First decline since 2011 for Houston May home sales
HOUSTON – Single-family home sales totaled 7,145 units in May, a decline of 7.3 percent compared to May 2013, according to the latest monthly report prepared by the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR).
Despite the first drop in total property sales in three years, total dollar volume and average and median pricing rose when compared to May 2013. The average price of a single-family home jumped 9.6 percent year-over-year to $280,346. The median price rose 6.4 percent to $200,000. Both are record highs for Houston.
Foreclosure property sales declined again, plunging 57.4 percent compared to May 2013. Foreclosures now comprise just 4.5 percent of all property sales, down from 9.4 percent a year earlier. The median price of foreclosures climbed 11.0 percent to $94,349.
Houston’s lease property market flourished again, as for-sale properties were hard to come by. Single-family home rentals shot up 20.4 percent compared to May 2013. The average rent for a single-family home increased 4.5 percent to $1,727 and the average rent for a townhouse/condominium jumped 8.8 percent to $1,550.
May 2013 | May 2014 | Change | |
Total sales | 9,144 | 8,688 | -5.0% |
Total dollar volume | $2,223,291,674 | $2,301,164,103 | 3.5% |
Total active listings | 32,214 | 28,712 | -10.9% |
Total pending sales | 5,115 | 4,922 | -3.8% |
Single-family sales | 7,708 | 7,145 | -7.3% |
Avg. price single-family home | $255,855 | $280,346 | 9.6% |
Median price single-family home | $188,000 | $200,000 | 6.4% |
Single-family inventory* | 3.3 | 2.8 | -14.7% |
* The number of months it will take to deplete current active inventory based on the prior 12 months of sales activity. The market is considered evenly balanced between supply and demand when it has a six-month inventory.
Source: Houston Association of Realtors.
For more housing stats, see Houston Market Data Sources.
In This Article
You might also like
Publications
Receive our economic and housing reports and newsletters for free.