Houston real estate expert, Jan Jackson, is reporting that sales fell 16 percent last month, though this was an improvement from November figures.

She notes, "The average price of a single-family home in Houston dropped 10.4 percent last month to $192,135 compared to December 2007, but rose 1.0 percent to $208,266 on a year-to-date basis. At $145,000, the median price of a single-family home in December fell 6.1 percent year-over-year. The median price represents the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less. On a year-to-date basis, the median price was unchanged at $152,000.

Realtors Meg and Jim Zoller note that Houston hasn't had the harsh market that other areas of the country have seen, saying, "Although the whole nation has been affected by the economy and bad debt,the problems have affected Houston housing much less than most other areas of the country. The year 2007 was the second best year in Houston on record based on the HAR stats. Total property sales were lower in 2007 than in 2006, but total dollar volume was a record high. So in a nutshell, less homes were sold, but for more money."

Published: January 30, 2009

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