THE HOUSTON HOUSING MARKET FLEXES ITS MUSCLE IN JUNE

MLS Report for June 2015

THE HOUSTON HOUSING MARKET FLEXES ITS MUSCLE IN JUNE

Sales rise, prices reach new historic highs, and inventory continues to grow

HOUSTON — (July 15, 2015) — The Houston real estate market’s see-saw ride continued following May’s sales dip, with June sales volume up 4.1 percent and home prices setting new record highs. Only homes priced below $150,000 experienced a sales decline.

According to the latest monthly report prepared by the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR), June single-family home sales totaled 7,935 units—the highest one-month volume ever— compared to 7,621 a year earlier. The time it took to sell the average home reached a record low of 43 days.

Months of inventory, the estimated time it would take to deplete the current active housing inventory based on the previous 12 months of sales, increased to a 3.2-months supply versus 2.9 months last June. That is the greatest supply since September 2013, but remains well below the current national supply of 5.1 months of inventory.

Home prices achieved historic highs, with the average price of a single-family home up 6.6 percent year-over-year to $302,942. The median price—the figure at which half the homes sold for more and half for less—rose 4.9 percent to $225,000.

June sales of all property types amounted to a record-setting 9,480 units, an increase of 3.3 percent versus the same month last year. Total dollar volume rose 9.5 percent to $2.7 billion.

"I think it speaks very well for the health of our real estate market when you have a month in which sales are up, rentals are up, inventory is growing, and you’re comparing it all to the record year of 2014,” said HAR Chair Nancy Furst with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Anderson Properties. “We still expect normalization in the marketplace later this year, and that may well mean these alternating up and down sales months, but the bottom line appears to be that there is no lack of interest in housing in Houston, Texas."

June Monthly Market Comparison

The Houston housing market enjoyed across-the-board gains in the June 2015 versus June 2014 analysis, with single-family home sales, total property sales, and total dollar volume all up, and prices reaching the highest levels of all time. Month-end pending sales for single-family homes totaled 8,063, a 10.0 percent increase compared to a year earlier.

Houston's housing inventory expanded in June to a 3.2-months supply versus the 2.9-months supply of one year earlier. That matches the inventory level of September 2013, but is well below the current national supply of homes which stands at a 5.3-months supply, according to the National Association of Realtors.

* 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.
** Effective May 2015, in an effort to be consistent with industry standards, the Houston MLS is now including all categories of pending sales in its reporting. Previously, the Houston MLS did not include “option pending” and “pending continue to show” listings in its reporting of pending sales. The new methodology is now all-inclusive for listings that went under contract during the month.