HOUSTON – Houston’s home sales are on a record-setting pace this year. With three quarters of 2016 in the record books, Houston single-family homes sales are running ahead of last year.
Year-to-date through September, home sales are up 1.3 percent over the comparable nine-month period of 2015, according to the Houston Association of Realtors.
“With home sales ahead of where they were at this time last year – a record sales year – in a market that continues to suffer energy-related job losses, I believe we’re doing well,” said HAR Chairman Mario Arriaga with First Group. “Inventory is still moving in the right direction, and consumers that were not buying homes in September accounted for strong rental activity throughout the month.”
Home prices continued to rise in Houston.
The single-family home median price—the midpoint at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less—rose 4.8 percent to $219,990. That is the highest median price ever for a September. The average price increased 2.4 percent to $277,849, which is also a September high.
In September, homes priced from $250,000 to $500,000 showed the most strength, HAR reports.
Single-family home sales were flat in September in comparison to September 2015. A total of 6,652 homes sold in September compared to 6,685 in September of last year – or 33 fewer homes. When considering this fractional decline, it should be noted that September of 2015 was the strongest September ever.
Inventory remains low – a 3.9-months supply of homes are for sale, HAR reports. Some homes are sold within a few days of being listed.
A balanced market is when there is a 6-months supply of homes listed for sale. The Houston market has been a seller’s market for several years.
Some had anticipated that the decline in oil prices (from a high of $107 a barrel in June 2014 to about $50 today) would hurt overall home sales activity. The upper end of the market – homes priced at more than $500,000 – may have shown some softness, at times, due to the decline in energy.
But overall Houston home sales are exceptionally strong. Realty News Report is forecasting that 2016 will be a record year for single-family sales in Houston.
Oct. 13, 2016 Realty News Report Copyright 2016
Realty News Report is a Texas-based publication founded by award-winning journalist Ralph Bivins.