2020 was a fabulous year to sell a house in the Houston area. 2021 might be better.
Low interest rates and a short supply of homes for sale drove prices up and buyers into a frenzy. “I expect single family residences to continue to be harder and harder to come by, and of course that’s driving the prices up. Commercial, totally different story, but as far as residential goes it’s a strong market,” says Michael Weaster of Graham & Company Realty. A record $35.3 billion worth of properties in Houston sold last year, surpassing the 2019 record year by 10%. 2021 could be better. “As a matter of fact,” adds Weaster, “I’m telling my clients who are ready to list their properties, if they price it today it’s one price. If they list it in May it’s going to be a different price – higher. And if they list it in June it’s going to be higher.” That’s music to a seller’s ears.
According to the Houston Association of Realtors, in 2020:
·Single-family home sales increased for the eighth consecutive month, surging 27.7 percent year-over-year with 6,088 units sold.
·The Days on Market (DOM) figure for single-family homes dropped from69 to 48.
·Total property sales shot up 27.5 percent with 7,519 units sold.
·Total dollar volume jumped 42.8 percent to $2.3 billion.
·The single-family average price reached a January high, rising 12.5 percent to $326,063.
·The single-family median price climbed 12.1 percent to $263,500 – also a January high.
·Single-family homes months of inventory registered a record low 1.8-month’s supply, down from 3.3 months before the pandemic and below the national inventory of 1.9 months;
·Townhome/condominium sales rose 12.5 percent with the average price up 12.4 percent to $211,188 and the median price up 17.0 percent to $175,500.
·Single-family home rentals fell 18.4 percent with the average rent up 6.0 percent to $1,889.
·Townhome/condominium leases dropped 6.3 percent with the average rent up 0.9 percent to $1,607.
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