HAR: Year over year, Houston single-family homes remain strong, on track for record year

The home inventory in the Houston real estate market may have been low, but that did not affect buyer behavior in September.

Year over year, single-family home sales in September rose 1.5% compared to a year ago with 9,226 units sold versus 9,086 sales, according to an October home report by the Houston Association of Realtors.

Leading the home sales volume were the homes priced $1 million and above—now defined by the HAR Multiple Listing Service as the luxury market—with a 34.6% year-over-year increase, followed by the $500,000 to $1 million segment, which rose 28.3%. Finally, the $250,000 to $500,000 housing segment had the third-highest increase of 27.4%.

“The Houston housing market continues to show strength as we enter the fall season, which is traditionally the time of year the market slows,” said HAR Chair Richard Miranda with Keller Williams Platinum in an Oct. 13 news release. “We are on track for another record year of sales; however, higher home prices and the potential of rising interest rates could impact buyer demand in the coming months.”

While the three highest housing segments saw year-over-year increases, the three lowest segments did not see the same. The $1-$99,000; $100,000-$149,000; and 150,000-$249,999 segments saw single-family home sales decrease by 32.3%, 36.9% and 31.7%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the single-family home median price increased 13.3% to $300,000 year over year, showing pricing that has managed to moderate since setting highs in June, according to the report.

Housing inventory was down to a 1.8-month supply in September, down from 2.4 months in September 2020, which represents the biggest supply of homes the market has had in 2021, according to the report.