North Texas pre-owned home sales were down 16 percent during July compared with year-earlier numbers.
That means about 8,100 fewer homes have sold in the 29-county area in the first seven months of 2008 than in the same period of last year.
But even with the substantial falloff, median home sales prices are virtually unchanged – down only 1 percent for the year and flat in July.
The Dallas Morning News reported, real estate agents sold 7,394 pre-owned homes last month through their multiple listing service, according to statistics released Thursday by Texas A&M University’s Real Estate Center and North Texas Real Estate Information Systems.
"Sales volumes will be down all year," said Dr. James Gaines, research economist at the A&M Real Estate Center. "Next year will be better because we’ll be measuring from a lower base.
"I noticed that nationally, sales have flattened," he said. "There may be some light at the end, but I think the next 12 months or so won’t be all that good."
The median sales price for single-family homes sold was unchanged from a year ago at $154,640.
While home sales have fallen significantly this year, that has not caused an increase in inventory.
At the end of July, 44,451 pre-owned single-family homes were for sale in North Texas.
That’s 11 percent fewer than last summer.
Based on recent sales, the current listings add up to just under 7 months’ worth of houses on the market.