Houston: Home Sales Up 47 Percent

In Houston, Houston home sales skyrocketed upward 47 percent in April as buyers continued to scramble to buy houses even though prices hit record highs.

Inventory is exceptionally tight. Sellers frequently receive multiple offers. Many homes sell for over the asking price.

A total of 9,105 single-family homes sold in April, up from 6,175 sales in April of 2020, the Houston Association of Realtors reported.

The 47.4 percent gain was the highest jump on record for monthly sales total, HAR said. Even though home sales were dampened somewhat in April 2020 by the pandemic, last month was exceptionally strong month for Houston realty.

And with mortgage rates low, in the 3 percent range, experts are not expecting the housing market to cool off any time soon, and that’s true across the nation.

While home prices could grow more slowly if mortgage rates rise, that would result in a more balanced housing market, which could actually lead to more home sales, as stated by Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather.

“We expect 2021 to be an even more active year for the housing market than 2020 because homebuyers have a better sense of what the future looks like,” said Fairweather. “Employers are providing clarity on permanent remote-work policies, the economy is recovering and mortgage rates remain low. All of these factors mean that we’ll likely see even more buyers enter the market this year and in 2022.”

In Houston, home sales have started off with a bang.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales are 24.4 percent ahead of 2020’s record pace.

“In my 20 years in real estate, I have never seen such dramatic forces sweeping across the Houston housing market as we have experienced since the coronavirus pandemic began,” said HAR Chairman Richard Miranda with Keller Williams Platinum.

“The market is humming along at a record pace, fueled by low mortgage rates despite dwindling inventory and rising prices. However, without a healthy boost in new listings in the weeks and months ahead, the current pace of sales cannot be sustained.”

Strong buyer demand and surging sales dropped single-family homes inventory to a 1.4-months supply versus 3.4 months a year earlier. That is unchanged from last month’s level, which remains the lowest inventory of all time. Housing inventory nationally stands at a 2.1-months supply, as stated by the National Association of Realtors.

The phenomenal deal flow has been ringing the cash registers at Houston realty offices.

Some $4 billion in residential real estate deals closed in April, up about 86 percent from the total transaction volume of $2.1 billion in April of 2020, the HAR reported.

The housing market is impacted by rapidly rising home prices.

The single-family home average price climbed 20.0 percent to $371,854 while the median price rose 17.6 percent to $295,000.

The housing surge will not die out in May. The real estate association reported pending sales were up 72.4 percent, meaning a lot of deals are in the pipeline.