HOUSTON, HAR Report — (December 14, 2022) —Houston real estate was down for an eighth straight month in November as the market continued weathering strong economic headwinds that included inflation, elevated interest rates and home prices, and low inventory. Add Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday shopping season to the mix and a drop in sales was inevitable.
According to the Houston Association of Realtors’ (HAR) November 2022 Market Update, single-family home sales fell 30.4 percent, with 5,827 units sold compared to 8,374 in November 2021. That marks the steepest monthly sales decline of 2022. However, when compared to the last November before the pandemic – November of 2019 – sales were down 8.4 percent. On a year-to-date basis, the market trails 2021’s record-setting volume by 8.8 percent.
All housing segments experienced declines in November. By contrast, single-family home rentals had another solid gain, demonstrating that prospective buyers continue to shift to the rental market until economic conditions stabilize or improve. HAR will report on rental trends in the November 2022 Rental Home Update, to be released next Wednesday, December 21.
“Because Houston housing was hyper-energized at the beginning of the year, concern arose when interest rates increased and we began experiencing a consistent decline in sales volume,” said HAR Chair Jennifer Wauhob with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene. “It’s important to maintain perspective by acknowledging that our market is battling the same forces as the rest of the country, between higher interest rates and prices, inflation and limited inventory. Fortunately, the Houston area has weathered the downturn better than many other markets.”
The average price of a single-family home rose 5.8 percent in November to $403,589 –well below the record high of $438,301 reached in May of this year. The median price increased 7.0 percent to $332,000, which is also below the highest median of all time, $354,000, which was achieved in June 2022.