Houston sales market hits expected decline

Recent data indicates Houston homes sales activity will decline in December for the third straight month.

According to the Houston Association of Realtors, pending single-family homes sales at the end of November totaled 5,617, a 6.3 percent drop from a year earlier and an indication that December figures will be down on a year-over-year basis. November’s total includes the sale of both new and existing single-family homes.

If activity is down in December it will represent the seventh time this year where Houston’s monthly sales volume trailed 2014 activity. Seven months of year-over-year declines should equate to an overall decrease in yearly sales volume.

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Spanning January to November of this year, 67,771 single-family homes sold in Houston, a 1.8 percent decline from last year’s first 11 months.

“Houston will likely exit the year with exactly the declines that were forecast coming off record-setting sales in 2014 and an environment of limited inventory and plunging oil prices,” said Nancy Furst, HAR chair.

In November, home sales activity slid 10.5 percent on a year-over-year basis, with a total of 4,595 sales. Existing homes sales accounted for the majority of these transactions.

Of more concern than declining transaction volume, the average sales prices of a sold home dipped for the first time since February 2012.

According to HAR, the average price of a single-family home dropped by 3.5 percent year-over-year to $262,064. However, the median price of a home did reach a record high for a November, $200,000.

A 22 percent decrease in the volume of sold homes priced above $500,000 was cited as the reason for the decline in average price.

Of note, inventory in Houston is holding steady at around 3.5 months of supply.