The Houston Real Estate Market continues to rebound after Hurricane Harvey. Buyer has remained strong, and total home sales continue to rise. That being said, the options for those buyers have shrunk. Harvey impacted inventory has been removed from the market, which has provided less home listings for buyers to consider. This dynamic could lead to even higher prices in the coming months.
According to the latest report from the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR), single family home sales climbed 7.5 percent compared to last October. The greatest sales volume was observed among luxury homes priced at $750,000 and above. On a year-to-date basis, the number of total home sales remains 2.8 percent higher than 2016 homes sales, even with the impact of Hurricane Harvey in August.
Across all market segments, average home prices in the Houston real estate market rose 3.06 percent to $315,935 year over year ending in October 2017.
According to the Houston Association of Realtors, the 39,692 active listings in October 2017 represented a 6.7 percent increase over October 2016. Pending sales rose to 7,201, a 20 percent increase from October 2016, and total home sales rose 6.6 percent to 7,614.
Days on Market, or the number of days it took the average home to sell, rose from 56 last October to 61 days.
Inventory rose year-over-year from a 3.8-months supply to 3.9 months. However, 3.9 months supply down much more substantially from the pre-Harvey supply of 4.1 months.
As we move further away from Harvey and into the holidays, the market will probably continue to move along the same moderate trajectory that we have seen over the past 2 months. However, after the first of the year, lower inventory levels and an increase in seasonal demand could help push prices higher. All that could make prospects much better for home sellers in many Houston markets.
