2006 YTD Review of the Market for Houston and surrounding areas:

Houston Overall Statistics YTD January 2006

Single-family home sales are up by 13% in sold units over January YTD 2005 sales with 3,641 MLS recorded sold units,

*Dollar volume sold in MLS through January YTD 2006 is $652,321,560 which is an 18% increase in dollar volume sold over last year.
*Average sales price YTD is $179,160 or 4% greater than this time last year.
*Active listings are down by 1% with 28,480 single-family homes on the market.
*Contracts written, which represent January YTD buyer demand in Houston is up 15% over this time last year with 3,414 homes that have gone under contract.
*Average sales price per square foot is $80, which is 3% greater than last year.
*Days on the Market, a statistic that is good if it is declining, has gone down by 4% since last year and the average time to sell a home in Houston is 87 days.
*With sales and contracts pending on the upswing in the first month of the year, and active listings and days on the market on the decline, home price appreciation, even in single digit denominations, is a high probability.

Clear Lake

*Clear Lake single-family home sales have increased by 3 units over January YTD 2005 with 130 homes sold in 2006 as compared to 127 last year.
*Contracts written and pending to close year-to-date are even with last year for a total of 110 MLS recorded pending sales.
*Homes listed and on the market in Clear Lake are down by 3% from this time last year with 732 single-family homes on the market today as compared to 755 last year.
*Clear Lake’s Average sales price is down by 1.5% and currently stands at $170,491, as compared to $172,975 last year during the same time frame.
*Days on the market register at 79, which represents a decline of 1-day less on the market to sell a home than last year...
*Clear Lake was ranked #6 on the January Houston Hotness Index because 15% of all its’ listings went under contract during that one month!


Champions / Spring Z 13

*Sales have increased dramatically in the Champions / Spring Market area over YTD January 2005 by 57% with 184 MLS recorded home sales!
*Listings are DOWN in the Champions / Spring Market area by 13% over this time last year with 1,377 homes listed and on the market.
*Contracts pending are up by 25% with 183 homes receiving contracts YTD through January 2006. Contracts in January last year registered at 146.
*Average sales price is also higher than last years’ average sales price and currently stands at $169,579. Last year, average sales price was $163,556.
*The Champions Market area currently has 5.1 months of inventory. Last year, the Champions Market had 6.5 months of inventory, which is a considerable improvement in supply.
In January 2006, 13.3% of all listings in the Champions area received a contract during the month, according to the Houston Hotness Index!

Conroe – Montgomery County NW – Area 39

*Sales are down by 2 units in NW Montgomery County from this time last year over January 2006 with 70 homes sales recorded in MLS as compared to 72 last year.
*Contracts written year-to-date are up 44% with 79 recorded pending contracts year-to-date as opposed to 55 last year.
*Listings are up over this time last year by 5%. There are currently 910 homes on the market in the area.
*Average sales price is up over last year [13%] and currently stands at $218,623.
*The area has 7.8 months of inventory as compared to 8.6 last year, which is an improvement in home supply. The average price per square foot is $95 and days to sell a home are 128, which is down from last years’ 157.
*The Houston Hotness Index indicates that the area sold 8.7% of its supply in the month of January.


Fort Bend Sugar Land Z 29

*Sugar Land has experienced a 16% increase in single-family home sales over January 2005 with 108 home sales as compared to 93 home sales last year.
*Contracts written in Sugar Land are up by 17 units with 88 units pending to close.
* Sugar Land’s average sales price is up by 14% over January 2005 and now stands at $219,480 as compared to last year’s $192,603.
*Sugar Land homes on the market are down by 32% with 519 homes on the market as compared to last year’s 687.
*There are 3 months of inventory in Sugar Land as compared to last year’s 4 months of inventory, and that makes for a very healthy seller’s market.

*It takes 80 days on average to sell a home in Sugar Land whereas last year, it took 73. Since this statistic does not compute with other statistics in this area, the only rationale would be that homes that have been on the market for a lengthy time, sold in January. The market timing enabled January home sellers to capitalize on less competition or a depletion of supply,
*Sugar Land area [Z29] ranked Number 1 on the Houston Hotness Index in January, with 17% of its listings receiving a contract during the month.
*With Hotness Index’s like Sugar Land, expect the market to continue to heat up through the Spring! It is a great time to sell your home in Sugar Land with increased buyer demand, increased average sales price and higher home sales! This market may prove to be Sugar Land’s finest hour.

Fort Bend Missouri City Z 38

*Missouri City has experienced one less single-family home sale over January 2005 with 112 home sales as compared to 113 home sales last year.
*Contracts written in Missouri City are up by 5 units with 90 units pending to close.
Missouri City’s average sales price is up by 6% over year-to-date January 2005 and now stands at $161,844 as compared to last year’s $152,161.
*Missouri City homes on the market are up by 6% with 774 homes on the market as compared to last year’s 731.
*There are 5.3 months of inventory in Missouri City as compared to last year’s 5.0, and that still makes a healthy seller’s market. It takes 75 days on average to sell a home in Missouri City whereas last year, it took 82.
*According to the January Houston Hotness Index, the Missouri City area [Z38] had 11.6 % of its listings receive contracts during the month.
Missouri City is poised for a healthy Spring market.


