HOUSTON HOME SALES ENJOY A HEALTHY START TO 2018

January brings a year-over-year increase in sales and stable inventory

HOUSTON — (February 14, 2018) — The Houston real estate market kicked off the new year in generally positive territory, with sales up, a mixed pricing performance and a stable supply of homes available to buyers in January.

Overall sales of single-family homes rose 8.9 percent, according to the latest monthly report from the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR). However, January marked the third consecutive month of declining sales among luxury homes – those priced at $750,000 and above. The strongest sales performance took place among homes in the $250,000 to $500,000 range. Housing inventory was unchanged from the 3.3-months supply a year earlier, in January 2017.

The single-family home median price (the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less) rose 3.8 percent to $218,000 – the highest median ever for a January. The average price declined 2.1 percent to $270,303.

"The Houston housing market seems to have carried the positive momentum from 2017 into the new year, even with some softening in the high end," said HAR Chair Kenya Burrell-VanWormer with JP Morgan Chase. “We hope to sustain that positive momentum with 28,000 new homes slated for construction this year, according to Metrostudy, as well as healthy gains in employment.” In the February edition of its Economy at a Glance publication, the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) reported the creation of 46,000 jobs across greater Houston in 2017 – with more Houstonians finding employment last year than in 2016.

January sales of all property types in Houston totaled 5,468, an increase of 8.7 percent versus the same month last year. Total dollar volume climbed 6.3 percent to $1.4 billion.

Houston Real Estate Highlights in January

  • Single-family home sales rose 8.9 percent year-over-year, with 4,469 units sold;
  • Days on Market (DOM) for single-family homes increased slightly from 65 days in January 2017 to 67 days this January;
  • Total property sales increased 8.7 percent with 5,468 units sold;
  • Total dollar volume climbed 6.3 percent to $1.4 billion;
  • The single-family home median price rose 3.8 percent to $218,000, which represents a January high;
  • The single-family home average price declined 2.1 percent to $270,303;
  • Single-family homes months of inventory was unchanged year-over-year at a 3.3-months supply;
  • Townhome/condominium sales fell 1.3 percent, with the average price up 2.1 percent to $192,918 and the median price up 13.6 percent to $159,000;
  • Leases of single-family homes rose 1.9 percent with the average rent up 1.4 percent to $1,748;
  • Volume of townhome/condominium leases fell 5.3 percent with average rent up 1.3 percent to $1,516.

For the full January MLS Report, click here.