HOUSTON REAL ESTATE MARKET UPDATE HALF TIME REPORT 2019
The Houston residential real estate market has registered record sales in the months of February to May this year, with our higher end (over $750k) leading the way. Despite record sales, many homes continue to sit on the market due to higher inventory levels in many areas, including the Inner Loop, Heights and Energy Corridor.
According to the Houston Association of Realtors: “Sales of single-family homes increased 2.8 percent in May, with 8,346 homes sold compared to 8,117 in May 2018. On a year-to-date basis, home sales are running 2.7 percent ahead of 2018’s record pace. The prices of a single-family home reached historic highs in May. The median price rose 2.4 percent to $249,993 and the average price climbed 5.8 percent to $323,023. The last pricing highs were reached almost a year ago, in June 2018.”
Since the market is doing so well, why isn’t my home selling? It all comes down to location, condition and price. If a home borders a busy street or commercial property, it will almost always take longer to sell. If a home needs updating, repairs or is not staged well, then buyers may not get excited about it or see too many dollars to invest after closing. If a home is priced higher than other competing homes, it may not even get showings until its price comes in line with other properties.
But even when a home is in a prime location in the neighborhood, is in excellent condition and is priced competitively, it may sit on the market for many months waiting for the right buyer. We have a lot of buyers in the market, but we also have a lot of homes on the market, so there are lots of choices for buyers right now.
Here are some statistics on several of our major micromarkets, showing 2019 YTD sales of single family homes as of June 28, and highlighting the highest sale so far this year.
River Oaks
30 homes sold averaging $3,826,660 ($597/SF) and 134 days on market (DOM)
2930 Lazy Lane – $15,680,000 ($1,479/SF) – 234 DOM – 10,599 SF house on 228,020 SF lot built 1950
Memorial Villages
54 homes sold averaging $1,926,324 ($362/SF) and 145 DOM
25 Greyton Lane – $5,250,000 ($66/SF) – 188 DOM – 11,265 SF house on 48,082 SF lot built 2013
Tanglewood
21 homes sold averaging $2,218,095 ($386/SF) and 288 DOM
5510 Tupper Lake – $4,550,000 ($654/SF) – 285 DOM – 6,959 SF house on 44,383 SF lot built 1993
West University Place
75 homes sold averaging $1,339,650 ($401/SF) and 76 DOM
2819 University Blvd – $3,150,000 ($411/SF) – 202 DOM – 7,670 SF house on 14,000 SF lot built 2007
Briargrove
24 homes sold averaging $1,106,224 ($327/SF) and 100 DOM
6213 Briar Rose – $2,300,000 ($357/SF) – 22 DOM – 6,450 SF house on 9,727 SF lot built 2015
Heights (77008 east of Shepherd, south of 20th)
120 homes sold averaging $769,512 ($323/SF) and 97 DOM
635 E 12th St – $2,100,000 ($410/SF) – 6 DOM – 5,127 SF house on 9,375 SF lot built 2014