There was a national trend of home purchasing in the first quarter of 2021, but then there was Houston, which the Houston Association of Realtors describes as a frenzy. Purchase prices of homes in Texas were up 13.4% over the same time last year. In Houston, single-family home sales were up 47.4% in April year over year, a historic record.
“There’s always 10-12 buyers chasing after the same house. They all start out-bidding each other and as a consequence it ends up selling for more than it was listed for. And of course the one that benefits is the seller,” says HAR President Richard Miranda.
Continuing low interest rates led to buyers snapping up high end real estate at a pace we’ve never seen before. It was homes over $750,000 that led the charge, up 164% from last year.
The median price for a home in the Houston area was up 17.6% to $295,000. The average price is $372,000.
“We are going to have to see an inventory increase in the amount of listings because we cannot sustain this increase of sales going over 10-15% over the previous year,” Miranda adds.
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