HAR: Hot Houston-area housing market sets records in May

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The Houston-area housing market recorded its greatest one-month year-over-year sales volume increase of all time last month. May 2021 also saw the market’s twelfth consecutive positive month of sales, according to the  Houston Association of Realtors

Single-family home sales jumped 48.2 percent year over year to 9,702 units sold, the Houston Association of Realtors reported. Total property sales for the month saw a 55.5 percent year over year increase to 12,100. All-in-all, total dollar volume for the month surged 110.5 percent to $4.4 billion.

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High-end home shopping dominated the market in May. The luxury segment, homes priced at or above $750,000, saw an 291 percent increase in sales, shattering all previous records. Homes priced $500,000-$749,999 saw a 166 percent increase; and homes priced $250,000 -$499,999 saw a 82.8 percent increase.

The unprecedented surge in high-dollar home buying pushed pricing to record levels.

Both the average and the median sales price for a single-family home in May increased -- The average sales price rose 29.7 percent to $387,105, and the median sales price jumped 21.7 percent to $304,000.

Meanwhile, market supply did not keep pace with demand. Single-family home inventory in May 2021 remained at a record-low 1.4-months supply, down from a 3.3 month supply in May 2020. Months of inventory estimates the number of months it would take to sell all the active home listings on the market today based on the pace of sales over the past year. Comparatively, the nation’s overall housing inventory currently stands at a low 2.4-months supply, according to the latest National Association of Realtors report.

In May, Houston homes spent an average of 34 days on the market, a 24 day decrease from May 2020.

“We are witnessing the most energized Houston real estate market in history,” said HAR Chairman Richard in a statement. “Sellers maintain the upper hand, and buyers are not just meeting their demands. They are exceeding them, as we hear endless accounts of offers coming in that are thousands of dollars above list price. It’s difficult to predict how and when this incredible housing run will end.”

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About the Author:

Briana Zamora-Nipper joined the KPRC 2 digital team in 2019. When she’s not hard at work in the KPRC 2 newsroom, you can find Bri drinking away her hard earned wages at JuiceLand, running around Hermann Park, listening to crime podcasts or ransacking the magazine stand at Barnes & Noble.