In the Houston real estate market, conditions continue to remain in Zen-like balance, even as more homes become available
compared to this time last year. There are plenty of home options for buyer, but not so many, that home prices have fallen.
October 2016 found an increase in the number of active listings for single-family homes, according to information from Houston Association of Realtors. Active listings increased 9.2 percent to 37,111 over the same period.
The Houston Association of Realtors reports that in October 2016, a total of 7120 single family homes were sold in the Houston area. This represents a slight increase of 0.7 percent over sales in October 2015.
Despite the increase in active listings, prices in the Houston real estate market continued to climb during that year-long period. The median price of a single-family home in the Houston area increased 5.6 percent between October 2015 and October 2016, to $206,500. Average home prices rose 0.42 percent during that period to $306,553. The dollar volume of sales during the year increased 1.4 percent. In total, $1,863,107,351 worth of homes were sold in October 2016.
Homes spend an average of 55 days on the market in Houston, which is a slight increase from October 2016’s 53 days. Generally, the market remains in balance. Although there is a little added inventory, home prices continue to edge up, year over year. This allows buyers a little more time to shop for their home, but also, allows sellers to sell in a reasonable amount of time for a fair price.
Interest rates remain the great unknown going into 2017. Since the November election, interest rates have risen ever so slightly. Although 30 year rates still average less than 4.25%, they have come off their record lows. In the near term, this could help spur buyers back in the market so they can take advantage of these still historic rates.
