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.
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.
