Inventory shrinks to its lowest level in nearly six years

The sales frenzy, combined with a steady decline in the number of homes entering the market in recent months, has sent inventory to its lowest level in almost six years, making a sales slowdown inevitable as would-be buyers are left with a narrower selection of homes.

According to the latest Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) Market Update, 9,101 single-family homes sold in September compared to 7,050 a year earlier. That translates to a 29.1 percent increase and marks the fourth straight month of positive sales.

Homes priced at $750,000 and up leapt 81.5 percent compared to September 2019. That was followed by the $500,000 to $750,000 housing segment, which jumped 58.1 percent year-over-year. Homes between $250,000 and $500,000 – which comprise the market’s biggest share of sales – also achieved significant increases over last year.

The single-family home median price rose 8.3 percent to $265,000 while the average price increased 10.1 percent to $329,801. Both figures are record highs for a September. Year-to-date sales are currently 5.4 percent ahead of 2019’s record pace.

Sales of all property types totaled 11,137 – up 31.9 percent from September 2019. Total dollar volume for the month surged 43.6 percent to $3.4 billion. The lease market cooled in September, with declines in single-family housing while townhouse/condo leases were unchanged year-over-year.

“September sales defied expectations with many Realtors busier than ever, however we anticipate that the pace of sales will soon slow down since there just aren’t a whole lot of homes out there for consumers to buy,” said HAR Chairman John Nugent with RE/MAX Space Center. “Houston real estate has been performing so well, as a matter of fact, that our HAR membership now exceeds 41,000, so a lot of folks are energized about our flourishing industry.”

Credit :  HAR Newsroom