As interest rate rises, local home sales slide

With mortgage interest rates increasing and inventory shrinking, the Houston-area housing market hit a plateau in April, traditionally one of the liveliest seasons for homebuying. According to figures from the Houston Association of Realtors,

for the first time in 2022 sales failed to beat monthly year-over-year figures, but performance was still described by HAR as “robust.”

The high end of the markets, where Bellaire and West University properties reside, were the best performers. Homes between $500,000-$1 million posted a 45 percent year-over-year gain, and in the luxury market of $1 million and up, soared 24.9 percent.

Here’s how Bellaire and West U performed.

 

 

Commercial property: Whole Foods center changes hands
The West U Marketplace, anchored by Whole Foods Market, at 4004-4060 Bellaire Blvd. at Weslayan Street, has sold to Brixmor Property Group.

Brixmor is headquarters in the area and owns more than 400 centers nationwide, including the one catty-corner from the Marketplace, with CVS Pharmacy as anchor tenant.

The Marketplace is 100 percent leased, according to JLL Capital Markets, which handled the sale for the owner, Camden Securities. The listing emphasized the area’s demographics — 195,500 residents earning an average annual household income of $156,574 living within a three-mile radius — and Whole Foods’ ranking in the top 10 of fast-growing supermarket chains in the U.S.