A year after the federal home buyer tax credit gave housing a big shot in the arm, the end of this benefit continues to cast a shadow over the Houston market.
According to data from the local Realtors group, sales in April were down from the same month a year ago, as were the average and median prices. The only good news is that rentals are on the increase.
Single-family sales dropped 14% in April, the Houston Association of Realtors reports. Only the under-$80,000 segment of the market showed increased activity, but that also worked to weigh on pricing. The average price of a single-family house dipped 0.6% to $202,545, while the median slipped 2.2% to $148,000.
Foreclosures accounted for 22% of all property sales in the month, down from 23.5% in March. The median price of April foreclosures fell 10.4% to $79,700 on a year-over-year basis.
All told, 5,534 properties changed hands in the Houston market in April, a 12% decline from the same month a year ago. Total dollar volume for properties sold during the month declined 12.8% to $1.1 billion versus $1.2 billion in April 2010.
HAR Chairman Carlos P. Bujosa, a vice president at Transwestern, says his members continue, “to see tremendous interest in the Houston housing market as local employment numbers strengthen."
For now, though, he says, sales figures "remain skewed as this was the period last year when the final push was on for consumers to beat the April 30 home buyer tax credit deadline."
