The Houston-area housing market saw 13 consecutive months of positive sales come to an end in July due to what the Houston Association of Realtors described as a statistical anomaly.
A surge in pandemic-delayed home closings in July 2020 set regional real estate records “that were no match for even the robust pace of the current market,” according to the Houston Association of Realtors.
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Single-family home sales decreased 6.1 percent year over year to 10,159 units sold, the Houston Association of Realtors reported. Total property sales for the month totaled 12,383 -- the third greatest volume of all time. All-in-all, total dollar volume for the month increased 11.4 percent to $4.5 billion.
On a year-to-date basis, local home sales in 2021 currently exceed 2020′s record pace by 19.1 percent.
High-end home shopping dominated the market in July. The luxury segment, homes priced at or above $750,000, saw an 36.7 percent increase in sales. Homes priced $500,000-$749,999 saw an 18.7 percent increase; and homes priced $250,000 -$499,999 saw a 12 percent increase.
The surge in high-dollar home buying pushed pricing to record levels.
Both the average and the median sales price for a single-family home in July increased. The average sales price rose 15.3 percent to $389,197, and the median sales price climbed 13.9 percent percent to $309,910 -- the second highest behind last month’s record-setting figures.
Single-family home inventory in July 2021 increased to a 1.8-months supply -- the highest supply of homes the market has had this year. However, year-over-year, the supply is down compared with July 2020′s three-month supply. Months of inventory estimates the number of months it would take to sell all the active home listings on the market today based on the pace of sales over the past year. Comparatively, the nation’s overall housing inventory currently stands at a 2.6-months supply, according to the latest National Association of Realtors report.
In July, Houston-area homes spent an average 26 days on the market, a 30-day decrease from July 2020.
“We know anecdotally that the Houston real estate market is still red-hot, but the statistics make it appear to be slower than a year ago because of the surge in home closings that took place last July when the market began to normalize with the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions,” HAR Chairman Richard Miranda said in a statement. “Assertive investors and cash buyers are still controlling the tides of this seller’s market, but hopefully that will moderate with a continued influx of new listings.”
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