Houston-area real estate market cools as single-family home sales decline for second time in 2021

For the second time in 2021, single-family home sales in the Houston-area real estate market have experienced year-over-year declines.

Single-family home sales fell 5.2% versus October 2020 with 8,703 units sold compared to the 9,183 sales a year ago, according to an October 2021 Houston Association of Realtors market update. Year to date, however, local home sales still remain 12.9% ahead of 2020’s pace and 21.6% ahead of 2019, according to the report.

The housing segment priced $500,000 to $1 million had the greatest sales volume for the month with a 23.1% year-over-year increase. The luxury market—homes priced from $1 million and above—came in second with a 20.4% gain, followed by the $250,000 to $500,000 housing segment, which rose 17.5%, according to a Nov. 10 news release.

Not all housing segments experienced year-over-year increases, however. The $1-$99,000; $100,000-$149,000; and $150,000-$249,999 segments experienced single-family home sales decreases of 20.8%, 42.3% percent, and 39.1 percent, respectively.

This comes as single-family homes inventory reached a 1.8-months supply in October, down from 2.3 months in October 2020, though this figure does represent the market’s greatest supply of homes in 2021. Comparatively, the national inventory stands at a 2.4-month supply, according to the National Association of Realtors.

“Housing markets move in cycles, especially after churning at record levels for months on end, and we cannot rule out the possibility that some homebuyers are holding off until there is more inventory from which to choose,” HAR Chair Richard Miranda with Keller Williams Platinum said in the news release. “Existing home sales were actually flat in October while new construction declined, and that is most likely the result of the supply chain interruptions and labor shortages that have affected homebuilding across the country.”