Lubbock homes sales second best record

LUBBOCK – Lubbock real estate agents closed 361 sales in August 2012, posting the best August in nearly a decade, and one contract shy of tying the area’s record volume for the month, according to figures released by the Lubbock Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.

The sales count was 36.7 percent better than the 264 sales recorded in August 2011. Total dollar volume last month was more than $53.63 million, up 24.6 percent from the $43.04 million in dollar volume on sales in August 2011.

Dollar volume for the year totaled more than $353.87 million, up 22.6 percent from the $288.46 million in the first eight months of 2011.

The average sale price in August 2012 was $148,570, down 8.9 percent from the $163,055 average price in August 2011. The median price was $119,750, down 4.2 percent from the $125,000 a year ago.

For the year to date, the average sale price is $147,164, up 3.2 percent from last year, while the median price rose from $118,000 to $119,825.

The listing service closed August with 1,662 houses on the market, which equals 6.5 months’ supply, based on sales activity over the previous 12 months. That inventory level was about 5.8 percent below August 2011’s 1,765 homes unsold, which amounted to a 7.8-month inventory.

Read more at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.