Houston Home Sales Surge in March — On Track for Record Year
John Daugherty
HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – Houston Realtors posted the strongest March on record as home sales rose nearly 5 percent compared with a year earlier, the Houston Association of Realtors reported.
HAR recorded a record 7,072 single-family home sales in March, up from 6,740 in March 2018.
Through the first quarter, year-to-date home sales were essentially flat compared with last year, with HAR reporting a 0.3 percent change. 2018 remains the strongest year on record for Houston home sales.
At the start of 2019, sales slowed and headlines cautioned that a market slowdown might be imminent. However, sentiment shifted too quickly: the market gained momentum again as the spring buying season took hold.
In the upscale segment, sales of homes priced above $750,000 rose 9 percent.
“Home sales are very steady,” said John Daugherty, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of John Daugherty, Realtors. “There is good activity and we exceeded our sales goals for the month of March. We are expecting this to be a great year for residential real estate in Houston.”
Lower mortgage rates helped spur demand, with the average 30-year rate hovering near 4 percent.
“The interest rate dip has proved to be a great thing, as those who were holding back are now actively buying,” said Houston agent Trish Figueroa of eXp Realty.
Single-family home prices reached record highs for a March. The median price—the point at which half the homes sold for more and half sold for less—rose 2.1 percent to $240,000.
“Houston is a unique market that is very localized when it comes to sales activity. The quick answer to ‘How is the Houston market?’ is: it depends on where you are. Overall the market is good. Inside the Beltway has been stable to increasing; most other areas are stable unless they experienced large upswings during the 2014–2016 market,” said Ed Wolff, president of Beth Wolff Realtors, Real Living.
Months of inventory for single-family homes stood at a 3.9-month supply, up from 3.3 months last March and the highest level since October 2018.
“Inventory is fairly high for this time of year,” said Jean Shabot of the Jean and Jack Shabot Team, Berkshire Hathaway in Bellaire. “There are 12 homes listed now in Willow Brook, next to Willow Meadows. We have a new listing in Bellaire that will be our 25th for homes just under $1 million. We see that millennials are not buying homes the way their parents did. Many carry significant student debt and prefer to spend discretionary dollars on travel.”
Some neighborhoods that suffered severe damage during Hurricane Harvey continue to carry elevated inventory levels.
“Houston’s spring market is well underway, and most ZIP codes are balanced between supply and demand—except for neighborhoods flooded by Harvey, which still have excess inventory,” said Roger Martin, president of Roger Martin Properties in West University Place. “Meanwhile, outlying suburbs such as Katy, Sugar Land and The Woodlands have shifted into a true seller’s market.”
