Houston housing sales for 2012 prove that the housing market is still going strong in Houston. A combination of the substantially low interest rates and the number of new jobs are the driving forces for the 23 percent increase in dollar volume over 2011. In fact, home sales have been going strong for 19 straight months. Inventory is low and prices are increasing.
In December 2012, single-family home sales increased 11.4 percent compared to December 2011, according to the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR). 5,039 contracts were closed and inventory decreased to 3.7 months. The market hasn’t seen an inventory level this low since December 1999.
HAR Chairman, Danny Frank, said “2012 was a phenomenal year for the Houston housing market, thanks to the addition of more than 85,000 new jobs locally as well as continued low interest rates. According to Frank, some sellers are receiving multiple offers on their homes. In addition, prices will continue to rise with this continued demand in the market until inventory levels pick up.
Average sales prices for a single-family home increased 11.3 percent over last year to $243,797. The median price (the dollar amount at which half of the homes sold for more and the other half sold for less) rose 7.8 percent to $172,500. This is a big increase for the Houston home market.
Foreclosed property sales decreased 24 percent over December 2011. When compared to the beginning of 2012, foreclosure sales were at half with a total market share of 14.2 percent. Median prices increased 2.1 percent to $84,200.
Compared to December 2011 sales for all property types increased 12.5 percent for a total of 6,055 in December 2012. The dollar volume increased to 25.9 percent at $1.4 billion compared to $1.1 billion in the previous year. 2012 was a great year for the Houston housing market as sales volume and prices increased substantially over 2011.
The real estate market in Houston had a great December when you compare it to December 2011. The sales totaled 3,027 which is an increase of 6.2 percent for the same month last year. The number of properties available at the end of the month decreased 20.3 percent from the 33,554 that were available December 2011.
There was a 17.7 decrease in homes valued under $70,000. Homes valued between $80,000 and $149,000 increased 7.2 percent, homes valued $150,000 to $249,000 increased 13.3 percent, and homes $250,000 to $499,000 increased 13.3 percent. The largest increase was 39.1 percent for homes valued $500,000 to $1 million.
Source: www.har.com
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