What you need to know about our current housing market and the signs.
The numbers have come out for the March real estate market, and there are some interesting changes you need to hear about. The Houston Association of Realtors has released the sales activity for March 2023, comparing it to the same month in previous years.
One thing to note is that total sales are down 20% and active listings are up almost 70% compared to March 2022. However, it’s also important to keep things in perspective because 2022 was still an unusual time in the market. Many people say 2019 was the most recent normal year for the real estate market, and if you compare those stats to March 2019, total sales are up and active listings are down. Therefore, we can see that the market is normalizing.
“The market is normalizing as the higher interest rate environment is becoming more accepted.”
The statistic that I found most interesting was that pending sales were down only 5% as compared to March 2022 which was a record time in the Houston market. In March 2022, interest rates were extremely low—around 4%. Today, our rates are closer to 6%. This shows that the market is correcting.
Overall, there are three key points you can take away from all of this. First, know that the market is normalizing as the higher interest rate environment is becoming more accepted. Second, seller and builder pricing is becoming more aligned with buyer expectations, which is increasing activity. Third, we’re still comfortably ahead of 2019 numbers, which was the last normal year in the Houston real estate market.
If you have any questions about this information or the market, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re happy to help, so call or email us anytime.
