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With volume softening, a near collapse of the affordable property market, Houston realtors were surprised to read their association's recent pronouncement:
- The year 2007 shaped up to be one of the best on record for property sales in Houston...
And what a drop it was.
December 2007 sales were 23.5% lower than the same month in 2006.
And owners of affordable homes are struggling even ore than a standard market slowdown would suggest. While number of homes sold fell, the overall dollar volume fell by a much smaller amount.
That's because the homes that are selling are the higher priced homes.
In this down market, the median home price THAT SELLS is 5.7% higher than last year.
Realtors can succeed in this environment by catering to the high-end. The liquidiy crisis affecting large banks and their investors is hitting the average middle-class homeowner the hardest.
| ALL CATEGORIES | DECEMBER 2006 | DECEMBER 2007 | PERCENT CHANGE |
| Total property sales | 7,361 | 5,957 | -23.5% |
| Total dollar volume | $1,475,069,282 | $1,251,800,190 | -15.1% |
| Average single-family sales price | $204,843 | $216,433 | +5.7% |
| Median single-family sales price | $150,000 | $153,630 | +2.4% |
| Total active listings | 43,438 | 49,566 | +14.1% |
| Total pending sales | 4,369 | 3,773 | -13.6% |
| Months inventory* | 5.0 | 5.9 | +17.6% |
| HoustonRealNews Market Analyst |