March and April were not kind to Houston’s housing market, which recently experienced its second consecutive month of year-over-year declining single-family home sales and average prices in the latest report from the Houston Association of Realtors.
A total of 6,310 single-family homes were sold during the month of April, as opposed to the 6,349 sold last year in April — presenting a 0.6 percent decrease. The average selling price for single-family homes dipped 1 percent, stooping to $278,544.
Townhome and condo sales dropped 12.6 percent. In March, however, that sector saw a 4.7 percent year-over-year increase. The average price increased 4.1 percent to $206,832, and the median price increased 7.3 percent to $153,450. Inventory on townhomes and condos also increased from 2.9 months to 3.4 months.
Also on the decline were total property sales and total dollar volume. Total property sales decreased 2 percent to 7,583. Total dollar volume slipped to $2.02 billion, representing a 1.6 percent decrease.
“There is little to complain about in the April HAR sales report, especially when you take into account the fact that we are comparing current home sales to the Houston housing market’s record 2015 performance,” said HAR Chairman Mario Arriaga. “Indicators continue to point to more sustainable market conditions, as mid-range homes sell well and consumers find that they have more homes from which to choose than they did at this time last year.”
Inventory, on the other hand, increased thanks to new listings. The current inventory supply grew from 2.9 months to 3.6 months.
While total dollar volume and average home sales price have decreased, median home price increased 3.3 percent year-over-year. The $217,000 figure is the highest ever median home sales price in history for the month of April.
At the end of the month, pending sales for single-family homes totaled at 8,213, a 2.3 percent increase year-over-year. Active listings grew significantly to 34,402, which is a 16.7 percent increase since April 2015.
