HOUSTON – Houston home sales were up 5 percent in July, as 7,440 single-family houses were sold, compared to 7,083 in July of 2016, the Houston Association of Realtors reported.
The continued strength of sales virtually guarantees that this year will be the best year for home sales that Houston Realtors have ever seen.
On a year-to-date basis, home sales remain 6.8 percent ahead of 2016’s volume. More than 8,000 homes were sold in both May and June, the first two times that monthly sales totals have ever broken the 8,000-sales mark.
“Overall, the Houston housing market had a strong July, although we are seeing slower sales in some outlying areas like The Woodlands and Cypress,” said HAR Chair Cindy Hamann. “That is why we always emphasize that real estate is local. The combination of moderating pricing and growing inventory should make conditions even more appealing for prospective home buyers.”
Housing inventory grew in July to a 4.5-months, the highest level in five years. Houston remains a sellers market. A balanced market is considered to be a 6-months supply of homes for sale.
The tight inventory in recent years had kept a lid on sales. Would-be buyers often had experienced an extremely tough time finding homes in the areas they wanted at the prices they wanted. Bidding competitions with several buyers wanting the same house have been a regular occurrence.
Tight inventory has pushed up home prices. The average sales price of a Houston-area single-family home in July was $299,131, up 2.4 percent from July of last year. Ten years ago, in July of 2007, the average sales price was $209,264.
The HAR reports pending sales were up 9.8 percent in July, indicating August will be another strong month.