HAR: Houston home sales tumble in Dec. 2015

​​HOUSTON – Houston-area home sales tumbled 9.7 percent in December, compared to December 2014. That’s according to the latest report from the Houston Association of Realtors. 

But even with business sputtering, 2015 still wound up as the second-strongest year on record.

Greater Houston saw 5,879 single-family home sales last month. It marked the third month in a row that low oil prices took a toll on the local real estate market.

A lack of homes available for purchase also hurt sales. The region’s housing inventory fell to 3.2 months. Inventory is a rough measure of how long it would take to sell out the entire listed supply of housing.

Sales of townhouses and condominiums declined 2.9 percent in December. A total of 536 units sold compared to 552 properties in December 2014. The average price dropped 14.6 percent to $197,904 and the median price edged up 1.2 percent to $159,900. Inventory grew from a 2.3-months supply to 2.9 months.​

The fourth quarter slowdown cut 2015’s home sales by 2.4 percent compared to 2014. But the average price of a single-family home rose by 3.7 percent over the past year to $280,290.