Houston Home Sales Looking Up

Existing home sales rose for the second straight month in April in the greater Houston area, according to new figures compiled by the Houston Association of Realtors. Single-family home sales climbed 26.7% in April compared to the same month a year ago, with all segments reporting gains except for the under $80,000 sector, which remained flat, according to HAR. Although the biggest gains took place among houses priced above $500,000, the average sales price in the region in April stood at $206,414, a gain of 6.8% from a year ago. Some 6,200 properties changed hands during the month, for a total volume of $1.2 billion. At the same time, the number of available listings rose 8% to nearly 49,000, an inventory of roughly 6.5 months at the current sales pace. Still, that compares favorably to the national inventory of 8 months.