Single-family home sales rose 17% in July in comparison to July 2010. This is truly positive news in a year where a cloud of uncertainty hovers incessantly over the economy. While this is good news, some of the increase can be attributed to being compared to last July when an anomaly occurred in the market. July 2010 was the first month following the expiration of the Homebuyers Tax Credit when sales declined dramatically. When July home buyers would normally be in the market, many capitalized on the tax credit and bought a home before July. July 2011 year-to-date sales are a better indicator of the state of the market. Home sales are down 2% year-to-date from last year. The upside is that July experienced a double-digit increase in contracts written. This indicates that 2011 will probably end with sales at or below 2010 levels.
Here’s a snapshot of the Houston single-family market:
| Houston Single-Family Homes Houston Real Estate Info Services [July Month and YTD 2011 vs. 2010] | ||||
| Metric | # Sales July ‘11 | % Change from July ‘10 | # Sales YTD July ‘11 | % Change July YTD ‘10 |
| # of sales | 5,034 | 17% | 30,950 | -2% |
| Dollar volume | $1,128,169,740 | 18% | $6,651,648,072 | 0% |
| Avg. Sales Price | $224,110 | 1% | $214,916 | 3% |
| Med. Sales Price | $160,000 | 0% | $153,900 | 1% |
| Contracts written | 3,077 | 11% | 21,468 | 5% |
| # of listings | 32,096 | -10% | 32,312 | 3% |
For information on specific areas of Houston, click here.
For a glimpse of the Houston Hotness Index by area, click here.
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Information provided by the Houston Association of Realtors® Information Services and the Real Estate Center at Texas A & M University. Written by Toni Nelson, Director of Strategic Initiatives for Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors®.
