Photo by Shawn Epps

Chaille Ralph, chair of the Houston Association of REALTORS board, has worked as a licensed real estate broker since 1982.

The native Houstonian began her career by managing and marketing commercial office buildings and then began to include commercial construction and project management before shifting to residential sales in the mid-'80s.

Ralph would later expand her skill-set to relocation services and sales management.

Throughout her career, Ralph has served on numerous committees, task forces and held leadership positions with the Houston Association of Realtors, which provides comprehensive real estate data and Houston-area real estate listings.

Today, Ralph serves at the 2014 chair of the HAR board, and she also holds director positions with both the Texas and National Associations of REALTORS.

How long is the Greater Houston area expected to remain a seller's market? What are the projected real estate trends in 2014?

We expect that certainly throughout 2014 and into 2015 we are going to see pretty much a seller's market. We think the market will stay strong well into 2015. Sales are strong right now, and they continue to be strong on a monthly basis. If property is priced right it tends to move very quickly.

Our January numbers showed 2.6 months of inventory throughout the Greater Houston area currently on the market. Some of those areas are quite a bit lower; when you get into the Cy-Fair area, I believe its 1.7 months of inventory on the market. You can drill down into price point, you can drill down into neighborhoods, and so we really encourage people to consult with a Realtor if you have questions about what's happening in a specific area.

The sales manager for our Cypress office said they really anticipate growth well into the next five to seven years in the area. They hope to see the Bridgeland area building again sometime this year.

When is the current and planned future home construction expected to catch up with the demand in the Greater Houston area, is the market expected to turn back toward a buyer's market in upcoming years because of new construction?

We really think, and I certainly do believe, that we have learned our lesson in regards to the overbuilding. I think we have probably started a little slower in the last couple of years with building because the market was still coming back. I think you will start to see again, probably in 2015-16, a lot of that catch-up because right now they really can't keep up with a lot of the demand. We have buyers in all market areas.

Master-planned communities have become highly sought after for homebuyers in Houston's suburbs. Who is typically moving here, and what makes these communities so popular?

I think what makes them popular is your ability to live, work and play. You are seeing more development happen in the outlying areas from the commercial standpoint as well as residential. We kind of go back and forth I think at different times in our lives of not wanting a commute or wanting to work in the central business district and not worrying so much about the commute, but when we see facilities such as the Exxon facility going in up in The Woodlands market, you know people want to live out there. They don't want to commute out to that area, even though in some ways it would be a reverse commute.

I think really and truly, our lives are so busy in today's world. We all thought technology was going to slow down and make things easier for us, but I think it has really just made it more impactful that we have to do more and more and more on a daily basis. So the ability to be close to home and close to play, and being able to attend children's functions, is important to all of us.

What factors are taken into consideration when determining housing costs? Often times housing costs will increase or decrease dependent on a number of factors, but what are some of the major factors that either drive costs up or down?

Certainly inventory is going to drive prices up. When you have lower inventory your prices for land go up as well.

When you have a market such as we are in, you also end up with issues with supply, you have issues with contractors to do the work, and the cost of materials goes up.

That in itself will drive up the cost.

How does the lack of a city government presence affect the way real estate develops in unincorporated Harris County? Does a lack of city government matter to homebuyers?

I really don't think so. Again, I think it has to do with location and the amenities that are surrounding them. I don't think [that] a lack of city government has that much effect on our buyers and sellers.

Several of Houston's suburbs are seeing an influx of new multifamily housing options. How do these developments typically affect local economic and demographic trends?

Certainly when you have the high density your traffic patterns are going to change somewhat. With various luxury apartments, luxury developments and town home developments where you have a larger density of people living there, I think the biggest impact you would probably see negatively would be on traffic patterns.

I have lived in a suburb and I have lived inside [Loop 610], and obviously we have a greater density inside [Loop 610] and I think people are starting to feel that in other areas. It brings more people to the grocery stores, it brings more people to the restaurants, so it has a positive impact on the local economy.