Longview home sales stay flat in 1Q 2015

LONGVIEW – Area home sales are tracking about even with 2014 through first quarter 2015 while average sale prices have slipped slightly, according to the Longview Area Association of Realtors.

The Longview Area Association of Realtors said there were 479 homes sold in its 12-county area through March, compared with 476 during the same period a year ago.

The association tracks homes sold through its Multiple Listing Service. The sales typically don’t include homes sold directly by builders or owners, and is generally considered to represent about 85 percent of the market.

The average price of homes sold during 1Q 2015 slipped to about $151,000, down about 3 percent from an average of nearly $156,000 in 1Q 2014.

The impact of falling oil prices has not yet been felt in Texas real estate, especially in the state’s metro areas, said Jim Gaines, an economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

"Texas home sales could experience a slowdown in the last half of 2015 and, depending on when and at what level oil prices stabilize, end 2015 at a lower level than previous years," Gaines said.

The supply of houses listed for sale with agents across the state dropped to 3.1 months — nearly 9 percent less than a year earlier — according to the 1Q 2015 Texas Quarterly Housing Report from the Texas Association of Realtors.

The picture was brighter in the Longview-Marshall area, where the inventory was at a 9.2-month supply.

Read more at the Longview News-Journal.