HAR Report: All housing segments experienced negative sales in October. The smallest decline in sales was recorded among homes priced $500,000 and $999,999, which fell 6.6 percent. With fewer homes priced below $250,000, some consumers pivoted to the rental market. HAR will examine those trends in the October 2022 Rental Home Update, to be released next Wednesday, November 16.
“The Houston housing market is heading towards more balanced conditions,” said HAR Chair Jennifer Wauhob with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene. “We saw years of unprecedented growth, and it appears the market is finally nearing pre-pandemic levels. Higher mortgage rates are softening buyer demand. But as prices level off and inventory grows, we’re going to see more consumers move from the sidelines to the marketplace.”
The average price of a single-family home rose 7.2 percent in October to $403,712 –below the record high of $438,290 reached earlier this year in May. The median price jumped 8.4 percent to $330,500, which is also below the highest median of all time, $354,000, reached in June 2022. The average price for a single-family home in Houston first broke the $400,000 mark in March of this year. The median price has held above $300,000 since May of 2021.