Houston Home Sales Improve in August
The Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) reports that single-family home sales increased by 8.2% in August, a year-over-year gain that marks the highest one-month improvement on record. This was a significant improvement over July home sales, which were down 8.8% compared to the same month in 2015.
August brought an increase in Houston home prices as well. Single-family median home prices increased by 4.2%, reaching $225,000. “Median” means that half of the homes sold for more than this amount, and half of them sold for less. When calculated as an average, home prices climbed 2.4% to $289,519.
The improvement in home sales may have been helped by the increase in home inventory, which reached a 4-month supply as of July, and has held at this level during August. Overall, sales of all property types in Houston soared by 10.6% in August, representing $2.5 billion dollars worth of transactions. This speaks well for the rate of absorption, which has helped curtail home inventory, despite more units coming to market during August.
A particularly bright spot in Houston real estate news is the uptick in luxury home sales. For the first time in a year, homes priced at $500,000 or more experienced a sales gain, increasing by 5.8%. The strongest sales activity occurred in the price range from $150,000 to $499,000, with sales volumes up by 12.7% to 13.5%.
Meanwhile, lower price ranges experienced sales declines. Homes priced from $80,000 to $149,999 saw a 10% decline in sales. Homes priced under $79,999 had a 32.5% decline in sales. However, given the rest of the market trends, it’s likely that a lack of inventory in these price ranges caused the dearth of sales, rather than a lack of buyers. For example, property investors are still very active in Houston, and homes priced under $200,000 are popular with them. First-time home buyers are also targeting these price ranges.
As the Federal Reserve will not be changing its benchmark lending rate in September, mortgage rates will remain low, and Houston home buyers will continue to take advantage of favorable market conditions. Of course, home sales activity will vary by neighborhood and price range. Your KW Energy Corridor agent is your best source of local market information!
Looking for more information about Houston real estate? We’re here to help you! Obtaining the expert advice of the KW Energy Corridor Team is the first step in a successful home purchase or sale! Contact us today for your personal real estate consultation!
KW Energy Corridor Team
Michael Bossart
11757 Katy Fairway | Suite 930
Houston, TX 77079
908-872-9332
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