HOUSTON — (February 13, 2019) — Fresh on the heels of a record-breaking 2018, home sales across greater Houston began the new year at a dramatically slower pace. Sales volume fell in all pricing segments in January, including the luxury home market, which saw its first decline in 12 months. However, rental activity was strong, and inventory levels continued expanding, providing consumers with more choices in the lead-up to the traditionally busy spring buying season.
According to the latest monthly report from the Houston Association of Realtors® (HAR), 4,100 single-family homes sold in January compared to 4,462 a year earlier. That represents an 8.1 percent decline – the third straight month of falling sales.
The single-family home median price (the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less) edged up 1.4 percent to $222,000 and the average price rose 2.4 percent to $277,483. Those are the highest prices ever for a January.
Sales of all property types totaled 5,011, down 8.4 percent from January 2018. Total dollar volume for the month fell 4.4 percent to slightly more than $1.3 billion.
“January appears to have delivered a perfect economic storm of sorts, with some consumers focused on paying off holiday credit card bills, others concerned about the recent bump in mortgage rates and still others that may have felt the squeeze from the partial government shutdown,” said HAR Chair Shannon Cobb Evans with Heritage Texas Properties. “We are encouraged by the strong performance among rental properties, and I believe that as inventory levels continue to grow, more buyers will return to the market.”
