In this market report, we take a close look into The Woodlands market for trends and totals in 2009 single-family home sales. We’ll compare the statistics to the previous year throughout (unless otherwise noted). Note that this report does not account for townhouse or condominium sales.
Contrary to the tumbling national real estate market, and offset slightly from the Greater Houston market, The Woodlands residential real estate climate was pretty healthy in 2009. Aside from a big hit to the ultra-high end, most local metrics were within a few percentage points of their 2008 performance.
Overall sales activity did slow, but The Woodlands home values held steady; equity-conscious homeowners can rest assured that average price and dollar per SQFT metrics–outside of Carlton Woods–remained mostly unchanged.
The Woodlands Single-Family Home Sales
2009 Benchmarks vs. 2008
Average Price per SQFT
Units Sold
Average Sale Price
Median Sale Price
The Woodlands Single-Family Sales Volume
2009 by Village
Village Breakdown
The Woodlands community is a collection of diverse neighborhoods known as villages. Each village is a unique sub-market with homes of a common style, age, and price range.
For perspective on differences between villages, consider that Carlton Woods and College Park both reported just over $20M in sales volume last year; Carlton Woods produced that volume with just 17 sales, while College Park accumulated 116 sales for only slightly higher volume.
The graphic on the left displays a breakdown of The Woodlands sales volume by individual village.
Woodlands Village Highlights
Carlton Woods, The Woodlands’ ultra high-end market, took the biggest hit with a 50% decline in units sold, 25% drop in average sale price, and a 35% drop in median sale price. The average price per SQFT also slid by $50 to $205/SF.
Leading the way in sales volume was Sterling Ridge — one of the few villages with active new construction. Sterling saw a 1.1% increase in average home price, a 15% jump in the number of homes sold, and a 16.75% increase in sales volume. The median home price fell by 5.9% and the average price per SQFT slipped by nearly 3%.
The Village of Alden Bridge, 2nd in sales volume, saw negligible changes across the board. A total of 386 homes sold in 2009 at an average price of $269,105 - just one sale shy of the 2008 mark, with a 2.9% decline in average price. The median price held steady at $248,000, and average price per SQFT slipped by $2 to $99/SF.
The only village with improvements across the board was Grogan’s Mill: number of sales up by 2%, average price up by 6.6%, price per SQFT up by 2.46%, and even a 18% drop in average days to sell.
› narrow by village processing request...
Village Selection
Select 1 or more villages to include in the Key Metrics display.
Key Metrics
Total Single-family Homes Sold in The Woodlands
2009 by Month
Average Sales Price in The Woodlands
2009 by Month
Average Sales Price per SQFT in The Woodlands
2009 by Month
Average Days to Sell in The Woodlands
2009 by Month
Sales Price Distribution
Median and average price statistics are great for broad market comparisons, but they don’t tell much about what’s really selling within a given market.
The Woodlands is a massive suburb on the North side of Houston, known by most to be an insulated, stable real estate market. In truth, the bread and butter neighborhoods–those with homes in the $220k to $450k range–do enjoy high demand, stability, and upside value potential. The high-end neighborhoods are hardly immune from struggle, though, as demonstrated by a 50% drop in sales activity for the prestigious Carlton Woods.
This graph illustrates sales density in units for any given price range, and it’s meant for visual comparison of price segments. For example, notice that sales in the $200k’s more than double sales in the $400k’s. Home sales in the low $100k’s were few and far between, while homes sold in the $200k’s were clearly the most active.
The Woodlands Single-Family Sale Price Distribution
2009 Total
Commentary
Since pricing metrics were steady, the decrease in sales activity isn’t such a bad sign; it suggests that distressed or forced selling was not a major factor in 2009. Many home sellers in The Woodlands simply opted to stay put in lieu of selling at reduced prices. That approach looks promising, as The Woodlands finished 2009 strong and carried momentum into 2010. Let’s hope for good news in our next Woodlands Homes Report!
This report is brought to you by the elite team at Icon Real Estate - The Woodlands. Raw data obtained from the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) Multiple Listing Service. Data is assumed to be accurate but not verified, and is shared with no warranty implied, expressed, or otherwise.
Looking for more information about a specific home or neighborhood in The Woodlands area? Head over to our Houston Home Value Request or just contact us here.
Johnny Schiro, Broker
Icon Real Estate
The Woodlands, Texas
About the author
Johnny Schiro is a Houston Realtor and co-owner of Icon Real Estate — an elite brokerage in The Woodlands, Texas. Johnny writes mostly about local market trends, buying & selling strategies, and industry insight. Comments and feedback encouraged.
May 10th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
Excellent looking website