Houston's June Market Numbers: Close to Balanced

The Houston Association of Realtors released its June numbers a couple of weeks ago, and they're worth a look if you own a home here. Single-family sales came in at 8,820, up 3.5% from June of last year. Pending sales — contracts signed that will close over the next couple of months — rose 12.3%. The median price was $345,000, down three-tenths of a percent from a year ago, so essentially flat. Months of inventory sat at 5.2.

That inventory figure is the one I'd pay attention to. Four to six months of supply is generally considered a balanced market, which puts Houston right in the middle of that range — not the seller's market of a few years ago, and not a buyer's market either. In practice it means buyers have real choices, and homes priced above what the comparable sales support will sit while correctly priced ones sell. The high end is moving well: sales of homes above a million dollars were up 17.1%. Townhomes and condominiums are softer, with a median of $215,000, down 6.5% from last June.

I earned my accounting degree at UH-Downtown, and I still spend more time on the inventory and pending-sales figures than on the headline price, because those are the ones that tell you where things are heading. If you're thinking about listing this year and want to know where your home actually falls within these numbers, call or text me at 281-818-8177 and I'll run the comparable sales for you.