Houston home sales slide more than 14% in April

Home sales declined by 14.2% in April over the year-ago period but prices held fairly stable, according to the Houston Association of Realtors. HAR blamed the sharp April sales decline on the federal homebuyer tax credit that gave the market an unnatural boost in April 2010, but whose numbers are now overshadowing April 2011 figures. Only the under-$80,000 segment of the market experienced increased sales, which weighed down pricing, HAR said. The average price of a single-family home dipped 0.6% from April 2010 to $202,545. The median price declined 2.2% year-over-year to $148,000. In March, Houston was reporting a rise in home prices. Foreclosure sales were down 4.6% in April compared to one year earlier, but still comprised 22% of all property sales in April, down from 23.5% in March. The median price of April foreclosures fell 10.4% to $79,700 on a year-over-year basis. The Houston metro area had 5,534 total sales of all residential property types, including condominiums, in April, down 12% compared to April 2010. Month-end pending sales for April totaled 3,745, down 18.8% from last year. The number active listings at the end of April was up 5.8% to 51,694 compared to a year ago, a 7.8-month supply. Write to Kerry Curry. Follow her on Twitter @communicatorKLC.