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®

January 2004 Sales
Houston Sets Pace for 2004 with Vital Real Estate Sector
Recovering Local Economy and Projected Job Growth Contribute to Healthy Housing Market
 
HOUSTON (Feb. 17, 2004) – With national and local economies climbing to recovery and job growth on the rise, home sales in Houston continue to grow in line with current revitalization. Sales for the month of January totaled 3,760, an increase of 0.5 percent over last January’s total of 3,743. By a slight margin, this represents the highest number of sales ever recorded in the month of January.

Additionally, the number of available properties in January 2004 consisting of single-family homes, town homes, multifamily, country homes, high-rise properties and lots listed on the MLS topped out at 37,272, representing the highest level of inventory ever recorded in the month of January. Available properties totaled 34,012 during January 2003.

“Three factors support any real estate economy: job growth, continued low interest rates and a good balance of available property,” said HAR Chairman and Stewart Title Chief Economist Ted C. Jones, Ph.D. “Having each of these factors currently in place, the business climate in Houston portends a healthy real estate market for 2004.”

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.
January Market Comparison (all categories)
All Classes January 2003 January 2004 Percent Change
Total property sales 3,743 3,760 +0.5%
Total dollar volume $562 million $577 million +2.7%
Active listings 34,012 37,272 +9.6%
Pending sales 3,211 3,334 3.8%
Months inventory* 7.8 8.9 +14.1%
* 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 decreased 2 percent to 2,991 from last year’s 3,053. The median price of single-family homes dropped to $126,000 in January, compared to $129,000 last January.

Houston Real Estate Milestones
  • The most homes ever sold in the month of January.
  • The highest amount of available inventory in the Houston market since October 1992.
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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.)