Median home sale prices reach a record $215,000 in May

Home prices climbed an impressive 14 percent in May, rising above $200,000 for the second straight month, according to a new report.

The hike placed the median sales price for existing single-family homes at a record $215,000, up from $207,000 in April and $189,900 in May 2014, according to the latest monthly housing report from Texas A&M University’s Real Estate Center and the North Texas Real Estate Information Systems, a real estate information provider.

The number of homes sold in the 29-county area rose 6 percent to 9,484 homes. Year-to-date, home sales are up 4 percent to 35,212 homes, the report said.

In Tarrant County, 18 homes were sold in Kennedale, boosting sales 260 percent in that city, the report said. The largest gain in the median price came in southeast Fort Worth, where prices rose 45 percent from a year ago, to $43,500. The most expensive median sales price was in Southlake at $625,000, down 4 percent from May 2014.

The North Texas housing market continues to face low inventories of homes for sale, the report shows. Homes sold in May were on the market 42 days, an 11 percent drop.

In April, economists at the Real Estate Center forecast rising Texas home prices as inventories remained low and demand increased.

In May, the number of active listings fell 15 percent to 18,491 homes, while the number of new listings fell 2 percent. But sales were pending on 8,643 single-family homes, an increase of 5 percent.

Job growth in North Texas has contributed to the the tight housing market.

This story was originally published June 9, 2015 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Median home sale prices reach a record $215,000 in May."