In the midst of a global pandemic, the real estate boom is one of the biggest surprises to come out of 2020! Consumers have continued to seize upon historically low-interest rates despite the lingering pandemic. The Houston real estate market marked its fifth consecutive month of positive sales keeping the Bayou City on path to a record year!
The high end of the market, once again, registered the greatest sales volume increase, with mid-range homes falling closely behind. The market is also experiencing the lowest number of available homes on the market since December 2014; which has inevitably lead to a decrease in the average days on market and has promoted multiple offers on many of the listings. It's officially a seller's market!
The real estate market on the national stage is also thriving! According to CoreLogic, home prices jumped up 7.3% compared to October 2019 making it the fastest acceleration since April 2014. The number of homes sold also increased for the fifth consecutive month -- up 4.3% from last month and a huge 26.6% increase from one year ago!
“The pandemic has shifted home buyer interest toward detached rather than attached homes,” said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic. “Detached homes offer more living space and are typically located in less densely populated neighborhoods. And while prices of single-family detached homes posted an annual increase of 7.9% in October, the price of attached homes rose only 4.5% year over year.”
Houston Real Estate Highlights:
- Single-family home sales increased for a fifth consecutive month.
- 9,287 single-family homes sold in October 2020 compared to 7,187 sold in October 2019; marking a 29.2% increase.
- Homes priced at $750,000+ increased by a whopping 91.6% compared to October 2019.
- The $500,000 to $750,000 housing segment also experienced a huge 78.4% increase.
- Homes between $250,000 and $500,000, which make up the market's biggest share of sales, also achieved notable increases compared to October 2019.
- The median price rose 11.1% while the average price increased by 12.4%. Both are record highs for October.
- Year-to-date sales are currently trending 7.7% ahead of this time last year.
- Total property sales (cumulative for all property types) totaled 11,232. Which is a 31.5% increase compared to October 2019!
