Condo Sales Up 41 Percent in Texas

HOUSTON – (By Dale King, Realty News Report) — A sweltering summer in the State of Texas has just come to an end, the calendar says. But an even hotter real estate market continues to crank, though some measure of stability is likely in the offing, say property prognosticators.

Still, recent analyses have reported vast increases in the number of home sales, house rentals and apartment leases as well as prices for those varied domiciles. The newly released 2021 edition of the “Texas Condominium Sales Report” prepared and distributed by Texas Realtors adds soaring condominium and townhome sales to those burgeoning figures.

“The number of condominiums sold across the Lone Star State increased 41 percent to 17,152 during the period of July 2020 to June 2021 while townhome sales for the same period grew 36.4 percent to 11,508,” says the report.

Condo and townhome prices followed suit, Realtors added, but prices varied from metro to metro. Statewide, the median condominium price in June 2021 was $240,000, a 24 percent increase over June 2020. The median price for townhomes was $285,000 in June 2021, an increase of 18.7 percent from the previous June.

Among individual metros studied, Austin came in with the highest prices in June 2021 – $401,750 for a condominium and $322,443 for a townhome. Dallas was next in line with condos going for $230,000 while townhome prices shot up to $340,000.

Houston was kind of in the middle, with condos hitting the market with a price tag of $163,500 while townhomes rolled out at about $271,500. San Antonio’s listings were much like Houston’s with June condo prices listed at about $167,500. Townhomes were a bit pricier, at $238,000.

In the McAllen area, condos rose to about $120,000 while townhomes hit $199,900. El Paso rounded out the survey with condos just cracking the $100,000 level – specifically, $102,000. Townhomes were selling at $170,500 as the summer of 2021 began.

The Texas Realtors’ report analyzed condo and townhome data for the entire state, with a focus on the metropolitan statistical areasof Austin-Round Rock, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, El Paso, Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, McAllen-Edinburg-Mission and San Antonio-New Braunfels.

“The rapid uptick of condo and townhome sales is another great example of demand for Texas real estate,” said Marvin Jolly, chairman of Texas Realtors. “The market for these types of properties is as competitive as ever and is another strong real estate option for those who wish to live in Texas.”

“Condos and townhomes,” he added, “are available at multiple price points and can be a great option for many entry-level homebuyers, young professionals or retirees looking for a lock-and-leave lifestyle.”

On the other end of the spectrum, there is demand for high-end condo, said Nancy Almodovar, founder of Nan and Company Properties of Houston. Her firm currently has an $8 million listing for a 10,000-SF penthouse condo at the Astoria tower on Post Oak Boulevard in the Galleria area of Houston.

And new condo construction is erupting in Galveston.

“There isn’t much inventory out there so we’re very excited,” Almodovar said. “We currently have two projects we are launching through our developer services division. One will be in Tiki Island which is very unique because there hasn’t been any new construction there in 14 years.” The Tiki Island project, developed by Legend Communities of Austin, will have condos priced at $800,000 and up.

Almodovar said her firm will be selling another new condo project that will be built near the west end of Galveston’s seawall.

A quick view of the Houston condo marketplace shows the price for these units peaked in May 2021 at $166,000 and dropped slightly by June. Townhome prices peaked back in April at $280,000, fell to $259,990 in May and started back up by June.

From mid-2020 to the end of the year, Realtors in Texas were selling between 300 and 400 condos and townhomes a month. Condo sales dropped to 290 in November but recovered to 333 by December.

January and February 2020 were kind of a bust for both types of dwellings in Houston. A total of 256 condos and 248 townhouses were sold in January; 270 condos and 271 townhouses went to closing in February.

March was the charm as both dwelling styles swelled into the 400s and by May and June, townhomes were in the 500-plus per month range.

Sales volume in Houston among condos totaled close to a billion dollars from July 2020 to June 2021 – exactly $888,940,977, the report says. Townhome sales landed just above a billion dollars – specifically $1,377,689,430. The total dollar volume of condominiums and townhomes sold in Texas between July 2020 and June 2021 totaled $5,067,334,976 (condos)and $3,423,466,353 for townhomes.

As of June, Houston had 3.6 months of condominium inventory and 2.3 months for townhome inventory. Overall, housing inventory for Texas condominiums decreased from 5.1 months to 3.6 months in June 2021 while the inventory of townhomes decreased from 4.2 to 2.3 months. Texas condominiums spent an average of 47 days on the market in June 2021—down from 71 days in June 2020—while townhomes went from 63 days to 36 days.

“Many buyers choose these types of properties for their proximity to urban areas, added amenities and low upkeep,” said Jolly. “Those and other characteristics make condos and townhomes an appealing choice to people who may not be interested in a single-family home.”

For more about Texas real estate, check out the book Houston 2020: America’s Boom Town – An Extreme Close Up by Ralph Bivins. Available on Amazon http://tiny.cc/4a2g6y

Houston 2020 Ebook version https://tinyurl.com/4xm7z8b5

File: Condo Sales Up 41 Percent in Texas

Image: Rendering of the Hawthorne condo tower in Tanglewood area at 5656 San Felipe in Houston. The 17-story tower will have 67 homes, priced at $1.2 million and up. Architecture: KirkseyCourtesy: Pelican Builders.