MLS Report for December 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Houston Housing Market Sees Strong Price Appreciation in December |
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2009 year-end sales figures reflect normalization following distortions caused by Hurricane Ike |
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HOUSTON (Jan. 19, 2010) The Houston real estate market closed out 2009 with a more realistic snapshot of local conditions, ending three months of sales readings that appeared high when compared to the fall of 2008 due to Hurricane Ikes crippling effects on housing back then. According to the latest monthly data compiled by the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR), December volume of single-family home sales across the greater Houston area dipped 2.1 percent compared to December 2008. That represents the first decline since last August. Total December property sales were flat on a year-over-year basis. The Houston housing market concluded calendar year 2009 on sturdier ground than 2008, with only a slight decline in property sales and pricing that was generally flat. There was an 8.2 percent decline in volume of total property sales and total dollar volume tumbled 10.7 percent. The median single-family home price edged up 0.7 percent in 2009 to $153,000; the average sales price for a single family home was $203,626, down 2.2 percent on a year-over-year basis.
December Monthly Market Comparison Decembers month-end pending salesthose listings expected to close within the next 30 daystotaled 2,700, which was 17.9 percent lower than last year and may signal another decline in sales volume in January. The months inventory of single-family homes for December came in at 5.8 months, up from 5.6 months one year earlier, but remains better than the national months inventory of single-family homes of 6.5 months, reported by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). |
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* Months inventory estimates the number of months it will take to deplete current active inventory based on the prior 12 months sales activity. This figure is representative of the single-family homes market. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Single-Family Homes Update At $152,550, the median sales price for single-family homes rose for the eighth consecutive month, up 5.2 percent from December 2008. The national single-family median price reported by NAR is $171,900, illustrating the continued higher value and lower cost of living that consumers enjoy in the Houston market. The average price of single-family homes in December was $219,214, an increase of 15.1 percent from one year earlier. That represents the third straight monthly jump in the average price, which reached the second highest level for all of 2009 and the highest for a December in Houston. December sales of single-family homes in Houston totaled 4,456, down 2.1 percent from December 2008. This is the first decline in sales volume since last August. HAR also reports existing home sales statistics for the single-family segment of the real estate market. In December 2009, existing single-family home sales totaled 3,611, a 3.0 percent increase from December 2008. At $138,950, the median sales price for existing homes in the Houston area rose 7.7 percent compared to last year. The average sales price of $202,019 shot up 19.7 percent from its December 2008 level. Townhouse/Condo Update The number of townhouses and condominiums that sold in December rose 11.7 percent compared to one year earlier. In the greater Houston area, 429 units were sold last month versus 384 properties in December 2008. The median price of a townhouse/condominium dipped 1.6 percent year-over-year to $123,000. The average price retreated 6.2 percent to $156,026 from December 2008 to December 2009. Lease Property Update Demand for single-family home rentals rose 3.1 percent in December compared to a year earlier. Year-over-year townhouse/condominium rentals climbed 4.7 percent. Houston Real Estate Milestones in December The median price of a single-family home rose for the eighth consecutive month, by 5.2 percent, to $152,550; The average price of a single-family home appreciated for a third straight month, by 15.1 percent, to $219,214, the second highest level of 2009 and the highest for a December in Houston; 5.8 months inventory of single-family homes compares favorably to the national average of 6.5 months; Townhouse/condominium sales rose 11.7 percent; Total dollar volume grew 12.9 percent, reaching $1.1 billion. |
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The computerized Multiple Listing Service of the Houston Association of Realtors® includes residential properties and new homes listed by 24,000 Realtors® throughout Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties, as well as parts of Brazoria, Galveston, Waller and Wharton counties. Residential home sales statistics as well as listing information for more than 50,000 properties may be found on the Internet at https://www.har.com. |