Multiple Listing Service of the Houston Association of REALTORS® includes residential properties and new homes listed by 50,000 REALTORS®
MLS Report for January 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Houstons Luxury Home Market Gets a Boost in January |
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Surge in sales of homes priced $500K and above promotes double-digit price appreciation |
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HOUSTON (February 16, 2010) The Houston real estate market opened 2010 with a mixed bag of readings, making it difficult to determine a clear direction for the months ahead. January sales of single-family homes across the greater Houston area slid 12.3 percent compared to January 2009, according to the latest monthly data compiled by the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR). When broken out by segment, sales of single-family homes priced from $500,000 and above showed dramatic gains in January while sales of homes on the opposite end of the spectrum, those priced from $80,000 and below, fell. Sales of all property types declined 7.4 percent in January on a year-over-year basis. Januarys month-end pending salesthose listings expected to close within the next 30 daystotaled 2,783, down 13.5 percent from last year. That suggests there will likely be another sales decline when the February numbers are tallied. The months inventory of single-family homes for January inched upward to 6.1 months compared to 5.7 months one year earlier, but remains better than the national months inventory of single-family homes of 7.2 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 January sales of all single-family homes in Houston totaled 2,514, down 12.3 percent from January 2009. This is the Houston markets second consecutive monthly decline in sales. However, broken out by segment, sales of single-family homes priced between $250,000 and $500,000 jumped 21.6 percent in January while sales of luxury homesthose priced from $500,000 to the millionssurged 40.0 percent. By contrast, sales of homes in the below-$80,000 segment fell 28.9 percent and those priced between $80,000 and $150,000 slid 19.3 percent. Heightened sales activity in the higher end of the housing market drove pricing up in January. At $144,500, the median sales price for single-family homes rose for the ninth consecutive month, up 11.9 percent from January 2009. Thats its highest median for a month of January in Houston. The national single-family median price reported by NAR is $177,500, 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 January was $194,154, an increase of 18.4 percent from one year earlier. That represents the fourth straight monthly jump in the average price and the highest for a January in Houston. HAR also breaks out the sales performance of existing single-family homes throughout the Houston market. In January 2010, existing home sales totaled 2,071, an 11.9 percent drop from January 2009. The median sales price rose 13.7 percent to $133,000 compared to last year. The average sales price of $180,159 shot up 23.0 percent from its January 2009 level. Townhouse/Condo Update The number of townhouses and condominiums that sold in January rose 14.8 percent compared to one year earlier. In the greater Houston area, 241 units were sold last month versus 210 properties in January 2009. The median price of a townhouse/condominium fell 11.3 percent year-over-year to $111,500. The average price slipped 4.3 percent to $147,501 from January 2009 to January 2010. Lease Property Update Demand for single-family home rentals rose 4.7 percent in January compared to a year earlier. Year-over-year townhouse/condominium rentals climbed 5.1 percent. Houston Real Estate Milestones in January The average price of a single-family home appreciated for a fourth straight month, by 18.4 percent, to $194,154, the highest level for a January in Houston; The median price of a single-family home rose for the ninth consecutive month, by 11.9 percent, to $144,500, the highest level for a January in Houston; 6.1 months inventory of single-family homes compares favorably to the national average of 7.2 months; Townhouse/condominium sales rose 14.8 percent; Total dollar volume grew 5.6 percent, reaching $565 million. |
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The computerized Multiple Listing Service of the Houston Association of Realtors® includes residential properties and new homes listed by 25,000 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. |