TEXAS (Real Estate Center, Reuters, CNNMoney.com) – A total of 10,217 existing single-family homes were sold in Texas last month, a 5 percent drop from January 2009, according to MLS data compiled by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
The median price was up 4 percent to $137,100 during the same period, and the state finished the month with a 6.5-month inventory of existing homes.
Here is how select Texas cities fared in January (data current as of Feb. 25, 2010):
| Sales | Change From 2009 | Median Price | Change From 2009 | Month's Inventory |
| Amarillo | 107 | down 29% | $131,200 | up 3% | 5.7 |
| Austin | 1,008 | up 10% | $174,800 | down 1% | 5.7 |
| Dallas | 2,126 | down 9% | $141,000 | up 2% | 5.8 |
| El Paso | 253 | down 17% | $130,700 | up 3% | 7.5 |
| Fort Worth | 444 | down 4% | $102,700 | down 1% | 6.4 |
| Houston | 2,788 | down 10% | $142,900 | up 9% | 6.3 |
| Laredo | 55 | down 4% | $108,800 | down 1% | 9 |
| Lubbock | 139 | up 4% | $108,100 | no change | 5.3 |
| McAllen | 137 | up 5% | $93,800 | up 3% | 13.5 |
| San Antonio | 865 | up 1% | $139,000 | down 5% | 7.5 |
| Texas | 10,217 | down 5% | $137,100 | up 4% | 6.5 |
Additional home sales data for these and other major Texas cities are available on the Real Estate Center's website
At the national level, the National Association of Realtors reported this week that single-family home sales fell 7.2 percent to an annual rate of 5.05 million in January from a pace of 5.44 million in December. That was 11.5 percent above the January 2009 pace.
Meanwhile, new home sales also fell at the national level. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of new home sales plummeted 11.2 percent to 309,000 last month, compared with a revised rate of 348,000 in December. According to Census Bureau data, that's a 6.1 percent decline from January 2009.