August 01, 2012 — Austin
In another example of how Texas is leading the nation’s economic recovery, the real estate market continues to show marked improvements over last year, according to the 2012-Q2 edition of the Texas Quarterly Housing Report issued today by the Texas REALTORS®. Featuring 13% more single-family home sales than the same quarter of the prior year and a median price that was seven percent higher than 2011-Q2, the results demonstrate that Texas’s economic recovery is robust and widespread throughout the state.
“The momentum we saw in the first quarter of this year is continuing and we’re seeing that now not only in increased sales volume, but also in a strong increase in the median price,” said Joe Stewart, chairman of the Texas REALTORS®. “That is good news for Texas homeowners who have been thinking of moving up, but who have remained on the sidelines because they’re concerned about earning full value for their current home.”
In the second quarter of 2012, 67,334 single family homes were sold in Texas, which is 13.04% more than the second quarter of 2011. In addition, the median price in the second quarter of 2012 was $161,400, which is 7.45% more than 2011-Q2.
“One of the most noteworthy aspects of this quarter’s results is the consistency across markets,” said Jim Gaines, Ph.D., an economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. “Occasionally, statewide results can be dominated by trends in Texas’s largest markets due to the large volume of real estate transactions they represent. However, in this case, the increases in both sales volume and median price are seen throughout most of the 48 Texas markets included in the report.”
In addition to improvements in sales volume and median price in the second quarter of 2012, the “months inventory” figure improved. Indicating the balance between supply and demand in the real estate market, the Texas market featured 5.9 months of inventory in 2012-Q2, which is 2.2 months less than 2011-Q2. The Real Estate Center cites 6.5 months of inventory as a market in which demand is balanced with supply.
Gaines explained, “At 5.9 months of inventory, Texas is bordering on a sellers’ market. However, I think that is due as much to a decrease in supply – from fewer foreclosures, lack of new speculative home building, and apprehensive homeowners not listing properties – as it is to increasing demand. Nonetheless, homebuyers should expect competition for desirable properties.”
Chairman Stewart concluded, “Texas has been leading the economic recovery and these results are more proof that our state is one of the nation’s best places to own a home. Now, we must protect the high quality of life that fueled that recovery and work on absorbing the growth of our state. That is the focus of the Texas REALTORS® as we once again begin preparing to advocate for Texas homeowners during the 83rd session of the Texas Legislature in 2013.”
The Texas Quarterly Housing Report is issued four times per year by the Texas REALTORS® with multiple listing service data compiled and analyzed by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.