Another Month of Strong Sales

Summer came to a close with even more increases in the Houston real estate market. Both volume sales and prices rose again in August, while inventory held steady. August prices fell just short of all-time high records set in June, but were the highest prices for any August on record. Single family home sales were strong at 7,505 units, up a little over 1% from last year. Home inventory was a steady 3.0 months supply, which is significantly lower than the national average of 5.5 months supply. 

The average price of a single-family home in Houston is $275,369, a 6.4% increase from last August. The median price increased 10.4% from last year’s figures to $206,000. Total dollar volume of properties sold reached $2.3 billion, up 6.8% from last year. 

According to HAR Chair Chaille Ralph of Heritage Texas Properties, “The Houston housing market is going strong as we transition from summer to fall, and enough new listings have hit the market over the past month to keep inventory levels stable. One of the factors that continues to fuel real estate and our local economy in general is the ongoing creation of jobs. Houston is definitely a desirable destination for many people across the country.”

Job growth has indeed been a driving force of the real estate market’s growth recently. According to the Greater Houston Partnership’s Economy At a Glance report from September 2014, the Houston metro area saw 112,000 new jobs created in the 12 months preceding July 2014, which comes to a 4% annual growth rate. This places Houston ahead of other major metropolitan areas, including Dallas, which also experienced strong job growth. 

The Houston housing market experienced increases in all measurement categories in August when compared to August 2013. 

Source: Houston Area Realtors