By Sherry Koonce, The Port Arthur News, Texas

Feb. 2--Though the nation's economy has not yet rebounded from recession, predicted gains in the state's housing market could indicate a better financial picture during 2010, especially in Southeast Texas where jobs are more plentiful than other parts of the nation.

According to data provided by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, during the fourth quarter of 2009, Texas' housing market saw increases both in sales volume and price.

Texas is posting a 16 percent increase in fourth quarter 2009 compared to the same time period the year prior. Median price in Texas for a home is $143,400, which reflects a 2.35 percent increase.

In the Beaumont-Port Arthur area, home prices increased by 9.90 percent in November 2009 compared to November 2008. Those figures include distressed homes such as foreclosures, according to latest data released by First American CoreLogic and its LoanPerformance Home Price Index.

Diana Schumacher, president of the Port Neches, Port Arthur and Nederland Board of Realtors, said 2009 sales were down from the year previous, but low interest rates combined with tax credits will be attractive to buyers.

Schumacher said the area is not expecting an increase in housing prices because prices prior to the recession had escalated at a rapid rate.

"We do have a number of businesses affiliated with the oil industry and industrial expansions which had contributed to higher demand and higher home prices," she said. "They say we were the latest to feel the downturn of the market and will be the first to come out of it."

Others are not predicted to fare as well.

Nationwide, the cost of U.S. homes, including those distressed, declined by 5.7 percent in November 2009 compared to November 2008, according CoreLogic.

Further declines followed by a recovery in the spring, though not as strong as initially projected, are predicted. Nationally, home prices are expected to be down 0.23 percent, excluding distressed sales, by Nov. 2010.

CoreLogic is predicting homes in the Beaumont-Port Arthur area to appreciate 3.71 percent during the next 12 months.

In addition to lower interest rates and the first-time homebuyer program home sales necessitated by Hurricane Ike have impacted the market positively, Schumacher said.

While figures throughout the last quarter of 2009 were positive compared to 2008 they were particularly positive in October and November, which makes it clear that the first-time homebuyer tax credit is having an impact in Texas," Jim Gaines, an economist with the Real Estate Center, said.

Texas also saw a decrease in the number of months of inventory in the market over the quarter, from 6.6 months to 6.5 months. Months inventory is an indicator of the supply of homes for sale in a market relative to the demand for homes, The Real Estate Center typically uses 6.5 months as the benchmark for a balanced market, meaning a reasonable supply of houses is being offered for sale relative to demand on a monthly basis.

'I think we are probably one of the most fortunate area compared to a lot of the other states," Schumacher said. "We have so many natural resources that provide jobs."

skoonce@panews.com

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