2020: A Year for the Real Estate Record Books

Porch of a Woodland Heights Home

HAR published its report on 2020 home sales in Houston and the numbers do not disappoint! Last year was a wild ride for real estate with periods of uncertainty, but luckily, the year finished out strong. Check out these key takeaways from the report for some insights into how real estate performed in 2020 and how both buyers and sellers may be affected this year.

Virtual Showings

Virtual showings completely changed the game by allowing buyers to view homes remotely. This meant that even as the world shut down, buying a home was still an option. While real estate isn’t always a “see-before-you-buy” deal, it usually is, and having the option to peek around a potential home in relative safety offered up a huge convenience for buyers and sellers. The technology has improved significantly since the start of the pandemic, and digital showings are now pretty lifelike!

Single-Family Home Sales Increased

With record-low interest rates one of the big highlights of the year, single-family home sales soared 10.5%. The luxury market also performed incredibly well as buyers qualified for loans on homes that they may not have otherwise been able to consider. Another stat that made our eyes pop: total yearly property sales broke 100,000 for only the second time in history! And here everyone was, worried that the pandemic would make residents flee the city. Not the case!

This beautiful bungalow located at 1020 E. 14th Street in Norhill is teeming with luxurious charm!

Home Values Boosted

We’d say that homes were selling like hotcakes last year if the median price of a hotcake was $260,000, the new median price of a Houston home, but that kind of comparison just isn’t fair. Last year, Circa Real Estate had numerous homes sell within under a week – in some cases, in just a day or two! In addition to the median value increasing, the average price of a home rose 5.9% to $324,069, and total dollar volume of real estate sales rose a massive 18.1% to $35.3 billion. Numbers this large are hard to comprehend, but that’s more than the GDP of Iceland and Haiti combined. Just for sales in Houston!

Housing Inventory Sunk

Before we delve into inventory, you should know for reference that a “balanced” inventory is a 6-months’ supply of homes. Last year ended with a remarkable 1.9 months of home inventory. This indicates that 2020 ended in a seller’s market, a trend which we will likely continue to see during 2021. With home values up and few properties to go around, this is an opportune time to sell your home. Buyers: It may get a little tricky out there, but don’t lose hope on finding your dream home! An experienced Realtor® will be happy to help you navigate this market.