HOUSTON (Houston Chronicle) – A three-year string of positive monthly home sales data came to an end in May.
Single-family home sales here fell 7.3 percent, according to the Houston Association of Realtors.
The decline is attributed to the area’s lack of housing inventory. The number of available homes at month’s end fell 10.9 percent to 28,712.
Pending sales for all property types totaled 4,922, a 3.8 percent decline from last year. Home rentals jumped 20.4 percent compared to a year ago with the average rent increasing 4.5 percent to $1,727 per month.
A 10 percent increase in homes selling for more than $500,000 helped bring the median sales price higher — a record $200,000 or 6.4 percent higher than last year.
Homes stayed on the market an average of 50 days last month, down ten days from the previous month and the shortest time on record.
Month’s inventory went up to a 2.8-month supply after holding steady at 2.6 months from December through April.
May townhouse and condominium sales rose 4.8 percent from a year earlier with the median price increasing 2.7 percent to $143,750 and inventory falling to a 2.6-month supply.
