May Brings Continued Blend of Slow Sales and Appreciating Pricing to Our Houston Housing Market

HOUSTON — (June 17, 2008) — Sales of single-family homes across greater Houston fell again in May, while the average price of those properties rose for the fourth consecutive month to the second highest level ever, according to stats released by the Houston Association of Realtors® (HAR).  Single-family homes sales fell 15.3% on a year-over-year basis with May marking the ninth straight monthly decline, however, the number of closed sales was the highest since last August.

The average price of a single-family home rose by 0.6% last month to $214,732 from $213,430 in May 2007.  That is the second highest price since the figure peaked at $218,583 in June 2007.  At $155,000, the median price of a single-family home in May represented the highest point for 2008, although it was unchanged from one year earlier.

Sales of all property types for May 2008 totaled 7,110, reflecting a 17.1% drop compared to May 2007. Total dollar volume for properties sold during the month was recorded at $1.4 billion versus $1.7 billion one year earlier, a 14.9% decline.

May Monthly Market Comparison

All listing categories combined, Houston’s overall housing market saw mixed results in May.  The average single family home sales price rose on a year-over-year basis while the median price held steady; total property sales and total dollar volume dropped.

The number of available homes (active listings) at the end of May was 53,305 properties, a 3.2% increase over May 2007.  The figure was up 225 properties from April 2008.

Month-end pending sales – those listings expected to close within the next 30 days – reached 4,828, which was 15.6% lower than last year hinting at the possibility of another sales decline next month.  The month's inventory of single-family homes for May came in at 6.6 months, a slight increase from April's 6.4-month figure.  This compares to the May 2007 single-family homes inventory of 6.0 months.

All Categories May 2007 May 2008 Percent Change
Total property sales 8,574 7,110 -17.8%
Total dollar volume $1,746,802,462 $1,487,163,376 -14.9%
Average single-family sales price $213,430 $214,732 +0.6%
Median single-family sales price $155,000 $155,000 0.0%
Total Active listings 51,676 53,305 +3.2%
Total Pending sales 5,722 4,828 -15.6%
Months inventory* 6.0 6.6 +9.6%
* Months inventory estimates the number of months it will take to deplete current active inventory based on the prior 12 months sales activity. This figure is representative of the single-family homes market.

 

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