Houston falls from top of real estate investment list to No. 60

In this Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015 photo, a for sale sign is placed in front of a home in Miami. A key housing index shows that U.S. home prices rose solidly in June, another sign of renewed health in the housing market. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 5 percent from a year earlier, a slight improvement on May 2015 4.9 percent increase, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

A real estate survey conducted prior to Hurricane Harvey shows that Houston has fallen from the top of the list of most attractive real estate markets. The “2018 Emerging Trends in Real Estate” survey conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers shows that Houston fell 20 spots to No. 60 on the list, after attaining the top spot in the survey in 2015.

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The survey gathered data from interviews with real estate investors and market focus groups. Since the survey was conducted from June to August, the results were compiled before Hurricane Harvey struck the Houston area.

“Given the timing, the current and future impacts of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma on the people, economies, and real estate sectors in a number of markets are not reflected in this year’s results,” the report read in part. “As of the publication of this year’s report, it is impossible to precisely determine the total impact on Houston and the rest of Texas.”


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According to Mitch Roschelle, a partner in Price Waterhouse Coopers, the survey participants viewed the Houston market as too dependent on energy prices to be seen as an attractive market for real estate investment.

“The sentiment from the real estate community was there didn’t seem like there was enough catalyst from the oil industry to really bring back Houston to its glory days,” Roschelle told Bloomberg News.

The survey ranked Seattle as the top real estate investment market, followed closely by Austin, which held the top spot last year. Dallas also made the top ten at number five.

The report ranked Houston at No. 60 in overall real estate prospects, No. 57 in homebuilding prospects, fourth among the four major Texas metro areas in local outlook.

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The report also mentioned several challenges that Houston faced prior to the hurricane that the city must handle to become a more attractive destination for real estate investment. Among those challenges were a shortage of skilled construction labor, a need for infrastructure improvements, and transportation issues.

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