Record median home prices coupled with a decline in sales activity has aided Houston’s inventory.
According to a report from Redfin, the metro experienced a 34.5 percent year-over-year inventory increase in November, the second largest rise in supply next to Denver.
More than 7,300 new listings hit the market last month, bringing total supply to 22,092 homes. The new listings figure represents a 14.6 percent year-over-year rise. Only Chicago and Phoenix saw more new listings brought to market in November.
Oil wells image via Shutterstock.
More sellers are looking to take advantage of historically high home values in Houston. Last month the median price of a home reached $200,000, the highest value ever for a November.
While prices are motivating sellers, increasing values and volatility within the oil and energy sectors seem to be deterring buyers. According to Redfin, during November 4,727 homes sold, which equated to a 4.5 percent year-over-year drop in activity. Sales volume last month also represented a month-to-month decline of 21.9 percent.
The Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) recently stated that these declines were expected, as the metro is coming off record-setting sales in 2014.
Sales activity in December should also be down, as November-end pending sales for single-family homes totaled 5,617, a 6.3 percent drop from a year earlier, according to HAR.
