The Corona Virus took the world by storm and will shape the worlds economy in numerous ways. One of the industries that will be heavily affected in the recent months will be the real estate market. Although many markets are different throughout the United States, the Houston market has been really strong over the last several years. Even with the stay-at-home order from Governor Greg Abbott, Houston’s home sales were more than 11 percent ahead of the levels at this point in 2019. Many people are still taking advantage of the rock bottom interest rates that are available from mortgage companies.
Many real estate professionals in the Houston area are looking for the Corona Virus to have the same effects on Houston as Hurricane Harvey did for some time. There should be a major slow down, shifting the once strong sellers market back to more of a buyers market, soon. The easiest way to put it is, many are bracing for impact, waiting to see the full extent of the damage it will have on employment and local businesses.
Houston Real Estate Highlights in March
- Single-family home sales rose 8.2 percent year-over-year, with 7,566 units sold, marking the ninth consecutive month of positive sales;
- The Days on Market (DOM) figure for single-family homes was unchanged at 65 days;
- Total property sales rose 6.9 percent, with 8,965 units sold;
- Total dollar volume jumped 11.0 percent to more than $2.6 billion;
- The single-family home median price rose 4.1 percent to $249,900, reaching a March high;
- The single-family home average price climbed 3.8 percent to a March high of $309,785;
- Single-family homes months of inventory was at a 3.5-months supply, down from 3.8 months last March but above the national inventory level of 3.1 months;
- Townhome/condominium sales declined 0.5 percent, with the average price up 6.0 percent to $224,038 and the median price up 4.6 percent to $183,000;
- Lease properties experienced a mixed performance, as single-family home rentals increased 1.2 percent with the average rent up 2.4 percent to $1,788;
- Volume of townhome/condominium leases fell 9.7 percent with the average rent up 4.2 percent to $1,604.
- One of the many things not talked about much is the change in today’s oil prices that are going to have a massive effect on the Houston real estate market with the current OPEC issues overseas. Many people are expecting large oil companies to have major layoffs contributing to the large unemployment numbers we are already seeing here in the United States.
The outlook of the Houston real estate market is brital and is henging on several external factors that we should keep a close eye on. Once the April and May numbers are in, we should be able to see the lasting impact and a small outlook of what the real estate market should look like for the rest of 2020.
