February home sales marked a second positive month for Houston this year with single-family home sales, total property sales, average and median pricing and total dollar volume all up compared to a year ago, according to the latest Houston Association of Realtors’ MLS report.

The luxury market saw some improvement after declines the previous three months; still overall inventory across greater Houston fell slightly in February. Options for hopeful buyers going into the traditionally active spring home-buying season will be somewhat limited.

Single-family home sales increased 5.3 percent, with 5,260 units sold in February. The strongest sales activity was seen in the home price range of $500,000 to $750,000, which saw an 18.8 percent increase from the previous February.

The median single-family home price rose 1.4 percent to set a new high for the month of February, now $226,200. The average single-family home price reached a $281,945 peak, a fractional 0.4 percent increase compared to last year. 

“February was a positive month overall for Houston real estate, but we really need growth in inventory to ensure that there is a plentiful supply of homes as we enter the spring buying season,” says HAR Chair Kenya Burrell-VanWormer with JP Morgan Chase.

Houston’s total property sales in February, across all types, came to 6,375 units. This marks a 3.1 percent gain compared to February 2017. Up 4.5 percent, total dollar volume was $1.7 billion. 

Month-end pending sales for single-family homes saw an 11.1 percent increase from last year, totaling 6,912 in February. The number of properties available fell 2.2 percent, bringing the total active listings down to 39,939. The inventory for single-family homes dropped to a 3.2-months supply, from February 2017’s 3.4 months.