December 2018 Houston Housing Update

The Houston real estate market set new records in 2018 despite uncertainty when the year began, with many still in Harvey recovery mode. Single family home sales rose 3.8% in 2018 to 82,177. While sales of all property types totaled 98,323, a 3.7% increase over 2017’s record volume. Total dollar volume jumped 25.1% to a record breaking 28 billion dollars.

The strongest sales activity took place in the luxury market, which was up 20% over 2017. The median price rose 3.4% to a December high of $240,000. The average price increased by 4.7% to $306,314, also a December high. 

Inventory of single family homes grew slightly to a 3.5 month supply from a 3.2 month supply last year. Nationally, housing inventory is at a 3.9 month supply. Months of supply is the measure of how many months it would take for the current inventory of homes on the market to sell, given the current pace of home sales. For example, if there are 50 homes on the market and 10 homes selling each month, there is a 5 month supply of homes for sale. Months of supply is a good indicator of whether a particular real estate market is favoring buyers or sellers. Typically, a market that favors sellers has less than 6 months of supply, while more than 6 months of supply indicates an excess of homes for sale that favors buyers.

Houston’s rental market had a positive performance in December. Single family leases climbed 13.2% in December. We will be back next month with your Houston housing monthly update! For more information about the current housing market, contact us!