How Houston home prices in 2020 compare to 2019

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — As everyone is adjusting to the new normal in the world of a pandemic, we’re taking a look at if and how that has impacted Houston-area home prices compared to 2019.

Many people who were hoping to buy a house in 2020 probably had their plans derailed due to COVID-19, but these numbers might make your choice easier.

Despite economic setbacks brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, which spread largely in the U.S. in March, the Houston housing market in July saw more home sales than it did a year ago.

According to the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR), single-family home sales increased by 15.7% in June 2020 compared to June 2019. Also, the average price increased to $262,000 compared to $252,900 a year ago.

Data from HAR showed that in the last week of March, the coronavirus had a subtle effect on the price and home sales.

Single-family homes priced between $500,000 and $750,000 led the way in March sales, followed by homes in the $250,000 to $500,000 range. Leases of single-family homes were also up for the month.

But let’s take a look at previous numbers.

After seeing a slight drop in sales and prices in April, HAR said COVID-19 caused home sales and prices to go down further. According to data gathered from HAR, the average single-family sales price dropped by 7.4% from $322,143 in May 2019 to $298,199 this year.

In the single-family median sales price, there was a .4% decrease from $250,000 in 2019 to $249,000 in 2020.

In the same month in 2019, May actually had an increase in its single-family average sales price from $305,245 in 2018 to $323,023. The same was with its single-family median sales price which went up by 2.4% from $244,015 in 2018 to $249,993 in 2019.

While the number of homes sold did not rise in 2019 compared to 2018, the average sales price and total median sales price did.

In June of 2018, the single-family average sales price was $315,517. But that changed by 2% to $321,973. But by 2020, that price dropped by about .6% to $319,800.

Things were different in median sales. In 2019, median sales went up by 2.9% from $245,000 in 2018 to $262,000, in 2020, that went up as well by 3.6%

But by July, things started changing up a bit and the housing market saw an increase in the value of the homes.

In 2019, the median price came in at $250,000, up 2.2% from July 2018 and the average price rose by 2.2% to $312,727.

In 2020, the market actually had a larger increase. The average sales price in single-family homes went up by 8.5% to $338,850, while the median sales price also went up by 8.7% to $271,830.

Now, seven months into the new normal, HAR shared on its website that in August it also saw a rise in prices. According to its site, a single-family home median sales price had a 7.6% increase to $269,000, while the average price went up by 7.8% to $334,256. Both figures are record highs for August. Year-to-date sales are running 2.8% ahead of 2019’s record pace.

The housing market has been a hot topic for some since the start of the pandemic, especially about how things will look like for next year.