Houston Real Estate Market Report September 2018

There was some cooling of the Houston real estate market according to the latest Houston Housing Market Report released by the Houston Association of Realtors®. However, there were no lingering effects from Harvey as there had been in August. The report stated sales of all property types decreased 4.4% to 7,842 sales. Total dollar volume decreased 3.5% at $2.2 billion. With lower inventory, higher interest rates and back-to-school, it’s no surprise that the market has slowed done.

Single Family Homes

There was a 5.8% decrease in single family homes sales with 6,548 single-family homes sold compared to 6,953 last September.  For the year, home sales are 5.6% ahead of 2017’s record volume. The median price increased 0.2% to $232,500, and the average price increased 1.2% to $295,765, both record highs. Pending sales increased 9.0% to 6,630 pending sales. Total active listings climbed 5.7% to 41,560 active listings. Housing inventory remains tight, increasing 0.1 months to 4.0 months. Existing home sales decreased 4.6% to 5,485 sales. Average sales price fell 0.5% to $279,043.

Leases

Activity took a dive in September. Single-family home rentals dropped 35.4% while leases of townhomes and condominiums pummeled 44.5%. The average rent for single-family homes decreased 4.0% to $1,812. The average rent for townhomes and condominiums decreased 1.0% to $1,584.  Both decreases were due to a decrease in volume.

Townhouse/Condominium

Townhomes and condominiums also experienced a slowdown in September, as sales decreased 6.1% with 511 units sold compared to 544 in September 2017. The average price dropped 6.6% to $191,967 and the median price remained steady at $159,450. Inventory rose 0.5 months to 4.4 months.