Houston housing market sees another big drop

(Houston Chronicle) (Houston Chronicle) Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Houston housing market sees another big drop 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Houston-area home sales fell 10.5 percent in November, the second straight double-digit decline, a new report shows.

Last month, 4,595 single-family homes changed hands, down from 5,135 a year ago, the Houston Association of Realtors said Wednesday.

The townhouse and condominium market fell 10.3 percent in November and the median price plunged 15.2 percent to $130,000. Inventory grew to a 3.2-month supply.

The local housing market has been affected by low oil prices, which have led to thousands of layoffs throughout Houston's energy industry. More job cuts are expected next year.

Energy companies and manufacturers could shed another 18,000 jobs next year, in addition to the at least 29,000 lost this year, according to a report released this week by the Greater Houston Partnership.

"Houston won't sink into recession, but growth will be much, much slower, and to some that might

feel like a recession," the partnership report warned.

Overall, home prices are still on the upswing. The median price for a single-family home last month was $200,000, up 2.2 percent over the November of last year, according to the association, which tracks homes sold primarily in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties.

After remaining stagnant for the last several months, housing inventory fell slightly in November, coming in at 3.4 months, meaning it would take that long to sell all the homes on the market based on recent trends. Experts are split on what they think amounts to a balanced market where neither buyer nor seller are in a better position to negotiate. The longtime benchmark has been six months, though some believe that's too high.

Active listings, or the number of available properties, at the end of November was up 21.5 percent to 33,272.

"The Houston housing market saw further correction in November and will likely exit the year with exactly the declines that were forecast coming off record-setting sales in 2014 and an environment of limited inventory and plunging oil prices," the association's chairwoman Nancy Furst said in a statement.

Home sales fell 10 percent in October, the worst decline in more than four years and the first double-digit drop since spring 2011.