priced at $200,000 to $499,999 and 1.16 percent were $500,000 or more.  

The number of active listings was down 2.1 percent (375 in Dec. 2016), and single family homes sold was up 15.4 percent, with 90 houses being sold.

Local realtors Janice Petty and LaFreta White provided information on what these values mean for those looking to sell or buy in the New Year.

The median price provides a range for buyers to use a process of elimination while looking at houses. White mentioned the median price is not consistent with every buyer’s individual qualifications.

“Usually, you’re going to look between $150,000 to $200,000,” Petty said. “[Buyers] are always going to be in their price range, not what the median price is.”

Regarding the housing sales comparison for Dec. 2015 (109) and Dec. 2016 (116), White and Petty said this is pretty “level” in terms of changes. They also believe the slight change in price is also consistent with the data shown above.

New Year, New Market

White spoke about how numbers can be affected when going into the New Year and made comparisons to other industries like retail and the hotel/motel industry.

“If there are more people coming in [to San Angelo], then we are going to sell more houses,” White said.

If less people move here, less houses are sold overall. Hotel occupancy rates and the number of passengers deplaning at Mathis Field can be leading indicators. 

White also mentioned if something changes for the local economy, like an oil boom for example, then the real estate market can expect to sell more units of house with an increased price range.

Petty said a change noticed with December compared to January is most people aren’t going to move during the holiday season.

White said historically, during a presidential election year, people usually make the decision to hold back on selling or buying until they have a clear indication of where the economy will stand. This is especially true when an incumbent is leaving office and a new president is sworn in.

Additionally, the Days on the Market (DOM) is an average of the time all the houses stayed open for sale for a given month. For example, if one house is sold after 10 days on the market, and another is sold after 100 days, the average DOM will adjust for all houses available at that time. The 2016 report for December showed a 72 DOM (9 days less compared to Dec. 2015), and the month’s inventory was 3.9 compared to 3.8 in Dec 2015.

Petty said the DOM provides a benchmark number for sellers to expect when a housing sale will close for that time frame.

San Angelo Compared to the Midland Housing Market  

San Angelo’s housing market compared to the Permian Basin (Midland) shows a difference in average price of about $100,000 on house sales at the end of 2016. One factor Petty and White mentioned with this is the oil industry, which has a significant impact on Midland's demand for houses.

Petty mentioned when oil and gas prices drop, people tend to move out and the houses sell at a reduced rate. If oil and gas prices start to increase, then people move back for their jobs and the demand for housing goes up along with the price. This is consistent with the supply and demand for housing.

The most significant difference between both markets is Midland has spikes of drastic changes because of the oil industry. San Angelo has more consistent and gradual change over the year, which provides a comfortable market for buyers and sellers to make plans around.

“San Angelo is not dependent on oil and gas,” Petty said.

White emphasized the comparison of gradual versus drastic spikes in numbers, and said a consistent market is more valuable in her opinion.

Another significant difference White referenced is Midland doesn’t have a lake in the immediate vicinity.

San Angelo has Lake Nasworthy as a real estate valuation base. The lake provides recreation, including the spring boat races that bolsters the economy here in Tom Green County. She also said another key factor is Goodfellow Air Force Base. Families across the nation move here to start their new lives while working there.

Petty said, overall, there has been a good influx of families moving to San Angelo in recent years, and she expects this rate to continue in the future. She mentioned Texas also reflects this popularity as many move here from out of state.

The Texas Tribune reported in April of 2016 that from 2005 to 2013, an estimated 5.9 million people moved to Texas, and 4.8 million moved here from 49 other states. This data was reported from the Office of the State Demographer.

Petty and White said they believe San Angelo stands out because of the above factors, and, being a friendly community, it will continue to see more families move here in the coming months.