Despite the Freezepocolypse, the real estate market in Houston remained nice as toasty in February. Although pending sales dipped rather dramatically during the Freeze week, overall pending sales for 2021 through the end of February were up over 13 percent.
According to the latest report from the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR), 6,049 single-family homes sold in February compared to 5,979 a year earlier for a 1.2 percent increase. That marked the ninth consecutive month of rising home sales. Once again, luxury housing was the top-performing segment among homebuyers. Homes priced at $750,000 and above surged 64.9 percent compared to February 2020.
The average price for single-family homes increased 16.2 percent to a high for February of $349,963. The median home price increased 12.6 percent to $275,900. Both are historic highs.
According to HAR, total active listings, or the total number of available properties, fell 37.9 percent to 23,933. February sales of all property types totaled 7,464, up 1.9% compared to February of last year. As a result, the absorption rate for February 2021 was 31%. The highest rate in over 10 years.
Days on Market (DOM), or the number of days it took the average home to sell continues to remain relatively steady. In February, the average home sold in 48 days. Single-family homes inventory narrowed dramatically from a 3.3-months supply to 1.6 months. According to HAR, that is the lowest inventory level of all time! For you sellers, that is good news.
Now that we through the winter, we can expect inventory to start to rise a bit as the market shifts to its normal Spring pattern. Those sellers that get out in front of the late spring inventory peak might be in a better position than their slower-moving competitors. Due to low inventory levels and mortgage rates still near all-time lows, we expect the Spring and Summer rush to be a strong one in Houston.
