Home sales fell more than 11% last month in Houston, HAR reports – Houston Public Media

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Houston home sales had another tough month in June as the local market continued to struggle to find its way amid high mortgage rates and stubborn prices.

The Houston Association of Realtors reports that sales decreased 11.6% in June compared to June 2023. This is the second consecutive month of declining sales in Houston.

The number of available homes also played a larger role in last month’s figures. In June, the number of available homes reached 4.3 months of supply, compared to about 3 months a year ago.

“We now have more options for buyers, there’s more inventory. I think that played a role in the slight decline in sales,” said Theresa Hill, HAR’s vice president. “We just had more availability for buyers.”

All segments of the local real estate market saw declines last month, with sales of homes priced between $500,000 and $1 million down 20 percent.

Home prices also increased slightly to an average of $432,000. The median price also increased to $345,500.

The local market is still adjusting to the post-pandemic reality. Instead of selling homes in hours, it’s now taking longer. The time to market has increased from 45 to 46 days in the last month, and buyers are more selective and have more options.

“We had a little bit more of a balanced market, so it’s not a buyer’s advantage or a seller’s advantage, it’s more of a balanced market, whereas before we had a total seller’s advantage,” Hill said.

Real estate professionals always advise buyers not to wait if they find the right home. Even though current mortgage rates are in the 6% to 7% range, homebuyers can find creative ways to get around some of these costs.

“You can do a buyout, you can do an adjustable rate mortgage and then refinance later, so yes, there are other options,” Hill said.

Total dollar volume last month fell more than 12% to $3.8 billion in sales.