Houston Real Estate Highlights for December and Full-Year 2020

[Jhoana Olarte]

• Despite a devastating global pandemic, 2020 proved to be a record year for Houston real estate with 96,151 single-family homes sold versus 86,996 in 2019, the last record-setting year. That represents an increase of 10.5 percent;
• Total dollar volume for full-year 2020 rose 18.1 percent to a record-setting $35.3 billion;
• December single-family home sales jumped 25.5 percent year-over-year with 9,652 units sold;
• Total December property sales increased 27.2 percent to 11,572 units;
• Total dollar volume for December soared 39.3 percent to $3.9 billion;
• At $273,443, the single-family home median price rose 8.7 percent, establishing a new record high;
• The single-family home average price climbed 11.4 percent to an all-time high of $347,164;
• Single-family homes months of inventory narrowed sharply to a record low 1.9-months supply;
• Townhome/condominium sales rose 10.9 percent year-over-year with the average price unchanged at $227,856 and the median price down 2.7 percent to $180,000;
• Leases of single-family homes fell 14.5 percent with average rent up 7.5 percent to $1,899;
• Leases of townhomes/condominiums climbed 13.1 percent with average rent up 3.6 percent to $1,641.
• rage rent up 7.5 percent to $1,899;
  

[Mark Brown]

It's not quite all roses. Buried in the report is this little table:

Broken out by housing segment, December sales performed as follows:

• $1 - $99,999: decreased 15.7 percent
• $100,000 - $149,999: decreased 20.2 percent
• $150,000 - $249,999: increased 13.2 percent
• $250,000 - $499,999: increased 44.6 percent
• $500,000 - $749,999: increased 80.8 percent
• $750,000 and above: increased 54.0 percent

So homes at the low end of the market saw a *decrease* in the number of homes sold.  Any idea what to make of this?  

My guess is Covid has dramatically hit people harder in the lower incomes, and so those people aren't moving. With no jobs, they can't afford to move or qualify for a mortgage.  With the foreclosure moratorium, they don't have to leave. At some point, when the foreclosure moratorium goes away, I bet we will see a lot of distressed homes coming onto the market.