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

MLS Report for August 2015

THE PACE OF HOUSTON HOME SALES EASES IN AUGUST

Home prices set August highs and inventory edges up

HOUSTON (September 9, 2015) After a couple of months of rising sales, the Houston housing market eased off the accelerator last month, with sales comparable to August 2014 and prices setting new August highs. Homes priced between $150,000 and $500,000 saw moderate gains, with the low and high ends of the market experiencing sales declines.

According to the latest monthly report prepared by the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR), August single-family home sales totaled 7,454 units compared to 7,407 a year earlier, an increase of less than one percent. The time it took to sell the average home held steady at 45 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, rose from a 3.0-months supply last August to a 3.5-months supply. That is slightly above the 3.4-months supply in July 2015, but remains below the current national housing supply of 4.8 months of inventory.

Home prices achieved August highs, with the average price of a single-family home up 2.9 percent year-over-year to $282,233. The median price—the figure at which half the homes sold for more and half for less—rose 4.9 percent to $215,100.

August sales of all property types totaled 8,836 units, flat compared to the same month last year. Total dollar volume edged up 2.6 percent to $2.4 billion.

"The Houston housing market has been robust in 2015, keeping pace with last year’s record-breaking numbers and August turned out to be flat, by and large," said HAR Chair Nancy Furst with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Anderson Properties. "We’ve started seeing signs of more sustainable inventory levels as more new listings come onto the market."


August Monthly Market Comparison

The Houston housing market yielded comparable results in the August 2015 versus August 2014 analysis, with single-family home sales up fractionally, total property sales flat, total dollar volume up slightly, and prices reaching record highs for an August.

Month-end pending sales for single-family homes totaled 7,413, a 1.5 percent decline from a year earlier. Active listings, or the number of available properties, at the end of August rose 15.3 percent to 34,089.

Houston’s housing inventory held its own in August, reaching a 3.5-months supply versus the 3.0-months supply of one year earlier. That remains below the current national supply of homes which stands at a 4.8-months supply, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

CATEGORIES AUGUST 2014 AUGUST 2015 CHANGE
Total property sales 8,838 8,836 0.0%
Total dollar volume $2,293,946,040 $2,354,729,681 2.6%
Total active listings 29,574 34,089 15.3%
Single-family home sales 7,407 7,454 0.6%
Single-family average sales price $274,302 $282,233 2.9%
Single-family median sales price $205,000 $215,100 4.9%
Single-family months inventory* 3.0 3.5 18.4%
Single-family pending sales** 7,525 7,413 -1.5%
* 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.

Single-Family Homes Update

Single Family

Single-family home sales totaled 7,454 in August, a fractional increase of 0.6 percent from August 2014. Home prices reached the highest levels ever for an August in Houston. The single-family average price rose 2.9 percent from last year to $282,233 and the median price jumped 4.9 percent year-over-year to $215,100. The average number of days it took to sell a home, or Days on Market (DOM), was 45 in August, where it has held for the past three months

Single-family home sales tracked on a year-to-date basis were flat in August at 50,532.

Broken out by housing segment, August sales performed as follows:

  • $1 - $79,999: decreased 8.9 percent
  • $80,000 - $149,999: decreased 20.1 percent
  • $150,000 - $249,999: increased 9.1 percent
  • $250,000 - $499,999: increased 5.3 percent
  • $500,000 and above: increased 1.8 percent
  • Single Family Average Home Price

    HAR also breaks out the sales figures for existing single-family homes. Existing home sales totaled 6,532 in August. That is down 1.1 percent versus the same month last year. The average sales price climbed 2.0 percent year-over-year to $265,375 while the median sales price rose 4.2 percent to $200,000.

    Townhouse/Condominium Update

    Sales of townhouses and condominiums slipped 4.0 percent in August. A total of 620 units sold compared to 646 properties in August 2014. The average price, however, edged up 0.8 percent to $197,091 and the median price increased 4.7 percent to $149,000. Inventory grew from a 2.6-months supply to 3.1 months.

    Townhouse/Condominium Sales

    Lease Property Update

    Demand for single-family lease homes rose 4.5 percent in August. The average rent for such properties climbed 3.8 percent to $1,901. Townhouse/condominiums leases were up 10.0 percent in August with their average rent up 4.2 percent to $1,647.

    Houston Real Estate Milestones in August
    • Single-family home sales edged up a fractional 0.6 percent versus August 2014;
    • Total property sales were flat year-over-year at 8,836 units;
    • Total dollar volume increased 2.6 percent to $2.4 billion;
    • At $282,233, the single-family home average price reached a record high for an August;
    • At $215,100, the single-family home median price also achieved a record August high;
    • Single-family homes months of inventory climbed to a 3.5-months supply;
    • Single family home leases were up 4.5 percent while townhome/condominium leases rose 10.0 percent with average rents up year-over-year.
    The computerized Multiple Listing Service of the Houston Association of REALTORS® includes residential properties and new homes listed by 29,000 REALTORS® throughout Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties, as well as parts of Brazoria, Galveston, Waller and Wharton counties. Residential home sales statistics as well as listing information for more than 50,000 properties may 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.)

    Founded in 1918, the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR) is a 29,000-member organization of real estate professionals engaged in every aspect of the industry, including residential and commercial sales and leasing, appraisal, property management and counseling. It is the largest individual dues-paying membership trade association in Houston as well as the second largest local association/board of REALTORS® in the United States.