Houston … We Have a Housing Problem

In data news that cannot be considered serendipitous, Houston’s once vibrant housing market experienced a second consecutive month of falling home sales that resulted in the first average home price decline since February 2012.

New data released by the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) has determined that November single-family home sales dropped year-over-year by 10.5 percent, with a total of 4,595 sales compared to 5,135 a year earlier. Sales of all property types totaled 5,623 units, a 10.1 percent year-over-year tumble, while the total dollar volume fell 13.5 percent to $1.4 billion.

All price segments experienced a sales volume decline in November except for Houston homes in the $150,000 to $250,000 price segment. Inventory remained at the 3.5-month supply of the past five months, which is below the national housing supply of 4.8 months of inventory.

“The Houston housing market saw further correction in November and will likely exit the year with exactly the declines that were forecast coming off record-setting sales in 2014 and an environment of limited inventory and plunging oil prices,” said HAR Chairwoman Nancy Furst with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Anderson Properties.