Houston home sales drive inventory to 13-year low
Olivia Pulsinelli
Web producer- Houston Business Journal
Houston’s housing market saw sales increase 16 percent and total dollar volume jump 23 percent in 2012, which ended with another month of positive home sales, record high home prices and inventory levels not seen since 1999, the Houston Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.
In December, single-family home sales totaled 5,039, up 11.4 percent from December 2011. Sales of all property types totaled 6,055, up 12.5 percent from a year ago.
The average price and median price for single-family homes both reached their highest levels ever in Houston. The average price increased 11.3 percent year over year to $243,797, while the median price was up 7.8 percent to $172,500.
The total dollar volume for all properties sold last month jumped 25.9 percent year over year to more than $1.43 billion, and HAR noted homes priced from $500,000 through the millions experienced the biggest increase in sales.
Additionally, the only price category to experience a decrease in sales was the portion of homes below $80,000, which decreased 17.7 percent from December 2011, and sales of foreclosed properties decreased 24 percent. Foreclosures made up 14.2 percent of reported sales, half the share they comprised at the beginning of last year.
Forward-looking indicators continued to improve, as well. Total pending sales at the end of December were up 6.2 percent year over year, and active listings were down 20.3 percent from December 2011.
Meanwhile, the inventory of single-family homes dipped to a level not seen since the previous century. It reached 3.7 months, down 36.2 percent from the same time a year earlier and the lowest level since December 1999. Nationally, the single-family home inventory is at 4.8 months.
