HOUSTON — (August 18, 2009) — Seasonal summer home buying and continued activity among first-time homebuyers translated to a significant improvement in single-family home sales across greater Houston in July, with the highest volume since July 2008 and the second highest median price in history. This comes despite year-over-year declines in overall property sales of 5.1 percent and 4.4 percent for single-family homes, according to new monthly data compiled by the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR). However, those declines are the smallest recorded since the economic downturn began in the fall of 2007.
At $163,000, the July single-family home median price—the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less—rose 1.5 percent from one year earlier to the second highest price ever. The highest median of all time, $164,500, was reached in June 2009. The average price of a single-family home in Houston dipped 1.8 percent last month to $220,030 compared to July 2008. That represents the second highest average price since August 2008.
Foreclosure property sales continued to slow in July, making up 16.6 percent of all single-family home sales in the Houston area compared to 18.0 percent in July 2008 and 34.0 percent in January of this year. The median price of July foreclosure sales reported in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) declined 2.8 percent from $92,664 to $90,000 on a year-over-year basis.
Sales of all property types in Houston for July totaled 6,744, off 5.1 percent compared to July 2008. Total dollar volume for properties sold during the month was $1.4 billion versus $1.5 billion one year earlier, representing a decline of 6.2 percent—the smallest since November 2007.
“Strong pricing performance, an easing decline in sales volume and the slowdown of foreclosure sales make for very positive indicators about the state of Houston’s real estate market,” said Vicki Fullerton, HAR chair and broker of record at RE/MAX of The Woodlands & Spring. “We look forward to further improvement as the tax credit incentive, historically low interest rates and an attractive variety of housing inventory continue to draw buyers to the marketplace.”
July Monthly Market Comparison
The month of July brought Houston’s overall housing market mixed results when all listing categories are compared to July of 2008. Total property sales, total dollar volume and average single-family home sales prices were down on a year-over-year basis while median single-family home sales prices rose to the second highest level ever.
The number of available properties, or active listings, at the end of July fell 13.4 percent from July 2008 to 46,598. That is 609 more active listings than one month earlier, in June 2009, and continues to reflect balanced housing inventory levels.
Month-end pending sales—those listings expected to close within the next 30 days—totaled 3,909, which was 17.8 percent lower than last year and portends another decline in sales when the August numbers are tallied. The month’s inventory of single-family homes for July came in at 6.5 months, down from 6.7 months one year earlier. The national month’s inventory of single-family homes fell slightly to 9.4 months, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).
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