Although we have seen a seasonal slow down over the past couple of months, the Houston Real Estate Market continues to hum along. As we enter the final quarter of the year, 2021 appears to be another record market.
According to the latest report from the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR), home sales in September 2021 rose 1.5 percent versus last September, with 9,226 units sold. That is up from 9,086 sales in September 2020. From January 1 to the end of September, home sales were up 15.3 percent ahead of 2020’s record pace and up 21.6 percent when compared to 2019.
The luxury home market (recently redefined by MLS as homes over $1MM instead of homes over $750K) bounced back and led the way in homes sales for September with a 34.6 percent year-over-year increase. Homes priced between $500,000 to $1 million rose 28.3 percent, and homes priced between $250,000 to $500,000 rose 27.4 percent.
The single-family home average price rose 13.4 percent to $372,408 and the median price climbed 13.3 percent to $300,000. After a big spike in the Spring, pricing has moderated since June highs.
According to HAR, total active listings, or the total number of available properties, fell 12 percent to 27,238. September sales of all property types totaled 11,285, up 1.6% compared to September of last year. As a result, the absorption rate for September 2021 was 41%. That’s off the highs we saw over the Spring and Summer, but still a pretty high appropriation level.
How fast are homes selling? They are still moving pretty fast. Days on Market (DOM), or the number of days it took the average home to sell, fell to 29 days in September. It is starting to take a little longer to sell, but still pretty low compared to historic numbers.
Inventory fell to 1.8-months supply compared to 2.4 months a year earlier. That level is the highest of 2021 but it is still below the current national inventory of 2.6 months recently reported by NAR.
The market remains very strong. We anticipate a spike in new inventory as we approach the holidays. Homebuyers will also look to close before the end of the year to possibly take advantage of their Homestead exemption in 2022. This should lead to a very active Fall.
Regardless of what happens, be prepared. Make sure you have the information you need to make an informed decision on when to start house hunting or listing your home. Contacting a Norhill Realtor is a good place to start. One of our experienced agents can talk you through the current state of the market in the neighborhoods you care about, and if buying, get you connected with an experienced, professional mortgage broker so you can decide on the timing that works for you.
