Home sales jumped around 10 percent in May as prices continued climbing amid a tight market, new data show.

House hunters in the region bought 3,608 homes last month, up from 3,290 in May 2018, according to the San Antonio Board of Realtors.

About 62 percent of the houses sold fell into the $200,000 to $500,000 price range while 31 percent cost less than $200,000, a price tag considered “affordable” or “entry-level.”

Houses that cost more than $500,000 made up about 6 percent of sales.

The median price of a new home in San Antonio and surrounding areas hit $238,800, ticking up 3 percent from May 2018. In Bexar County alone, however, the median price was $224,900, lower than $400,000 in Travis County, $240,000 in Harris County and $262,500 in Dallas County.

“San Antonio has continued to be an attractive place for businesses and families to relocate to due to our affordability and quality of life,” said Gilbert Gonzalez, SABOR’s president and CEO. “Fortunately, there are still homes available at all price points, meaning buyers have options when looking for the property that is right for them.”

The stock of homes in Bexar County and neighboring counties remained cramped in May with 3.8 months’ worth of inventory, a metric assessing how long it would take buyers to grab every house currently on the market.

Six months’ worth of inventory is typically deemed a healthy balance between buyers and sellers. The San Antonio market continues to lean toward sellers.

There are signs that the market may loosen up soon. New home production in San Antonio rose during the first quarter, according to Jack Inselmann, an economist who analyzes the local housing market for Metrostudy.

Builders started working on 3,301 homes in the first quarter, a 21 percent increase over the same stretch last year.

Home sales also rose across Texas in May, increasing 2.9 percent to 33,456 homes sold, SABOR reports. The median price also jumped about 3 percent to $248,500.

Pending sales nationwide fell last month and the Midwest was the only major region to see growth, the National Association of Realtors reported. The organization has not yet released its May data.

The decline didn’t reflect lower mortgage rates and other positive trends, said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

“Mortgage applications and consumer confidence have been steadily rising,” he said. “It’s inevitable for sales to turn higher in a few months.”

Inventory of homes under $250,000 stood at a tight 3.3 months in April across the country while the stock of houses priced at $1 million and above was 8.9 months.

“We are seeing migration to more affordable regions, particularly in the South, where there has been recent job growth and homes are more affordable,” Yun said.

madison.iszler@express-news.net