HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – Houston’s hot housing market continued its fiery pace in November as he city’s housing surged toward a record year.
November’s 6,395 single-family home sales, were up 3.6 percent from last November, the Houston Association of Realtors reported. It was the strongest November ever for home sales in Houston.
With mortgage rates low and Houston job growth high, the local housing market was running 4.1 percent ahead of last year on a year-to-date basis.
“2019 was a good year, a steady year for real estate with steady activity throughout the year, with low interest rates continuing to be a catalyst for many buyers,” said Amy Bernstein of Bernstein Realty. “As we enter a new decade, I look forward to 2020 with excitement and optimism!”
Houston’s single-family home prices set new November highs, HAR reported. The median price (the midpoint at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less) rose 2.5 percent to $240,900.
“Houston is fortunate to have a stable, resilient market with sustained positive indicators across the board,” said Bill Baldwin, owner/broker of Boulevard Realty. “Of course, all real estate is local, so there will always be pockets of the city or segments of the market that aren’t faring others as well, whether because prices are normalizing, or they have been affected by flooding or other factors.”
The November inventory of single-family homes was a 3.8-months supply. This means Houston is still considered a sellers’ market. A balanced market is when there is a 6-months supply of homes for sale.
Home sales will slow in December because of seasonal buying patterns. However, December of 2019 might be a bit stronger than the typical sluggish Decembers.
Pending home sales are up 23.5 percent over December of 2019, so the deal pipeline is bulging with potential.
“The end of the year typically brings a slower pace of home sales, so we welcome another month of gains and attribute it to continued low interest rates in a market that has added more than 80,000 jobs over the past year, according to the Texas Workforce Commission,” said HAR Chair Shannon Cobb Evans with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene.
Dec. 12, 2019 Realty News Report Copyright 2019
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