The following data was gathered from the March Houston MLS Report, published by the Houston Association of Realtors. The data covers and real estate trends from the last twelve months.
HOUSTON — (April/2015) — After February’s decline in sales volume, Houston home sales returned to positive territory in March, with consumers buying newly listed homes before they ever had a chance to replenish the local housing supply. Sales of single-family homes rose 3.8 percent year-over-year in March, with most activity taking place among homes priced between $250,000 and $500,000. The high end of the market also had a gain after experiencing its first decline in many months in February.
March single-family home sales totaled 6,232 units compared to 6,005 a year earlier, according to the latest monthly report prepared by the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR). Buyer demand offset a 7.3 percent increase in new listings, keeping inventory levels down. Months of inventory, the estimated time it would take to deplete the current active housing inventory based on the previous 12 months of sales, increased only fractionally to a 2.8-months supply. That remains well below the current national supply of 4.6 months of inventory.
Home prices achieved record highs for a March. The average price of a single-family home rose 6.5 percent year-over-year to $276,837. The median price—the figure at which half the homes sold for more and half for less—jumped 8.9 percent to $208,000.
March sales of all property types totaled 7,564 units, up 3.6 percent compared to the same month last year. Total dollar volume increased 9.0 percent to $1.9 billion versus $1.8 billion a year earlier.
“It was great to have sales back in the black in March after February’s decline, but in order to satisfy the long-term needs of the Houston housing market, we need to see substantive growth in inventory levels, which remain at record lows,” said HAR Chair Nancy Furst with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Anderson Properties. “It could take the remainder of this year to begin approaching what we consider a ‘balanced market,’ which is typically a five- to six-month supply of homes.”
Houston Real Estate Milestones in March
- Single-family home sales rose 3.8 percent versus March 2014;
- Total property sales were up 3.6 percent year-over-year;
- Total dollar volume increased 9.0 percent, rising from $1.8 billion to $1.9 billion;
- At $208,000, the single-family home median price achieved a record high for a March;
- At $276,837, the single-family home average price also reached a March high;
- Days on Market for single-family homes was 53 days versus 60 days a year earlier;
- Townhouse/condominium sales rocketed 13.8 percent versus March 2014.
| CATEGORIES | MARCH 2014 | MARCH 2015 | CHANGE |
| Total property sales | 7,298 | 7,564 | 3.6% |
| Total dollar volume | $1,808,957,889 | $1,972,184,196 | 9.0% |
| Total active listings | 28,085 | 28,507 | 1.5% |
| Total pending sales | 4,596 | 6,004 | 30.6% |
| Single-family home sales | 6,005 | 6,232 | 3.8% |
| Single-family average sales price | $260,005 | $276,837 | 6.5% |
| Single-family median sales price | $191,000 | $208,000 | 8.9% |
| Single-family months inventory* | 2.6 | 2.8 | 6.2% |
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