Houston real estate market April 2008 - prices increase despite less sales!

Houston's April 2008 sales results are out and the Houston market is still fairly stable. For the third month in a row the number of homes sold is less when compared to the number of homes that sold last year. However the actual sales price rose to the highest level ever according to the Houston Association of REALTORS. The average sales price rose by .09 percent to 207,270. In April of last year the average sales price was $205,490. The median sales price maintained at $150,000.

I was a little confused about the difference between the median price and the average price so consulted HAR. The median price is the price that is midway between the least expensive and most expensive home sold in an area during a given period of time. During that time, half the buyers bought homes that cost more than the median price and half bought homes for less than the median price. The average home price is the sum of prices of all homes sold in a certain area in a certain period, divided by the number of properties sold in the same area in that period.

This has been an interesting trend. Our prices are going up but we are not selling as many homes. I personally think this has everything to do with what is going on in the lending industry. It is just harder for people to get loans which correlates in not having as many buyers as we use to have. The days of the 100% loan are almost gone so the buyers need to have at least a little cash to be able to get in to a house.

I think this has to do with the fact that we never saw the huge increases in prices like much of the country; therefore we did not have a bubble to burst. This makes our area a bit of an anomaly compared to the rest of the country. However, there has been a ripple effect. Point in case is the number of homes that have been sold compared to the number sold last year. It is interesting however to see that our prices have really not been affected.

We had some milestones in April. We had the largest number of single family homes sold so far in 2008 with the highest average single family sales price. The sales of single family homes below $80,000 rose by 27.3 percent. The sales of townhouse and condominiums reached the highest level since August with the highest median and average price.

Our HAR chairman, Michael Levitin summed our market up quite nicely so I am going to leave you with his words.

"Coming off of two consecutive record years, the Houston real estate market is demonstrating relative stability while other cities continue to suffer dramatic declines in both sales and pricing," said Michael Levitin, HAR chairman. "We avoided a bubble thanks to Houston's history of moderate growth in home values. The healthy local job market and diverse economy have created dynamics that are conducive to a faster recovery and we anticipate conditions to improve in the second half of the year."

If you are considering a move to the Houston Northwest area or the surrounding areas of Spring, Tomball, Magnolia or The Woodlands please give me a call or visit my website.

For all your Northwest Houston Real Estate needs, contact me today!
Marchel Peterson
Results Realty
Cell: 832-721-8332