ECONOMY
Experts: Montgomery County jobs, home sales to rise in 2019
Projected growth Local experts say job growth will increase in 2019 inMontgomery County, and mortgage interest rates are rising.
“These are all positive signs that we’re finally absorbing the inventory that’s been [unsold] for so long.” However, Davis said some realtors are having to reduce home prices to make projects more affordable to buyers in the current market, where interest rates are rising. The U.S. has experienced histori- cally low interest rates of between 4-5 percent for some time, making the interest rates on mortgages lower for homebuyers, Davis said. However, he said interest rates are anticipated to increase in 2019, with some econo- mists predicting interest rates of up to 6 percent by 2020. Davis said higher interest rates can translate to homebuyers paying $100-$700 more on monthly mort- gages—putting homebuyers in the posi- tion of being unable to afford a home. “Every 0.25 percentage point or 25 base-point increase in mortgage rates [pushes] 13,000 households in the Houston market out of the ability to buy a new home,” he said.
high number of master-planned com- munities, as seven of the 20 top-selling master-planned communities in the Greater Houston area are located in Montgomery County. “Houston is probably more depen- dent on master-planned communities than probably any other metro area in the country,” he said. He referenced new master-planned communities being developed along the I-45 corridor, such as The Wood- lands Hills northwest of Conroe and Airia Development Company’s planned Star Ridge Ranch develop- ment on Hwy. 242, as examples in Montgomery County. RISING INTEREST RATES Montgomery County’s standing home inventory—or the homes that can be ready for occupancy in 60 days or less—has also decreased, Davis said. “Our standing inventory is going down, our lot inventory is going down, and the number of places that we have to sell ... are also going down,” he said.
BY KELLY SCHAFLER Montgomery County is anticipated to see professional job growth and increased home sales in 2019, said Scott Davis, senior vice president for Meyers Research LLC. The Montgom- ery County Builders and Develop- ers Division invited Davis to be the keynote speaker of its 2019 economic outlook luncheon Dec. 6. Davis predicts Montgomery County will gain 8,000 new jobs in 2019, pri- marily in its top three industry sectors: professional and business services; construction; and trade, transport and utilities. Davis also discussed Mont- gomery County’s housing market and how rising interest rates are affecting home sales. MASTER-PLANNED COMMUNITIES While the sale of new homes in the Greater Houston area as a whole has decreased 5 percent in the last 12 months, Davis said new home sales are increasing in Montgomery County. He partially attributed this to the county’s
In 2019, new jobs in Montgomery County will increase by
8,000 .
Of the 20 top-selling master-planned communities in the Houston area,
7
of them are located in Montgomery County.
By 2020, mortgage interest rates could rise to
6% .
$100-$700 . A 6 percent interest rate could translate to higher mortgage payments by
SOURCE:MEYERSRESEARCHLLC/ COMMUNITY IMPACTNEWSPAPER
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The Woodlands edition • January 2019
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