Cindy HamannA native Houstonian, Cindy Hamann is a Texas real estate broker with more than 20 years of experience in residential sales management. Hamann, who serves as vice president of sales performance and recruiting for Heritage Texas Properties, began her career in real estate after leaving the energy industry.


Aside from her real estate career, Hamann has made contributions to the Greater Houston area community by serving as president of Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation, volunteering with the Montgomery County Women’s Shelter and lending support to the Montgomery County Food Bank.


Hamann has received the HAR John E. Wolfe Community Service Award, was selected as the Women’s Council of Realtors-Montgomery County Chapter Entrepreneur of the Year and elected as the 2017 HAR chairwoman.



What is the Houston Association of Realtors, and what services does the organization offer?


HAR is a 36,000-member organization of real estate professionals engaged in every aspect of the industry, including residential and commercial sales and leasing, appraisal, property management and counseling. It is the largest individual dues-paying membership trade association in Houston as well as the second-largest local association/board of Realtors in the U.S. Millions of consumers use our www.har.com website to access property listings from all across the state of Texas as well as a huge array of tools to help them find quality schools, retail, drive-time and other valuable information about communities and neighborhoods.



How has the oil industry affected the Houston real estate market?


The oil downturn did very little damage to the Houston real estate market because of the diversity of the local economy. In fact, 2016 was a record year for home sales, and so far, 2017 is on track to perform even better. Even as energy-related industries were laying off workers, other businesses throughout [the] Greater Houston [area] continued to hire, with many homebuyers coming to the area from across the U.S. as well as from other countries for jobs in industries, such as health care and technology. The only segment of the market that felt the pinch was the luxury segment, consisting of home from $750,000 and above. I am happy to say that segment has experienced seven straight months of gains as we pass the halfway point of 2017.



Is affordability for single-family homes a problem in the Greater Houston area?


Affordability is not the main problem in our market. Rather, the problem is the low supply of housing inventory. Investors are purchasing homes to make available as rental properties, which draws multiple offers on homes under $160,000. There are really good rental prices for properties. The reason rentals are rising for leasing homes is because of the lack of affordability in homes. Anything over $175,000 is too much for a rental, so homes between $100,000 to around $150,000 are homes that investors are using.



What factors contribute to residential growth, and what Greater Houston area communities have seen this growth?


The No. 1 reason behind residential growth is schools, but companies and easy access are also important. Shopping and entertainment options are also a factor. The Spring/Klein area and The Woodlands have seen growth due to the ExxonMobil campus, which is expected to bring many new employees to the Greater Houston area in 2018. The [real estate] industry will see growth because of that.



What trends are you seeing in the Houston real estate market today?


Among the trends that we are seeing is that buyers are not motivated by rising interest rates. They want a deal and no fixer-uppers. They are seeking good-sized back yards and moderate-sized homes. The “McMansion” days are long over. Millennials keep thinking that [they] have to put 20 percent down for a house and that is also not true. You can get a loan for 3 percent down. First-time and second-time homebuyers are motivated by interest rates because there is also a lack of inventory. While the “McMansion” homes and homes over $750,000 have seen a seven-month increase ins sales, that luxury market has just been sitting for the past two years in Houston. More homebuyers today still don’t want to deal with the upkeep of the home or being empty nesters.



How has the expansion of the Grand Parkway affected the Houston real estate market?


Commute time is very different than [in] the past with the Grand Parkway. This has brought so much accessibility. We’re seeing suburban areas expand because of the Grand Parkway and we’re also seeing growth in the area. Homebuilders are buying new land near the Grand Parkway because of the new development. There is a high demand for quality tradesmans now because of it.