February a good month for Houston home sales

The Texas Real Estate Research Center has issued the following press release:

HOUSTON – Area home sales scored double-digit gains in February, partly because of the deadly Texas freeze from February 2021 halting real estate activity.

According to the Houston Association of Realtors, single-family home sales increased 22.9% from February 2021 to 7,321 units sold. Sales were up 23.3% over February 2020, the last February with no freeze.

On a year-to-date basis, sales are 15.4% ahead of 2021's record pace.

Pending sales jumped 23.6%. However, total active listings fell 10.7%.

The average price of a single-family home rose 13.4% to $395,871 while the median price increased 19.3% to $328,000.

Homes priced between $250,000 to $500,000 registered an 80.1% year-over-year gain, leading sales for the month. The $500,000 to $1 million cohort increased 72.3% right behind them, followed by the luxury-home cohort.

Sales for all property types rose 25.5% year over year. Total dollar volume increased 43.5% to $3.5 billion.

Single-family home inventory slid to a 1.3-months supply versus 1.5 months last February. The Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University considers six to 6.5 months of inventory a balanced market.

Townhome and condominium sales jumped 35.9% with the average price up 22.4% to $266,366 and the median price up 26.8% to $225,000—both record highs.

Constrained housing inventory pushed consumers to the single-family rental market, which rose 23.8% year over year. Rents for single-family homes increased 6.5% to $2,052.