For just the second month in 2021, ending in October, we saw a year-over-year slow down in the Houston market. We doubt this was solely due to Houstonians glued to their TVs during the Astros run to the World Series, but maybe a little bit. The lower numbers probably had much more to do with the relative strength of October 2020, which encountered a lot of pent-up demand from the early months of the pandemic. Despite the relative slow down from last year, the Houston market is still strong to quite strong and on pace for a record-setting year.
According to the latest report from the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR), home sales in October 2021 fell 5.2 percent versus last October, with 8,703 units sold. That is down from 9,183 sales in October 2020. From January 1 to the end of October, home sales were up 12.9 percent ahead of 2020’s record pace and up 21.6 percent when compared to 2019.
Homes priced between $500,000 to $1 million increased the most in October, rising 23.1 percent year-over-year. The luxury market – comprised of homes priced from $1 million and above – came in second place with a 20.4 percent gain.
The single-family home average price rose 13.1 percent to $377,631 and the median price climbed 14.7 percent to $305,000. Both are on record paces for the year. However, they have fallen off the record highs from June 2021.
According to HAR, total active listings, or the total number of available properties, fell 11.4 percent to 26,851. October sales of all property types totaled 10,756, down 3.1% compared to October of last year. As a result, the absorption rate for October 2021 was 40%. That’s off the highs we saw over the Spring and Summer, but still a pretty high appropriation level.
Despite the relative slowdown, homes are still selling pretty quickly. Days on Market (DOM), or the number of days it took the average home to sell, rose to 32 days in October. It is starting to take a little longer to sell, but still pretty low compared to historic numbers.
Inventory fell to 1.8-months supply compared to 2.3 months in October 2020. That’s flat from the previous month but it is still below the current national inventory of 2.4 months recently reported by NAR.
The market remains very strong. We will more than likely see a flurry of activity as we move through the homebuyers. Around this time of year, homebuyers will look to close before the end of December so they can take advantage of their Homestead exemption in 2022.
Regardless of what happens, be prepared. Make sure you have the information you need to make an informed decision on when to start house hunting or listing your home. Contacting a Norhill Realtor is a good place to start. One of our experienced agents can talk you through the current state of the market in the neighborhoods you care about, and if buying, get you connected with an experienced, professional mortgage broker so you can decide on the timing that works for you.
