May. 27, 2007 - Houston market begins its busy season

Single-family home sales in April rose compared to April of last year, reversing the first sales decline in more than three years. Prices last month also continued to show strength, as both the average and median sales prices increased in line with trends seen during the last few years. Perhaps signaling statistical validation of experts’ suggestions that tighter subprime lending standards will have a negative impact on home sales, the primary price range of homes showing sales weakness has been those homes priced at $140,000 or less, according to statistics released mid-May by the Houston Association of Realtors. At the same time, homes in the $400,000-plus range have seen tremendous strength in sales.

Total property sales for the month registered 7,275, which was a 2.7 percent increase over April 2006. Properties sold during the month reached a total of more than $1.4 billion, an 8.5 percent increase compared to last year’s more than $1.3 billion in April sales. Additionally, the median home price for a single-family home reached a monthly record for April of $150,000, and the average single-family home price came in at $205,511, increases from last year of 2.0 and 4.8 percent, respectively.

The number of available homes (active listings) at the end of April was 49,946 properties, which was an increase of 17.6 percent versus last April and the tenth month with a year-over-year increase, after 10 consecutive previous declines. The figure was an increase of more than 2,000 properties from last month, which is not unusual for the spring as more homes are listed for sale. It is still a figure to watch though to see if inventory of available homes rises faster than sales, which could place downward pressure on prices as well.

Source: Houston Association of Realtors