Houston Real Estate Market Report: Year-End & December 2019
The Houston Real Estate Market ended with a 💥 bang 💥 in 2019 due to low mortgage interest rates, healthy employment growth and a stable supply of homes according to the housing market report recently released by the Houston Association of Realtors®. The greater Houston market started slow but quickly picked up speed and ended stronger than anticipated.
2019 Annual Market Comparison
The 2019 year started off with economic uncertainty with a continuing government shutdown. The Houston Real Estate market also started off rocky with a constrained inventory. However, the housing inventory ☝️ rose almost immediately from a 3.6 months supply to a peak of 4.3 months in June and July of last year.
July was a record breaking month for one-month sales volume of all time – 8,918 single-family units sold. A record high average price of $322,143 was achieved in May and a record high median price of $252,700 was achieved in June. 🔥 Sales of all property types increased 4.3% to a record breaking 102,593, the first time that total property sales totaled over 100,000.
By the end of the year, a record 86,205 single-family homes had sold, an increase of 4.8% across greater Houston from the previous record of 82,229 in 2018. For 2019, the average price increased 2.3% to $305,959 and the median price increased 3.2% to $245,000. Total dollar volume for the entire year increased 6.7% to a record-setting 💰 $30 billion.
December Monthly Market Comparison
In December 2019, single-family home sales increased 14.3% to 7,505 home sales, a record high, with the 💪 strongest sales activity among homes priced between $250,000 and $500,000, which jumped 27.2%. Coming in second were home in the $150,000 to $250,000 range increasing 13.7%. The luxury segment, consisting of homes priced from $750,000 and above, increased 12.7%.
Prices of single-family homes set record highs. 📈 The median price for single family homes increased 4.6% to $251,000 and the average price increased 2.5% to $312,922, a December record.
Total property sales total dollar volume increased 18% to $2.7 billion. Pending sales for single-family homes increased 22.7% to 5,796 while total active listings increased 3.6% to 38,504.
Monthly single-family homes inventory decreased 0.1 months to a 3.4 months supply. Days on Market (DOM) increased slightly from 64 to 63.
Townhouse/Condominium Update
🏘️ Townhome and condominium sales increased 14.1%, with 581 units sold compared to 509 in December 2018. The average price increased 10.3% to $227,239 and the median price increased 9.1% to $185,000. Monthly housing inventory increased 0.3 months to a 4.0 months supply.
Lease Property Update
Single-family home leases increased 5.0% while townhome/condominium leases decreased 5.5%. The average rent for single-family homes remained steady at $1,764 and the average rent for townhomes/condominiums increased 2.7% to $1,569.
