Houston housing sees new sales records
The second year of a pandemic, dwindling inventory, building supply and labor shortages that slowed home construction, and rising home prices could not prevent the Houston real estate market from turning 2021 into a record year.
According to the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR’s) December/Full-Year 2021 Housing Market Update, single-family home sales for 2021 rose 10.3% to 106,229.
Sales of all property types for the year totaled 131,041, up 13.3% from 2020’s record volume and only the third time in history that total property sales surpassed the 100,000 level. Total dollar volume for 2021 shot up 28.2% to a record-breaking $40 billion.
“It was impossible to know what 2021 would have in store for Houston real estate, especially as the surges in coronavirus variants began affecting our area, but the need for housing never abated and Realtors delivered,” said HAR Chair Jennifer Wauhob with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene. “Limited inventory and shortages of building supplies and labor on the new construction side also posed serious challenges, but the market powered through it all to achieve a record year.”
Single-family home sales experienced their third decline of 2021 in December, falling 4.5% versus December 2020. However, that was not enough to prevent the market from hitting record-breaking territory. The strongest monthly sales volume registered was among homes priced between $500,000 and $999,999, which jumped 41.4% year-over-year.
The median price of a single-family home — the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less — established a new historic high of $319,000 in December.
The average price reached the second highest level of all time — $392,449.
2021 annual market comparison
Achieving a record year in 2020, despite the many obstacles created by the coronavirus pandemic, offered no assurances that conditions would remain favorable for real estate in 2021. But the market carried the positive momentum forward into the new year with inventory peaking at a 1.8-month supply in August amid a backdrop of continued strong sales and dwindling new listings.
Supply gradually began to taper each month after, ending the year at a 1.4-month supply — the second lowest of 2021. Consumers interested in new homes faced their own challenges in 2021 as supply chain interruptions and a shortage of construction laborers resulted in some home building delays.
By the time the books were closed on December transactions, a record 106,229 single-family homes had sold across greater Houston in 2021. That represents an increase of 10.3% from the previous record of 96,271 in 2020.
On a year-to-date basis, the average price rose 16% to $376,075 while the median price increased 15.4% to $300,000 — both records.
Total dollar volume for full-year 2021 jumped 28.2% to a record-setting $40 billion.
December monthly comparison
The Houston housing market generated mixed results in December. Single-family home sales and total property sales declined compared to December 2020 while total dollar volume and pricing rose. Month-end pending sales for single-family homes totaled 7,527, an increase of 10.8% versus one year earlier. Total active listings, or the total number of available properties, fell 14.1% from a year earlier to 22,496.
Single-family homes inventory narrowed from a 1.8-month supply to 1.4 months. For perspective, housing inventory across the U.S. currently stands at a 2.1-month supply, according to the latest National Association of Realtors (NAR) report. Single-family home sales totaled 9,272, down 4.5% from December 2020. That marked the third negative sales month of 2021, with declines also recorded in July and October. The median price rose 17.2% to an all-time high of $319,000. The average price increased 13.5% to $392,449 — the second highest average in history. Days on Market (DOM), or the number of days it took the average home to sell, dropped from 47 to 37.