Monthly Housing Update

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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®

July 2000 Sales
Median Price of Existing Homes Remains Strong in July
Active Listings Continue Upward Trend as Total Sales Dip
 
HOUSTON (August 10, 2000) – One month after reaching an all-time high, the median price of single-family existing homes reached the second highest amount ever recorded, according to statistics released today by the Houston Association of Realtors’ Multiple Listing Service. The median price of single-family existing homes hovered at $121,900 in July marking the fourth time this year the median price has established a new record.

Total sales for the month of July topped out at 5,183, the third highest total ever reached in the month. However, total sales dropped by 7.4 percent in comparison to July 1999. This represents the second time this year since 1994 that total sales for a month have decreased when compared to the same month from the previous year.

Despite the dip in sales, total home sales are still slightly ahead of last year’s record-setting pace, with 32,769 existing homes sold to date. Year-to-date existing home sales for the same period in 1999 totaled 32,534.

As a result of the high median price, the total dollar volume closed last month was $779,933,619, an increase of 0.7 percent compared to last July’s total of $774,496,933. Despite the high prices, single-family existing homes spent only 66 days on the market, sharing the record with last July.

"This continues to be a very exciting and somewhat unpredictable year in residential real estate," said Frankie Jefferson, madam chairman of the Houston Association of Realtors. "Despite the dip in total sales, our year-to-date figures indicate that 2000 has been an extremely strong year while maintaining a record-setting pace.".

While existing home sales were significantly lower than last year’s total of 5,599, the median price of $121,900 was 11.8 percent higher than last July’s $109,000. Buyers opened 4,020 contracts in July, a slight decrease from July 1999. Open contracts, also referred to as pending sales, are a traditional indicator of closed sales 30 to 60 days ahead.

While existing home sales were significantly lower than last year’s total of 5,599, the median price of $121,900 was 11.8 percent higher than last July’s $109,000. Buyers opened 4,020 contracts in July, a slight decrease from July 1999. Open contracts, also referred to as pending sales, are a traditional indicator of closed sales 30 to 60 days ahead.

Available inventory continued to escalate, rising to 26,328 last month, up significantly over 25,698 in June. This also represents an 11 percent increase in active listings compared to 23,713 for the same month last year.
 
July Comparison
  July 1999 July 2000 Percent Change
Total property sales 5,599 5,183 -7.4%
Total dollar volume $774,500,000 $779,900,000 +0.7%
Median price, single-family home $109,000 $121,900 +11.8%
Days on market 66 66 0.0%
Active Listings 23,713 26,328 +11.0%
 
High Rise Properties, Townhouse/Condo and Country Homes Update

HARMLS reported a tremendous increase in the median price for high rise properties for July, soaring 102.6 percent to $314,000 from last year’s $155,000. High rise sales increased to 45 last month compared to 30 in the same month last year.

Townhouse/condominium figures also rose last month with 477 sales and a median price of $72,000 compared to July 1999’s totals of 466 and $68,000, respectively. Country homes decreased slightly in median price by 14 percent from $141,740 this year from $165,000 last July, while sales decreased from 23 last July to 21 this year.

Top MLS Areas in July

Among the MLS areas experiencing significant increases in median price in July over last year were:

Area 15 (Montgomery County Southwest) – from $157,300 in 1999 to $179,500 this year;
Area 20 (Bellaire South) – from $95,000 to $124,500;
Area 21 (Bellaire West) – from $82,500 to $105,470;
Area 22 (Central West) – from $272,000 to $384,000;
Area 23 (Memorial) –from $360,500 to $408,000;
Area 31 (West) – from $142,000 to $184,500;
Area 35 (Hempstead West) – from $109,900 to $141,000; and
Area 40 (Montgomery County Southeast) – from $66,450 to $94,000.
 
The computerized Multiple Listing Service of the Houston Association of Realtors includes residential properties and new homes listed by more than 17,000 Realtors throughout Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties, as well as parts of Brazoria, Galveston, Waller and Wharton counties. For specific questions regarding a certain area, contact your Realtor. 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 include 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.)

The Houston Association of Realtors is the largest trade association in Houston and the largest local Realtor association in the nation. Residential home sales statistics as well as listing information for more than 34,000 listings can be found on the Internet at https://www.HAR.com.