Houston Area Home Sales Tax Credit

The federal tax credit fueled Houston-area home sales in April, marking the second consecutive month of increased activity. Realtors sold 5,321 single-family homes in the area last month, according to a monthly report from the Houston Association of Realtors. That's up 26.7 percent from the same period last year.

Realtors point to the federal home buying tax credit, which expired April 30, as well as the start of the spring buying season. Now that the support of the credit is gone, however, coming months could see flatter or lower sales numbers.

The spring buying season, will likely help support the market as families try to move before the start of a new school year. Though homebuyers hoping to take advantage of the credit had until April 30 to have contracts in place, they don't have to close until June 30.That means some sales through the early summer will still have benefited from the tax credit.

Still, the number of pending sales during the first week of May has already taken a dip, indicating the tax credit's positive effects may already be dwindling. Pending sales dropped 16.7 percent to 975 from the same week last year, according to preliminary data collected in the association's latest weekly market report.

In April, activity was up in every price segment except for the lowest end of the market, where homes were priced below $80,000 remained flat. The number of homes that sold for $500,000 or more was up 53.4 percent in April, according to the association, which tracks homes sold through the Multiple Listing Service in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties, as well as parts of Brazoria, Galveston, Waller and Wharton counties.

Boosted by high-end activity, the median sales price for single-family houses in April also increased for the 12th consecutive month on a year-over-year basis, climbing 2.4 percent to $153,500 from the same month last year. Houses were also selling faster than this time last year. Homes stayed on the market an average 73 days, down from 88 days a year ago.