The city of Houston saw a total of 5,943 property sales in September, an 8.7 percent increase over last year.
By Carlo Calma
Houston-area property sales continue to see a progression towards improvement according to the latest monthly data released by the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) Oct. 16.
September sales in Houston totaled 5,943, an 8.7 percent increase over September 2011’s 5,469. Dollars-wise, the city saw a 13.9 percent increase of property sales totaling $1.2 billion in sales, versus $1.1 billion last September.
Inventory Levels
Perhaps one area of interest that the progression in sales has affected is the city’s housing inventory levels. Housing inventory levels for single-family units in the area has gone down to 4.7 months, a figure the city of Houston hasn’t seen since March 2002, and is slightly much better than the current national average of 6.1 months.
Despite the low supply of single-family homes, Wayne Stroman, HAR chairman and CEO of Stroman Realty, explained that buyers shouldn’t be worried.
“Home sales traditionally begin to taper off this time of year, so we are not worried about inventory declining to unhealthy levels,” he said.
Single-Family Home Average Price and Sales
With inventory low, the average price of a single-family home saw a slight increase over last year. The average price in the area is now $220,992, a 4.7 percent increase over September 2011’s $211,125, and the highest level for a September in Houston’s real estate market. Likewise, the single-family median sales price–the figure at which half of the homes sold for more, and half sold for less–climbed to $165,000, a 6.1 percent increase over $155,530.
Overall sales of single-family homes in Houston totaled 5,014, up 8.7 percent from 2011, which makes September the 16th straight monthly increase for the area. The figures also, “represent the longest stretch of positive sales since a 37-month run ended in February 2007,” according to HAR.
A Strong October?
September’s numbers continue to paint a sign of progression for the city’s real estate market, and also forebodes positive results for the month to come.
Month-end pending sales for September totaled 3,483, up 11.6 percent over last year, and “portends another positive month when the October property sales data are totaled,” according to HAR.
To view the complete report, visit HAR’s website at http://www.har.com/mls/dispPressRelease.cfm?MONTH=10&YEAR=12