Between home prices reaching historic highs and mortgage interest rates on the rise, the Houston real estate market eased up a bit in May as some consumers put off purchases or turned to rentals as an alternative. Single-family home sales declined a fractional 0.9 percent, however on a year-to-date basis, sales are 4.4 percent ahead of last year’s record pace.
Of all the monthly housing metrics for May, only single-family home sales and total property sales experienced declines. Active listings (the total number of available properties) jumped 14.9 percent and total dollar volume for May rose 12.0 percent to $4.9 billion.
Helped by a 9.0 percent increase in new listings, months of inventory reached a 1.6-months supply, the highest level since October 2021 when it was 1.7 months. Housing inventory nationally stands at a 2.2-months supply, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). A 6.0-months supply is traditionally considered a “balanced market,” in which neither the buyer nor the seller has an advantage.