As we continue to adjust and adapt to life after Hurricane Harvey, it is pretty much understood that home sales in Houston and many parts of Texas will probably be down for a little while. Obviously August was going to see a significant drop in sales, as Harvey made sure that no one was buying homes in the affected regions for the last week of the month. There will be more negative real estate headlines in the immediate future as the region begins to recover. But Boulevard Realty broker/owner Bill Baldwin expects the headlines to be positive again before we know it.
In his Real Estate After Harvey talk last month, Bill referenced how Houston returned to increasing home sales just one month after Tropical Storm Allison in 2001. Now while he acknowledges that it may take longer this time around, he is still “totally confident the housing market will rebound and will fully continue to thrive.” I wholeheartedly agree and I think the impressive first half of the year for Texas real estate is a sign that we can recover quickly and bounce back strong.
Just how good was the first half? Well, according to the Real Estate Midyear Review published by the Texas Association of REALTORS® in September, it was a very good one, as year-over-year sales and prices both increased by significant margins. Home sales across the state rose 5.5 percent compared to the first half of 2016. Texas median home prices jumped up to $221,800 for an increase of 7.7 percent over January through June of 2016. Average price per square foot was also on the rise in the year’s first six months, climbing 6.8 percent year-over-year, all the way to $122 per square foot. Total active listings in the state for the year’s first six months grew to 99,398, which is 5.9 percent higher than during 2016’s first half. With listings on the rise, inventory reached 4.1 months supply, up 0.3 percent year-over-year.
The Houston market also was humming right along during the first six months of the year, with year-over-year home sales rising a considerable 6.7 percent and median sales price increasing a noteworthy 5.1 percent (to $229,000). Price per square foot also was on the up and up, swelling to $121 per square foot, a boost of 5.2 percent when compared to last year’s first half. Active listings elevated to 25,436, a whopping 11.1 percent year-over-year increase. With all those active listings, year-over-year inventory saw a 0.5 percent jump up to 4.3 months supply.
Vicki Fullerton, chairman of the Texas Association of REALTORS®, commented on how these robust numbers in Texas’ first half exceeded expectations. “Sales activity through the first half of the year had surpassed economic projections, with strong growth in sales activity and the number of homes on the market,” she remarked. And while there’s much uncertainty after Harvey, I think this outstanding first half is a clear indicator that we can rebound faster than expected and exceed the post-Harvey expectations for our market moving forward.
Buying or selling a home or have questions about the market? Give me a call at 713.829.3052 or email me at cynthia@cynthiamullins.com.
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