The Houston Real Estate market continued to revert back to pre-pandemic levels. Part of this slide is seasonal, as August is typically a pretty slow month in Houston. The other part is economic as mortgage rates have risen and thanks to inflation, the home market throughout the United States has slowed.
According to the latest report from the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR), 8,241 single-family homes sold in August compared to 9,918 a year earlier for a 16.9 percent decline. That is the lowest one-month sales volume since February 2022. All housing segments saw a decline in August, except for those homes priced between $500,000 and $1,000,000, which rose 10%.
According to HAR, total active listings, or the total number of available properties, rose 31.1 percent to 34,458. August sales of all property types totaled 10,157, down 15.8% compared to August of last year. As a result, the absorption rate for August 2022 was 29%. Although this is a huge drop off from what we have seen over the past couple of years, the market is still buying up available homes at a pretty good rate relative to historic levels. This marks the 4th highest August absorption rate in 10 years.
Homes moved a little slower in August, but they are still selling pretty quickly. Days on Market (DOM), or the number of days it took the average home to sell rose to 31 days in August. Single-family homes inventory rose to 2.5 months. Housing inventory nationally stands at a 3.3-months supply, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Obviously, the market is slowing from the frantic pace we have seen over the past 2 years of the pandemic. However, Houston inventory levels remain pretty low and the Houston economy remains relatively strong, so we do expect home prices to remain pretty stable and even continue to increase in some of Houston’s most sought-after neighborhoods.
Be prepared. Make sure you have all of the information you need to make an informed decision on when to start house hunting and buying. 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 get you connected with an experienced, professional mortgage broker so you can decide on the timing that works for you.
