Following a July that vaulted Houston real estate into the record books, August proved to be another healthy month for home sales despite the lingering coronavirus pandemic. The high end of the market staged the strongest performance, pulling up overall pricing along the way. However, with a decline in the number of listings for sale coming on the market, inventory has now fallen to its lowest level in five years, setting the stage for moderating sales in the weeks ahead despite historically low interest rates.
According to the latest Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) Market Update, 9,195 single-family homes sold in August compared to 8,673 a year earlier. That accounted for a 6.0 percent increase and marked the third consecutive month of positive sales.
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Sales of all property types totaled 11,121 – up 7.3 percent from August 2019. Total dollar volume for the month increased 13.4 percent to $3.5 billion. After strong consumer interest in July, the lease market retreated in August, with declines in both the single-family and townhouse/condo markets.
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Inventory declined 23.0% year-over-year from 44,369 in August 2019 to 34,181 in August 2020.
Note that the closed sales in August were for contracts that were mostly signed in June and July.