Houston Housing Hammered by Harvey

Single-family home sales fell by 25.4% in August 2017, marking the first decline in this metric in almost a year. The reason for the drop-off, according to the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) was Hurricane Harvey, which dealt the area a blow with flooding rains.

Interestingly enough, while sales fell, pricing seemed relatively unaffected, as the home median price increased by 3% to $231,700, and the average price stood at $296,418, a 2.6% year-over-year increase. Inventory grew from 4 months to 4.4 months, though that is expected to shrink as undamaged and repaired houses are snapped up by those in need of housing.

HAR chair Cindy Hamann said it will probably be weeks until the storm’s full impact will be felt on the market. “Home sales were humming throughout the first three weeks of August, but the moment Harvey struck the region, everything came to a screaming halt,” she added.

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