Take a look back at some real estate-related info from the not-so-distant past…wow have things changed!
- In 2008, the national average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loan was 6.03%. In 1981 it was 16.63%!
- Approximately 60% of today’s mortgage applications are approved. In 2003 it was 79%!
- In January 2008 the Texas market had 5.9 months of listing inventory. In January 1998 inventory was 5.8 months.
- Some MLS’s in Texas STILL print MLS books as they did 20 years ago!
- Since 1994 the number of active Texas Realtors has more than doubled, from 41,314 to 83,716!
- In 1994 there was one active Texas Realtor for every 445 Texans, today there is 1 for every 297!
- Motorola introduced the first portable cell phone for consumers in 1983. It cost $8,500 in 2009 dollars and had a talk time of 30 minutes!
- Kodak introduced one of the first widely available digital cameras in 1991. It cost $20,350 in 2009 dollars and had a max of 1.3 megapixels!
Source: Texas Realtor Magazine