Houston- (September 20, 2011)  The mercury wasn't the only thing that soared in the month of August
in Houston.  Single family home sales shot up more than 30% when compared to August of last year. 
However, as had been the case for the past several months, the rosy perfomance took on added luster as a
 result of last year's 3rd quarter slowdown in home sales following expiration of the 2010 tax credit.  That credit pushed local real estate transactions that otherwise might have taken place later in the year into the first two quarters of 2010.  August marked the third consecutive month of increase sale and the forth time in 2011 that sales volume entered positive territory.

According to the latest monthly data prepared by the Houston Association of REALTORS (HAR),
August sales of single family homes climbed 30.2% verus one year earlier.  This increase follows home sales gains recorded in January, June and July of this year.  All segments of the housing market, from the sub-$80,000 to the $500,000 and above, experienced positive sales in August.  On a year to date basics, sales rose 1.8%.  Compared to August of 2009, a year with no unusual market influences such as Hurricane Ike in 2008 and the 2010 tax credit, single family homes sales were up 10.4%