(HAR REPORT): The march into record territory continued in May, with buyers pushing Houston home prices to new highs. The average price of a single-family home rose 14.3 percent to $440,670 while the median price jumped 16.0 percent to $351,000. The average price for a single-family home in Houston first broke the $400,000 mark in March of this year.
“Conditions appear to be calming a bit across the Houston housing market, so we are not seeing the frenetic pace of buying we did a couple of months ago with dozens of competing offers on new listings,” noted HAR Chair Jennifer Wauhob with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene. “New listings increased nine percent in May, helping boost inventory to its highest level of the year, so hopefully we can begin to see signs of normalcy in terms of supply, demand and pricing in the months ahead.”
For the second month in a row, the ‘Close to Original List Price Ratio’ for single-family homes broke the 100 percent mark, rising 100.9 percent — the highest percentage ever. That means that a majority of buyers paid above list price for homes on the market. The ratio first broke the 100 percent mark last summer, as high-dollar buying began to permeate the market. It was up 100.6 percent last month.