The Monthly Market Pulse: Houston’s Real Estate Review – September 2023

The Silver Lining of A Stretched Sales Stumble☁️

Entering autumn, Houston’s real estate landscape is subtly shifting.The Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) reports an 18th consecutive month of easing in home sales in September 2023, with a year-over-year decline of 10.9%. Amid this slower sales pace, a total of 6,886 homes found new owners, down from 7,728 in September 2022.But as they say, when one door closes, another opens. The softer sales have provided an opportunity for housing inventory to breathe and increase, reaching a 3.5-month supply—the highest since November 2019!

Housing Segments and Rising Rents📊

While all housing segments saw slowdowns, the under-$100k market, boasting a slim 1.2% of Houston’s overall housing stock, remained stable. Moreover, as mortgage rates have left some prospective buyers on the fence, rental properties are going from strength to strength.

A Moderating Market, But Still Mighty💪

Home prices continued to cool off this September. The average price rose modestly by 0.8% to settle at $416,664, and the median price went down 2.2% to $333,000—both comfortably lower than their respective record highs recorded earlier in the year.

Examining the Bigger Picture🔍

Despite the slower September sales, when viewed alongside pre-pandemic September 2019 figures, the decline is a much tighter 2.3%. And when matched up against the sales volume five years ago, in September 2018, we’re up by 7.1%! While sales activity and dollar volume couldn’t surpass last year’s strides, single-family pending sales did pick up by 1.2%. Total active listings surged, and we closed September 13.7% ahead of 2022.

Final Thoughts: Navigating The Slowdown And Looking Ahead 🌅

September was undeniably a quieter month for Houston real estate. However, we’re approaching the close of another year, and it’s not uncommon to see a slowdown in activity during the holiday season.

On the flip side, it will be intriguing to see whether robust interest in rental properties persists as buyer sentiments remain cautious due to mortgage rates. Despite the challenges, we are steadily progressing towards a more ‘balanced’ market – a condition favoring neither buyer nor seller – making usual strides back to normality.

As always, the Selling Houston Team remains committed to guiding you, our cherished clients, towards making informed real estate decisions, come rain or shine.