July was a "typical" month for housing sales in the Houston metro area, according to the local Realtors group. But because of last year's federal tax credits, which tended to push sales forward to beat the April 30 deadline, July's sales figures look somewhat stronger than they actually are.
Sales of single-family homes in July rose 16.7% from a year earlier, the Houston Association of Realtors reported. It was the second consecutive month of gains, and all segments of the market – from below $80,000 to $500,000 above -- showed positive results.
However. when compared to July 2009, when there was no unusual factors such as Hurricane Ike in 2008 or the 2010 tax credits, sales were actually down 12.2%.
Still, HAR isn't complaining. After all, it was the third month this year that the sales volume entered positive territory. June and January were the other two months. And the average selling price – $224,110 – was the highest its ever been in the region for a July.
"It is still premature to label this latest increase in home sales a true positive indicator," said HAR President Carlos P. Bujosa, who works at Transwestern. "But with the effects of last year's tax credit fading and local employment figures strengthening, we should soon have an accurate reading on the Houston real estate market."
Foreclosure sales reported in the Multiple Listing Service increased 13.5% in July compared to one year earlier, accounting for 19.6% of all property sales, up slightly from the June level but lower than the first five months of the year. At the same time, the median price of foreclosures was unchanged at $84,000 on a year-over-year basis.
In all, 5,962 properties of all types changed hands in July, a 17.1% increase from a year ago. Together, the properties were worth $1.27 billion.
At the same time, the number of active listings declined 9.5% at the end of the month, to 50,022. And the inventory of single-family homes dipped from a 7.7 months' supply to 7.6 months, which is significantly better than the national average of 9.5 months as reported by the National Association of Realtors.