Katy / Cinco Ranch Z36

*Single family home sales are up in Katy by 33 units sold over January 2005 with 143 home sales or an increase of 30%.
*Contracts written in the Katy / Cinco Ranch area year-to-date are up by 8% with 117 units reporting with a sale pending.
*Listings in the Katy / Cinco Ranch area are down by 30% with 766 listings currently on the market as compared to 998 listings this time last year.
*Katy’s average sales price is $225,622 which is up by 10% over last year’s $204,325.
*The Katy / Cinco Ranch area has 3.2 months of inventory which is a sellers’ market and has improved from last year, which held 5 months of inventory. It takes an average of 77 days to sell a home in Katy and that is down slightly from last year’s 95 days.
*The Katy area ranked #3 on the Houston Hotness Index because 15.3% of all of its listings went under contract in January 2006.

Galveston County Z 33

*Single-family home sales in Galveston County were up 5% in January 2006 over the previous January with 195 home sales recorded in the Houston MLS year to date. There were 186 closed last year during the same time frame.
*Pending contracts recorded in January 2006 were up by 12.5% compared to last year. Pending units recorded year-to-date currently stand at 199 whereas last year, pending units were at 177.
*Galveston Homes on the Market reached the 2,000 mark in January 2006 and are up by 27% over last year.
*Galveston County’s average sales price is $157,645 and that figure is up by 6% over last year.
*Galveston County currently has 6.8 months of inventory. Last year, Months of inventory was 5.8. Days on the market to sell a home in Galveston County is currently at 72 days is less than last year’s 84 DOM.
*While Galveston County has experienced a great market, a 27% rise in inventory with only a 5% increase in sales, indicates that listings should be precision priced at its current 97% list price/sales price ratio or higher.

Kingwood

*Single-family home sales are up in Kingwood over January 2005 by 13 units or 22% with 73 home sales recorded in MLS year to date over 60 closed last year during the same time frame.
*Pending contracts really displayed an increase over January 2005 by experiencing a 43.4% increase in January 2006. Pending units recorded year-to-date currently stand at 66 whereas last year, pending units were at 46.
*Kingwood Homes on the Market are down by 28.8% over last year. There are currently 395 homes on the market in Kingwood as compared to 509 last year.
*Kingwood average sales price is $211,046 and that figure is up by 16% over last year.
*Kingwood represents a seller’s market with 3.7 months of inventory. Last year, Months of inventory were 5.3. Days on the market to sell a home in Kingwood are currently at 98 days, which is the same as last year.
*In January 2006, Kingwood was #2 on the Houston Hotness Index because it experienced 16.7% of all of its’ listings go under contract during that one month.


Southwest Inner Loop Z 17

*Single-family home sales have declined in the Inner Loop from YTD January 2005 by 7 units with 42 homes sales recorded in Houston MLS January 2006.
*Pending contracts, which represent buyer demand year-to-date, has experienced a decline. Pending contracts currently stand at 36 pending sales and last year, it experienced 48 pending contracts. This represents a decline of 12 units or 33%.
*Listings have declined from this time last year by 6% and the current inventory stands at 443 homes on the market.
*Average sales price has risen by 1.5% since this time last year and average sales price is currently $459,586.
*The average price per square foot in the SW Inner Loop is $181 and last year the average was $167.
*Homes listed in the SW Inner Loop can expect to net 97% of the list price on average and sell on average after 83 days on the market.


West Center Inner Loop Z 16

*Sales are exactly the same in the West Center Inner Loop from January 2005 over January 2006 and currently 39 homes have been sold.
*Contracts written, a better indicator of buyer demand, are up by 35% from this time last year with 39 homes receiving contracts year-to-date.
*Listings in the West Center Inner Loop currently stand at 439 units and that figure is up from January 2005 by 17 units, or 4%.
*Average sales price is down by 38.9% from this time last year and is currently $370,104.
*Homes in the West Center Inner Loop sell on the average of $163 a sq. ft and last year that figure was $197. Homes that sell in the area can expect to render an average of 97% of the selling price and take approximately 65 days to sell.
*There are 6.9 months of inventory in the area. The West Center Inner Loop Area is a balanced market leaning more favorably toward the buyer.


The Woodlands Z15

*Single-family home sales in The Woodlands are up by 55 units from this time last year or 31.6% with 229 home sales recorded.
*Contracts written, a better indicator of “future demand”, show 208 pending sales have been written year-to-date. That is a 23-unit increase over that which was written in January 2005.
*Listings in The Woodlands are down by 24.5% with 1,506 homes on the market registered in January 2006 as compared to 1,875 in January 2005.
*Average sales price in The Woodlands is $253,378, which is 20% greater than January 2005, which averaged $210,909.
*The Woodlands has a 4.3-month supply of inventory, which indicates the area is in a seller’s market. Days on the market to sell a home has increased in The Woodlands from this time last year from 93 DOM in January 2005 to 94 DOM in January 2006.

West Memorial Z23

*Sales in the West Memorial area have increased by 38% in January 2006 over January 2005 and currently register 40 units sold.
*Contracts written are up from this time last year by 4 units and there are currently 17 units recorded pending.
Listings are down by 17% from this time last year with 284 homes on the market.
*Average sales price YTD in the West Memorial area is $619,865 and that is 6% less than January’s 2005 average sales price of $658,549.
*Homes in the West Memorial area sell at an average sales price of $170 a sq. ft. A seller can expect to sell his home for an average of 95% of the list price and take 89 days on the market to sell. Months of Inventory currently stand at 4.4, representing a seller’s market. This is contrary to the previous statistics and therefore, we need a few more months of market statistics to determine the true direction that the West Memorial area is taking. In any case, it is a healthy market and will be either a seller’s market or a balanced market.