Despite the local economy’s dependence on the oil industry, it seems Houston’s housing market is maintaining stability. According to the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) June report, Houston’s median price hit $230,538, and average price tapered to $300,178, barely falling short of the previous record hit last June.
Months supply rose also rose year-over-year, increasing 17.2 percent year-over-year in June, while total active listings increased 13.8 percent.
Although total property sales declined year-over-year, June posted a solid 9,139 closings – less than a percentage point drop year-over-year. These helped to bring in almost $2.6 billion in volume, which is 1.7 percent less than last June’s $2.63 billion and change.
“We continued to see solid buying activity among middle-range housing in June,” HAR Chairman Mario Arriaga said in a statement. “Even though sales overall leveled off compared to last June, volume is up for the year, and we anticipate a sufficient supply of inventory and low interest rates to draw more home buyers into the market in the weeks ahead.”
Rising inventory making buyers more eager
Supply is sharply rising, and Houston’s homebuyers are biting at the opportunity. Single-family pending sales jumped 8.6 percent year-over-year, from 7,181 last June to 7,801 in 2016. Single-family closings dropped slightly, at 0.2 percent.
Similarly to Houston’s status in May, the majority of homebuyers spent between $150,000 to $500,000 on homes.
Home sales priced between $150,000 and $249,999 grew 3.5 percent. In the next tier, sales of homes priced below $499,999 boosted 2.5 percent.
Existing single-family homes posted a median sales price of $218,750, which is 4.6 percent higher than last year. Townhouses were more affordable at a median price of $164,450 — a 2.1 percent year-over-year climb.
Renters in Houston might be shelling out more if their lease turned over last month. The average rent for a single-family home grew to $1,883. Townhouses and condos softened – down 5.6 percent to $1,658 per month.
Both single-family leases and condo leases grew by 4.8 percent and 12.9 percent, respectively.
