HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – The inventory of homes for sale in Houston continues to shrink in early May as the coronavirus pandemic convinces sellers to delay a venture into the market.
The Houston Association of Realtors reports only 2,878 homes were placed on the market (new listings) last week, down 17.5 percent from the 3,488 new listings that came on the market in the comparable week of 2019.
“The continued stay/work-at-home directives resulting from the coronavirus crisis understandably brought fewer sellers into the marketplace,” HAR reported.
A number of homeowners who had their properties listed for sale have pulled their houses off the market and removed them from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
HAR reported 1,727 were withdrawn from the market last week, a 39.4 percent increase from the from the comparable week a year ago. The HAR report detailed activity for a 7-day period ending May 4.
The inventory is tight across the nation, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors. “More home sellers are needed to relieve the acute inventory shortage,” Yun said,
At the end of April, a total of 25,457 Houston homes were on the market, down 6.1 percent from the 27,117 listed for sale in April 2019.
Home sales will be off significantly in April, about 20 percent, according to Jim Gaines, chief economist of the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
With a downturn in energy industry, the Houston market is taking a double whammy.
Ted C. Jones, chief economist of Stewart Title Guaranty, is predicting a 35 percent drop in second quarter sales and a yearly decline of 25 percent.
May 7, 2020 Realty News Report Copyright 2020
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