The oil industry’s downturn coupled with traditional seasonality pushed Houston’s home sales activity down by double digits in October.
Single-family homes sales in the metro dropped by 10.2 percent on a year-over-year basis, with a total of 5,873 sales occurring last month, according to a report from the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR). In comparison, 6,541 single-family homes sold during October 2014.
Last month’s decline in activity marks the fifth time this year monthly home sales declined on a year-over-year basis.
Additionally, month-end pending sales totaled 6,374, a 2.7 percent drop from a year earlier. This total suggests that slower sales may extend into November.
“At the beginning of the year, we discussed how Houston home sales would normalize by the end of 2015, and after an impressive run that rivaled last year’s record levels, it looks like the forecast is coming true in the fourth quarter,” said Nancy Furst, HAR’s chair.
Activity in the $500,000-plus home arena dropped by 10.4 percent.
While sales activity dipped, average and median home prices both climbed to record levels for an October. The average price of a single-family home reached $271,648, a 3.7 percent year-over-year rise, while the median price increased by 6.6 percent to $205,000.
Active listings at the end of October rose 18.9 percent to 33,692 properties. The metro’s current inventory sits at 3.5 months of supply.
HAR also noted that townhomes/condo sales dropped by 17.3 percent in October with average sales rice flat at $196,242.
