The Houston real estate market saw healthy gains last month, as sales volume and average and median sales prices experienced increases on a year-over-year basis, according to statistics released by the Houston Association of Realtors® Multiple Listing Service. Particular strength was seen in the $400,000+ home market, with a 29.2% increase in sales for those higher end properties when compared to last year.

Total property sales for the month totaled 7,680, which was a 10.0% increase over July 2004. Properties sold during the month reached a total of more than $1.4 billion, a 19.8% increase compared to last year’s more than $1.2 billion in July sales. Additionally, year-to-date total property sales reached 45,477, which is an increase of 8.1% over the same period of 2004.

“Houston’s real estate market continues to exhibit the steady price appreciation and increased sales activity levels that are needed to keep the market in equilibrium,” said Toni C. Nelson, HAR Chair and a Division Vice President for Coldwell Banker United, Realtors. “This summer selling season has seen tremendous activity, as more homebuyers and sellers are taking advantage of the still historically low interest rates and strength in the local economy. Thousands of Houstonians are now experiencing the dream of homeownership for the first time, which is one of the primary goals of the Realtor profession.”

July Monthly Market Comparison

All listing categories combined, Houston’s overall housing market in July experienced increases across the board including total property sales, average sales prices, median sales price, available inventory, pending sales – those listings expected to close within the next 30 days – and overall total dollar volume on a year-over-year basis.

The number of available homes (active listings) at the end of June was 45,361 properties, which was an increase of 5.1% versus last July but down slightly from last month. Month-end pending sales of properties reached 5,005, which was up 9.4% from last year, and was also down slightly from last month. The month’s inventory of single-family homes for July was down to 6.1 months, which remains low, signaling more of a seller’s market and also shows that demand is keeping up with the available supply of homes.

Single-family Homes Update

The overall median price of single-family homes reached $145,500 in July, which was an increase of 6.6% compared to the prior year, and the average price for single-family homes reached $195,372, which was up 9.3% versus the same period last year. The median is a typical market price where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less than that figure. Both the median and average sales prices were all-time monthly records.

Houston’s current median price of $145,500 is 33.4% less than the national median price, which reached $218,600 in June, according to statistics released by the National Association of Realtors. These data continue to show the tremendous value and lower cost of living afforded to Houstonians.

Additionally, total sales for single-family homes in Houston increased by 10.8% to 6,440 in July, up from last year’s 5,813. In the first seven months of 2005, 37,645 single-family homes sold, which was an 8.5% increase over the 34,691 homes sold during the same period in 2004.

HAR is now also reporting existing home statistics for the single-family home segment of the real estate market. For the month of July 2005, existing single-family home sales totaled 5,680, which was an 11.8% increase from July 2004. The median sales price for existing homes in the Houston area was $139,900, an increase of 7.6% compared to the same period last year. The average sales price for the month of $186,927 was an increase of 9.4% from last year’s level.

Townhouse/Condo Update

The overall median price in the townhouse/condo segment in Houston rose by 9.6%, from $109,000 in July 2004 to $119,500 last month. The average sales price for which a townhouse or condo sold in the greater Houston area was $146,523 in July 2005, which was a 1.8% increase from the same month last year.

Additionally, the number of townhouses and condos that sold in July were down compared to last year’s sales, with 655 units being sold last month, versus 673 properties in July 2004. So far, year-to date, 4,015 townhouse/condos have sold, which was a 0.9% increase compared to the 3,978 units sold during the same period of 2004.

Houston Real Estate Milestones in July
• Reached the highest number of homes sold in a single month.
• Reached the highest-ever average sales price for single-family homes.
• Marked the highest-ever median sales price for single-family homes.
Source: RisMedia