one hot september
Houston home sales surge to $3.4 billion for record-setting September
As any current local homebuyer knows, mortgage interest rates during this pandemic are at a historic low. That spurred a sizzling summer for Houston home sales, but recently released data shows that heated trend has continued through September.
Some 9,101 single-family homes sold in September in Houston, compared to 7,050 a year earlier. That translates to a 29.1 percent increase and marks the fourth straight month of positive sales, according to the latest Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) report.
Here, high-end homes on the market experienced the greatest increase in sales volume. Just how hot is the high-end home market? According to HAR numbers, homes priced at $750,000 and up leapt a whopping 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.
Meanwhile, 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 any September. Year-to-date sales are currently 5.4 percent ahead of 2019’s record pace.
Overall, sales of all property types totaled 11,137 — that’s up 31.9 percent from September 2019. Total dollar volume for the month surged 43.6 percent to $3.4 billion, HAR reports.
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, according to HAR. The slow pace of new listings combined with another month of strong sales drove single-family homes inventory down to a 2.5-month supply versus 3.9 months a year earlier. The last time inventory dropped that low was in December 2014.
So will this scorching pace continue through fall? HAR notes that a sales slowdown is inevitable as would-be buyers are left with a narrower selection of homes.
“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, in a statement.
