The Partnership sends updates for the most important economic indicators each month. If you would like to opt-in to receive these updates, please click here.

Estimated Read Time: 3 minutes

Brokers closed on 85,163 single-family homes in metro Houston in ’24, a moderate 1.3 percent increase over sales in ’23, according to the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR). That is a significant improvement over ’22 and ’23 when annual sales fell by 10.7 percent and 11.8 percent respectively. December ’24 capped the year with 7,162 single-family homes sold, a healthy 16.3 percent increase over December ’23.

After falling in ’23, home prices began to appreciate again in ’24 with the median single-family home price increasing 1.3 percent from $330,000 in December ’23 to $334,290 in December ‘24. But these recent price increases are occurring at a sustainable rate compared to the increases of ’20-’22 when median home values grew by 10 percent or more year-over-year.

Mortgage rates rose in ’24, with the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage growing from 6.62 percent at the beginning of January ’24 to 6.85 percent by the end of December. The rate was volatile, rising to 7.22 percent in May before falling to a low of 6.08 percent in September after the Federal Reserve’s initial interest rate cuts. However, the average mortgage rate has rebounded since September due to stubborn inflation, lowered expectations of additional interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, strong economic growth, and high yields on treasury bonds.

The number of single-family homes listed for sale through HAR stood at 28,675 in December ’24, a 25.9 percent increase over December ’23, and a 35.6 percent increase over December ’22.

The inventory of single-family homes slipped to 4.0 months in December ’24, the threshold for a market that is balanced between buyers and sellers. The resale market has been buyer-friendly with over 4.0 months of inventory since June, but if inventories continue to slide in the months ahead the position of sellers may improve.

Townhome and condo sales have ticked down. Active listings and months of inventory for these properties increased between December ’23 and ’24 while their prices declined. Year-over-year sales of highrise units increased by 75 percent in December ’24 after declining for the previous 11 months.

Prepared by Greater Houston Partnership Research

Patrick Jankowski
Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Research
Greater Houston Partnership
pjankowski@houston.org

Colin Baker
Manager of Economic Research
Greater Houston Partnership
bakerc@houston.org