HOUSTON /HAR Report— (May 10, 2023) — The road back to market “normalcy,” still lined with mortgage rate volatility, led to an April that showed signs of market resiliency, but remained down when compared to April 2022. April became the 13th straight month in which sales volume trailed the previous year and the third consecutive month in which prices failed to top the previous year’s levels.
According to the Houston Association of Realtors’ (HAR) April 2023 Market Update, single-family home sales remained down 18.4 percent year-over-year with 7,310 units sold compared to 8,955 in April 2022. However, when compared to April 2019, when sales volume totaled 7,673 units, sales were down just 4.7 percent. In addition, inventory remains steady and well above the historic lows of 2022, providing more housing options for buyers as we enter the traditionally prime sales season.
All housing segments experienced declines in April when compared to 2022. Single-family rentals benefited again from strong consumer demand as many would-be homebuyers are still turning to the rental market amid ongoing uncertainty about interest rates and inflation. HAR will publish its April 2023 Rental Home Update next Wednesday, May 17.