Published: July, 2008, Chris Warren
In a bear market, there are lots of good buys – you just have to know where to look
“The market is strong and steady,” says real estate developer Tim Welbes.
Obviously, those are words that would make many real estate brokers, homebuilders, and buyers and sellers jealous, or certain that the speaker was crazy. But the truth is, while the subprime debacle has been a drain on the economy and a cause of pain for many, it’s not the whole story. Certain areas of the United States, and the rest of the world, are enjoying a solid real estate market, and there are unique investment and second-home opportunities out there, if you know where to look.
As co-president of the Woodlands Development Company, Welbes follows the news in real estate with a passion. He says that whenever he sees a television report or reads a news story these days, he notices something missing: reporters never seem to mention the region he calls home. “I see these national stories, but they rarely show Houston,” says Welbes, whose company developed The Woodlands, one of Texas’ first master-planned communities, located about 30 miles north of downtown Houston.
