Houston Overall Statistics for 2007

• Single-family home sales ended the year 4% below the number of sold units found in 2006 with 69,441 MLS recorded sold units. From these final statistics, 2007 was the second best year on record for Houston residential real estate. Before 2007, the second best year was 2005, which recorded 64,821 sales or 7.13% fewer sales than 2007. 
• Dollar volume sold in MLS in 2007 is $14,332,157,821 which represents no change in dollar volume sold over last year. In 2005, $12.2 billion were sold. Dollar volume sold in 2007 is 17.7% more dollar volume than was experienced in 2005.
• Average sales price YTD is $206,393 or 4% greater than this time last year. Average sales price in 2005 was $188,221, so in the last two years, Houston has experienced a 9.65% increase in average sales price. The median sales price, where half the homes sold above and half the homes sold below is $152,000, and that is 1% higher than 2006 and 7.02% higher than 2005...
• Active listings are up by 14% with 35,243 single-family homes on the market and a full 16% higher than found in 2005.
• Contracts written, which represent buyer demand in Houston, are up 2% over this time last year with 49,717 homes that have gone under contract. This says there are more people that want to purchase but for whatever reason did not close. The most likely cause was the mortgage meltdown when many would-be buyers saw their loans and mortgage companies evaporate. This pent-up demand may resurface in 2008, if the mortgage industry returns to normalcy. 
• Average sales price per square foot is $90, which is 3% greater than last year. 
• Days on the Market have remained the same since last year and the average time to sell a home in Houston is 77 days.   This is an improvement from 2005, where it took an average of 82 days to sell a home.
• This year was not as robust as 2006, the first peak home sales year in the new Millennium, yet the Houston market is out-performing 2005, which was also a robust year for real estate in Houston. 

4,620 more units have sold this year than in 2005

                                                Average price per square foot has increased 8.43%

                                                Active listings are up over 2005 by 16%.

The only metric that is not more positive than 2005 is an increase in homes on the market.

• Home price appreciation will slow down in some areas of Houston in 2008 if that specific area’s inventory holds or rises. However, during all market lulls, it is an opportune time for buyers to buy before home prices increase in future years. The market is very positive for sellers because waiting to sell will not render much more appreciable value, but net far more saved in maintenance and monthly expenses.
• Due to the rise in inventory, homes that sell will be staged to optimum condition and priced according to the most recent market comparables.