Monthly Housing Update

Press Releases

Media Contacts

Matthew Burrus

Chief Communications Officer

David Mendel

Public Relations Manager

Multiple Listing Service of the Houston Association of REALTORS® includes residential properties and new homes listed by 50,000 REALTORS®

February 2004 Sales
Home-Buying Season Gears Up with Largest Number of Homes Ever Sold in February
Continued Low Interest Rates Sustain Strong Sales
 
HOUSTON (March 16, 2004) – Signaling the beginning of a robust home-buying season, home sales in February reached an all-time high, increasing by 14 percent this February versus last February. Total property sales in February, consisting of single-family homes, town homes, multi-family homes, country homes, high-rise properties and lots listed on the MLS topped out at 4,692, representing the highest number of total sales ever recorded during the month of February.

Available inventory in the greater-Houston area also grew as low interest rates in Houston’s residential real estate market provided buyers with a great selection from which to choose. According to the Houston Association of REALTORS’® Multiple Listing Service, Realtors listed approximately 10 percent more properties in the MLS system during February when compared to last February. Currently there are 38,017 Realtor listings in the system, with 3,723 sales slated to close during the next month.

“Contrary to our expectations, the current economic climate places little pressure on interest rates, thus strong home sales are activating a successful home-buying season in Houston,” said HAR Chairman and Stewart Title Chief Economist Ted C. Jones, Ph.D. “Attractive investment returns are seeing more and more people turning to real estate as a valuable option.”

All listing categories combined, Houston’s market as a whole showed an increase across the board including sales, available inventory, pending sales and overall total dollar volume.
February Market Comparison (all categories)
All Classes February 2003 February 2004 Percent Change
Total property sales 4,115 4,692 +14%
Total dollar volume $623 million $764 million +22.6%
Active listings 34,598 38,017 +9.9%
Pending sales 3,269 3,723 +13.9%
Months inventory* 7.7 7.9 +2.6%
* Months inventory estimates the number of months it will take to deplete current active inventory based on the prior twelve months sales activity.
 
Single-family Homes Update

Total sales for single-family homes increased 15.7 percent to 3,815 from last year’s 3,298. The median price of single-family homes grew to $130,960 in February, compared to $128,750 last February.

Houston Real Estate Milestones
  • The most homes ever sold in the month of February.
  • The highest amount of available inventory in the Houston market since February 1988.
  • The highest single-family median price ever recorded in the month of February.
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    The computerized Multiple Listing Service of the Houston Association of Realtors includes residential properties and new homes listed by 18,000 Realtors throughout Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties, as well as parts of Brazoria, Galveston, Waller and Wharton counties. The Houston Association of Realtors is the largest trade association in Houston and the second largest local Realtor association in the nation. Residential home sales statistics as well as listing information for more than 35,000 listings can be found on the Internet at https://www.HAR.com.

    The information published and disseminated to the HAR Multiple Listing Services is communicated verbatim, without change by Multiple Listing Services, as filed by MLS participants.

    The MLS does not verify the information provided and disclaims any responsibility for its accuracy. All data is preliminary and subject to change. Monthly sales figures reported since November 1998 includes a statistical estimation to account for late entries. Twelve-month totals may vary from actual end-of-year figures. (Single-family detached homes were broken out separately in monthly figures beginning February 1988.)