After a strong finish in December, it’s official: 2019 marked a record-breaking year for housing in Houston. Low mortgage rates, healthy employment numbers, and plenty of housing supply contributed to 2019’s stellar year in real estate. Sales of all property types totaled 102,593, a 4.3% increase over 2018. This also represents the first time sales numbers broke 100,000.
According to HAR Chairman John Nugent, “During the latter half of 2019, we had a sense that we were headed toward a record year for Houston real estate, but no one expected it to be this strong a finish.” Overall, while townhome and condominium sales fluctuated, 2019 was a fantastic year for sales.
Can 2020 keep up? “As long as the Houston economy remains healthy and we see some growth in housing inventory, we expect 2020 to get off to a positive start,” Nugent added. We like the sound of that!
Total dollar-volume of sales across the area increased 6.7% to a record-breaking $30 billion. Pretty amazing! By the end of 2019, the average home price shot up to $312,992, but gains did slow their pace toward the end of the year.
How about leases, you ask? The number of single-family home rentals increased 5% and average rental rates remained unchanged at $1,764. This is fantastic news for anyone who has a home they don’t want to live in but aren’t quite ready to let go of yet.
Sure, real estate started off a bit rocky in 2019. Economic uncertainty loomed over local federal workers during the federal government shutdown, and escalating trade friction with China did nothing to help matters. In addition, Houston felt the constraints of a reduced housing supply. By summer, though, home sales started looking up. In fact, July 2019 represented the best month in real estate Houston has ever had!
What a whirlwind year for local real estate! While we wish we could look into our crystal ball to find out what 2020 has in store, alas – we can’t. With the right conditions, we may just see another historic year. Fingers crossed!
If you’ve been thinking about making a change and buying or selling a home in 2020, give Circa Real Estate a call. We’re happy to answer all your questions and help you purchase the house of your dreams.