Houston single-family real estate continued its upward trend in November with an 11% increase in home sales, or 3,973 sales. Dollar volume sales were up 6% at $822,287,837. The median price of November home sales were $154,950, a 3% increase over last year. Two of the most encouraging statistics for November were pending sales and listing inventory. Pending sales were up a whopping 19%, which means 19% more contracts were written in November with a closing date some time in the future. It now appears that although the expectation was for Houston to experience the same year as last, it will probably close the year with 5% more sales and most likely a higher median sales price than last year. Active listings fell 15% to 27,749 homes on the market. Fewer homes on the market and higher buyer demand is a recipe for rising home values, if the trend continues as it has in the last few months.
Here is a snapshot of November YTD 2011:
| Houston Real Estate Information Services [MLS]November YTD 2011 | ||
| Measurement | Amount | % change from 2010 |
| # of sales | 49,061 | 4% |
| Dollar volume | $10,457,370,447 | 5% |
| Average sales price | $213,150 | 1% |
| Median sales price | $154,500 | 1% |
| Contracts written | 32,619 | 8% |
| # of active listings | 31,248 | -3% |
As you can see above, the overall year is positive in all categories and that alone makes it a much better year than 2010.
What price class of homes are the top selling homes in Houston?
| Top Ten Selling Price ClassesHouston Single-Family Real Estate
The Year 2011 thru 11/30/2011 |
|||
| Price Class | Sales Year to Date | Active Listings | Months of Inventory |
| 1. $200,000-$249,999 | 4,814 | 2,848 | 6.5 |
| 2 $300,000-$399,999 | 3,903 | 2,460 | 7.0 |
| 3. $250,000-$299,999 | 3,621 | 2,156 | 6.6 |
| 4. $120,000-$129,999 | 2,371 | 1,399 | 6.5 |
| 5. $130,000-$139,999 | 2,268 | 1,267 | 6.2 |
| 6. $110,000-$119,999 | 2,261 | 1,241 | 6.1 |
| 7. $80,000-$89,999 | 2,168 | 1,137 | 5.8 |
| 8. $140,000-$149,999 | 2,113 | 1,244 | 6.6 |
| 9. $90,000-$99,999 | 2,043 | 1,253 | 6.8 |
| 10 $150,000-$159,999 | 2,013 | 1,098 | 5.9 |
The refreshing part of the above table is one that is not evident unless you peruse all prior blogs on this topic. It’s the fact that all price classes have experienced fewer months of inventory this month than in previous months. Many price classes above are on the low end of a buyers market, many are balanced and some price classes reached the sellers market. Homes with a Months of Inventory over 6 months represents a buyers market, 6 months is a balanced market and below 6 months is a sellers market. The months of inventory trend has moved closer to a balanced market over the last few months than anything seen within the last 2 years.
With all the economic uncertainty, we are truly blessed to live in Houston which has one of the strongest markets in the nation. Houston never participated in the bubble and although we were not immune to its national impact, Houston appears to be one of the first markets to be pulling out.
For more on the Houston market, go to http://media.garygreene.com/index.php?s=38&item=328.
Information compiled by the Houston Association of Realtors® Multiple Listing Service and the Real Estate Center for Texas A&M. Blog written by Toni Nelson, Director of Strategic Initiatives for Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors®.
Tags: Houston Real Estate
