Houston Housing Market Shows Marked Improvements in May: HAR

The Houston housing market made some major strides in May and increased the number of single-family homes sales by 23.8 percent compared to a year ago, according to the ""Houston Association of Realtors"":http://www.har.com/ (HAR).

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Due to the sale of homes $250,000 and up, average and media home prices rose in May. Average prices climbed by 8.5 percent year-over-year to $237,083. The median price, which is the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less, increased 7.1 percent to $168,000.

Foreclosure sales as reported in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) increased 6.6 percent over a year in May. Foreclosures accounted for 17.8 percent of all property sales; in January, the share recorded was 27.8 percent. The median price of May foreclosures rose 4.1 percent to $82,000.

May sales of all property types in Houston totaled 7,327, a 24.2 percent increase compared to last year in May. Total dollar volume for properties sold during the month surged 35.4 percent to $1.6 billion versus $1.2 billion a year earlier.

At a supply of 5.5 months, inventory of single-family homes hit the lowest level since March 2007. A year ago the level in May was 7.9 months. With the national level at 6.6-months, according to data from the National Association of Realtors, the HAR said this illustrates that Houston is outpacing the national housing recovery.