The Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) has released its March 2023 Market Update which shows that single-family home sales fell by 18.3% year-over-year with 7,907 units sold compared to 9,681 in March 2022. However, when compared to March of 2019 when sales volume totaled 6,995 units, sales were up by 13%. All but the sub-$100,000 housing segment saw year-over-year declines in March. Single-family rentals scored solid gains once again as many buyers continued turning to the rental market amid lingering uncertainty about interest rates and inflation.
According to HAR Chair Cathy Treviño, “Houston real estate is continuing to work its way back to normalcy with more new listings hitting the market and prices easing.” She added that “Inflation and interest rates are still causing angst, but once consumer confidence is finally restored, we will see home sales pick up and probably return to the seasonal cycles that prevailed before the pandemic.”
March Monthly Market Comparison
The Houston housing market continues to decline in sales and prices compared to the record highs in 2022, but March 2023 figures are still well above pre-pandemic levels. In March, there were 7,907 single-family homes sold in the Houston area. Year-over-year single-family home sales fell 18.3 percent, but when compared to March 2019, before the pandemic, sales were up 13.0 percent, and stacked against March 2018, five years ago, sales were up 17.3 percent.
Most of the March housing measurements consisted of negative numbers. In addition to the drop in single-family home sales, total property sales and total dollar volume fell. Single-family pending sales dropped 5.2 percent. Active listings (the total number of available properties) remained 69.2 percent ahead of their level of one year ago.
Months of inventory continued to improve in March, growing to a 2.7-months supply. Housing inventory nationally stands at a 2.6-months supply according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). A 4.0- to 6.0-months supply is widely regarded as a “balanced market” in which neither the buyer nor the seller has an advantage.
Single-Family Homes Update
The Houston housing market continues to decline in sales and prices compared to the record highs in 2022, but March 2023 figures are still well above pre-pandemic levels. In March, there were 7,907 single-family homes sold in the Houston area. Year-over-year single-family home sales fell 18.3 percent, with 7,907 units sold across the Greater Houston area compared to 9,681 in 20221. Pricing continues to moderate after reaching record highs last spring. The March median price fell 3.0 percent to $325,000 while the average price was statistically flat at $408,647. February 2023 marked the first pricing declines the market had seen in more than two years.
Compared
to March 2019, when a total of 6,995 single-family homes sold, March sales are
up 13.0 percent. The median price back then was $240,000 which was 26.2 percent
lower than the current median price. The average price was $298,356 which was
27.0 percent lower than the current average price. Sales are 17.3 percent ahead
of where they were five years ago, in March 2018, when volume totaled 6,740.
Back then, the median price was $235,400 which was 27.7 percent lower than the
current median price. The average price was $292,966 which was 28.3 percent
lower than the current average price.
Days on Market, or the actual time it took to sell a home, increased from 38 to 62 days. Months supply registered 2.7 months compared to 1.1 months a year earlier. The current national supply stands at 2.6 months, as reported by NAR.
Broken out by housing segment, March sales performed as follows:
- $1 - $99,999: increased 28.7 percent
- $100,000 - $149,999: decreased 14.2 percent
- $150,000 - $249,999: decreased 20.3 percent
- $250,000 - $499,999: decreased 18.7 percent
- $500,000 - $999,999: decreased 18.3 percent
- $1M and above: decreased 20.4 percent
HAR also breaks out sales figures for existing single-family homes. In March, existing home sales totaled 5,613 which is down 24.5 percent from the same month last year. The average price fell 1.2 percent to $404,159 and the median sales price declined 2.8 percent to $315,000.
Townhouse/Condominium Update
Townhouses and condominiums experienced their 10th consecutive monthly decline in March, down 35.3 percent year-over-year with 553 closed sales versus 855 a year earlier. The average price rose 6.0 percent to $270,294 – ending four straight months of declines – and the median price rose 4.0 percent to $223,500 – ending three months of declines. Both figures are below the historic highs reached in April 2022. Inventory grew from a 1.3-months supply to 2.2 months.
Compared
to pre-pandemic March 2019, when 550 units sold, townhome and condominium sales
were statistically unchanged. The average price back then, at $211,430, was
21.8 percent lower and the median price, at $175,000 was 21.7 percent lower.
Houston Real Estate Highlights in March
- Single-family home sales fell 18.3 percent year-over-year, as the market continues its gradual return to normalcy;
- Compared to pre-pandemic 2019, single-family home sales rose 13.0 percent;
- All but the sub-$100,000 housing segment experienced negative sales;
- Days on Market (DOM) for single-family homes rose from 38 to 62 days;
- Total property sales fell 20.9 percent with 9,589 units sold;
- Total dollar volume dropped 20.2 percent to $3.7 billion;
- The single-family median price dropped 3.0 percent to $325,000;
- The single-family average price was statistically flat at $408,647;
- Single-family home months of inventory registered a 2.7-months supply, up from 1.1 months a year earlier;
- Townhome/condominium sales experienced their 10th straight monthly decline, falling 35.3 percent, with the median price up 4.0 percent to $223,500 and the average price up 6.0 percent to $270,294;
- Compared to pre-pandemic 2019, townhome and condominium sales were unchanged.