There were 58,019 single-family homes sold in Texas during the third quarter, up 18% over the same period last year, the Texas Quarterly Housing Report said. Volume, one economist noted, has returned to levels last seen eight and nine years ago, when the markets acted in a more normal fashion.
Prices were flat on a year-over-year basis, with the median unchanged at $151,800 and the average price down by less than 1% to $197,833.
The boost in sales was expected, said Dwight Hale, chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors, because the normal 2010 pattern was disrupted by the homebuyer tax credit pushing transactions ahead into the second quarter.
Jim Gaines, an economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, added, "the market is starting to look like it did before the real estate boom and bust. Sales this quarter are comparable to levels in 2002 and 2003, indicating the market is returning to a more normal pace."
Another sign of a more balanced market: inventory of properties for sale in Texas was at 7.4 months for the third quarter, down from 8% the year prior. But Gaines added, while there isn't the large backlog of foreclosures that some other states have, there are some pending and those properties coming on the market will impact the inventory data.
