The market was super active in July as home buyers gobbled up homes at a record-setting pace. According to the Houston Association of Realtors, the July 2019 marked the greatest one-month volume of single-family home sales of all time in Houston.
Single-family home sales in July totaled 8,953, which is 11.6 percent year-over-year. The previous one-month sales volume record was set in June 2018 (8,385). On a year-to-date basis, total sales are 3.0 percent ahead of 2018’s record volume. Low mortgage rates, a solid Houston economy, and the steady growth in inventory have all attributed to the solid performance in July.
Homes priced between $500,000 to $750,000 range showed the biggest gains. They were up 22.0 percent versus July 2018. The luxury home market, which is defined in Houston as homes priced at $750,000 and above, increased 5.3 percent.
Median home prices for single-family homes reached an all-time high for July, climbing 2.2 percent to $250,000. The average price also hit a record for July, up 2.2 percent to $312,727.
According to HAR, total active listings, or the total number of available properties, went up 9.6 percent to 45,498. July sales of all property types totaled 10,478, down 10.9% compared to the same month last year. As a result, the absorption rate for July 2019 was exactly where it was in July of 2018 for all property types.
Days on Market (DOM), or the number of days it took the average home to sell, was 50 compared to 49 a year ago. Inventory grew to 4.3-months supply. That is up from 4.1 months year-over-year. Home inventory levels are slightly below the national inventory of 4.4 months reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
With increased options for home buyers and mortgage rates remain near 52-week lows, homebuyers should continue to have an appetite for Houston real estate in the coming weeks and months. However, keep in mind that real estate is a hyper-local market. In order to get the best advice contact one of our experienced agents. They would be happy to provide you more specific advice based on your budget and neighborhood.