November marked the third straight month in which property sales volume and pricing recorded gains. According to the latest monthly data compiled by the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR), November volume of single-family home sales across the greater Houston area rose 32.8 percent compared to November 2008. Total property sales climbed 37.1 percent on a year-over-year basis. At $150,000, the November single-family home median price rose 8.7 percent from one year earlier, representing the seventh straight monthly increase. The average price of a single-family home in Houston was $198,948, up 6.7 percent versus November 2008. The median price reached the highest level ever for a month of November in Houston. Sales of all property types in Houston for November totaled 5,353, up 37.1 percent compared to November 2008.

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin area homebuilders started 1,389 new homes in the fourth quarter of 2009, which is only slightly below the performance during the same period a year ago (1,497 starts during the fourth quarter of 2008), according to Residential Strategies Inc. The 6,784 yearly starts in 2009 is off 60 percent from the 2006 cycle peak of 17,128 annualized starts. However, the number of 2009 starts is down only 25 percent from 2008 (9,000 starts). The median new-home price dropped from $206,888 in the third quarter of 2009 to $201,481 in the fourth quarter, reflecting the effects of increased activity at the lower price points for the first-time homebuyer tax credit and pricing pressure in general as builders continue to reduce inventory. The fourth quarter’s new-home price is off 8.35 percent compared with the same period one year before. Homebuilders closed 2,099 homes in the fourth quarter, more than a 12 percent increase from the previous quarter.

Metro Tulsa, OK, housing starts totaled 166 in November, 12.2 percent above starts reported in November 2008, according to the latest report from the Home Builders Association of Greater Tulsa. The November total is a 33.3 percent decrease from the 249 starts in October, as the industry moves into the slower winter season. However, the year-over-year comparison continues to edge annual starts closer to prior year totals, as year-to-date starts now trail 2008 figures by only 13.5 percent. According to permit-tracking service New Orders Weekly, there have been 2,263 permits issued through November compared to 2,617 starts during the same period in 2008. Of November’s 166 permits, Broken Arrow and Tulsa each had 23, the most in the metro area. Owasso followed with 22 starts for the month. The three cities also have the highest total starts year to date at 343, 340 and 283, respectively.