HOUSTON – Strong home sales continued into September as consumers took advantage of historically low mortgage interest rates amid a pandemic.
According to the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR), 9,101 single-family homes sold last month, a 29.1 percent increase and the fourth straight month of positive sales.
“September sales defied expectations with many Realtors busier than ever. However, we anticipate that the pace of sales will soon slow down since there just aren’t a whole lot of homes out there for consumers to buy,” said HAR Chairman John Nugent.
The single-family home median price rose 8.3 percent to $265,000 while the average price increased 10.1 percent to $329,801. Both figures are record highs for a September.
Year-to-date sales are currently 5.4 percent ahead of 2019’s record pace.
Sales of all property types totaled 11,137, up 31.9 percent from September 2019. Total dollar volume surged 43.6 percent to $3.4 billion.
The lease market cooled in September with declines in single-family housing while townhouse/condo leases were unchanged.
Sales for homes priced at $750,000 and up leapt 81.5 percent over the year. That was followed by the $500,000 to $750,000 housing segment, which jumped 58.1 percent year-over-year.
Homes between $250,000 and $500,000—which comprise the market’s biggest share of sales—also had significant increases over last year.
The Real Estate Center has more information on housing: