MYTH: The Housing Market Is Stumbling

I hear it constantly – even from Realtors: the housing market is fumbling, bumbling, stumbling it’s way down. If enough people repeat it, it has to be true. Right?

Nah. The Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) says that August home sales were better than in 2013 or 2014. August 2015, when compared to recent years, had the:

• most number of sales (7,454),
• highest average sales price ($282,233), which means the
• highest dollar volume ($14,352,449,812),
• highest number of new listings (9,853), and
• lowest number of days on the market (45).

Overall, sales in Houston are down a meager 1% from last year. But with oil prices and layoffs, 1% seems like a win! That 1% accounts for just 500 homes in the entire Houston market in the last 8 months.

There is no single reason why overall sales could be down in 2015. Houston still boasts very little inventory and prices continue to rise – both pointing to a strong market. It is possible that, with a fantastic market and record-breaking sales in recent years, a slowdown was inevitable as 200,000 homes have been sold in Houston since January 2013. Sales have been so hot that there are fewer potential buyers as many are still settling into a new home.

Data provided by Houston Association of Realtors® Information Services™