Real Estate Rumblings
Best month ever! Houston home sales reach record levels as average price tops $300,000
June was the strongest month for home sales in Houston real estate history with 7,935 single-family homes sold, the highest one-month sales total ever reported by the Houston Association of Realtors.
Industry experts and economists had been predicting that Houston home sales would crater following the collapse of oil prices and layoffs in Houston’s massive energy industry.
But the predicted downturn in Houston housing has failed to materialize.
The surge in June was not just a one-month flash in the pan. The market has been strong throughout the year.
Through the first half of the year, realty sales are keeping pace with 2014, which was a record-setting year for Houston home sales.
The home sales total for June topped the previous record high month – May of 2013 when 7,708 single-family homes were sold. For decades, the Houston Association of Realtors has been issuing monthly sales reports and the best month ever was last month — June 2015.
“It was a very, very strong month. Inventory remains low. Buyer demand remains high. Interest rates remain low and consumer confidence remains high,” says Houston realty broker Amy Bernstein of Bernstein Realty. “All those factors together are making for a very strong real estate market right now.”
The surge in June was not just a one-month flash in the pan. The market has been strong throughout the year.
Midway through 2015, a total of 35,636 single-family homes have been sold. That’s less that a 1 percent decline (only 200 fewer home sales) from the midyear sales total in 2014.
“Experts and people in the industry who watch the trends, they are very positive,” says Cheri Fama, president of John Daugherty Realtors. “And the real estate community, as a whole, they remain very positive.”
In certain locations, reasonably priced homes are drawing multiple offers. Realty agents who sell brand-new houses in the outlying suburbs also report strong activity, Fama says.
Record highs
Prices reached record highs in June, the Realtors association reports.
In June, the average price of a single-family home was $302,942, up over 6 percent over the average price in June of last year. The median price — the figure at which half the homes sold for more and half for less — rose 5 percent to $225,000.
The typical home sold in June was on the market for only 43 days – another all-time record in the “days on market” category.
The inventory of homes for sale rose slightly in June, but the supply remains tight, compared to historical norms.
The typical home sold in June was on the market for only 43 days – another all-time record in the “days on market” category. In other words, homes were flying off the shelves faster than ever before.
The total single-family sales in June were up 4 percent over sales in June of 2014. Townhome and condo sales were also good, with a total of 721 units sold in June, up almost 7 percent compared to last year.
Pending home sales, an indication of what will happen in July, are up sharply and July could be another record-setting month. So the summer, the best season for home sales, won't be cooling off.
The momentum could last for a while. In 2015, the Houston housing market is running neck-and-neck with the record-setting pace of 2014. There are no new signs of a slowdown coming, so even with the oil price crash, 2015 will be one of Houston strongest years ever for home sales - maybe the best year ever.
Ralph Bivins, editor of Realty News Report, is a past president of the National Association of Real Estate Editors.
