Dive Brief:
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Houston's housing market set a new monthly sales volume record in June while its average and median single-family home prices reached all-time highs, according to the Houston Business Journal. The market also reported the most inventory in nearly five years at a 4.4-month supply in June.
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Houston had 8,414 single-family home sales in June, up 8.3% from a year ago. The luxury category saw the biggest sales jump, up 13% year-over-year and the eighth-consecutive month of growth. Meanwhile, the median home price rose 2.6% year-over-year to $239,023.
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Single-family rentals in Houston are also on the rise, with those leases increasing 17.4% and townhome and condominium leases up 21.3% for the month. The average single-family home rent fell 4% in June while rent for townhomes and condos rose by 2.5%.
Dive Insight:
Houston, already the country’s fourth-largest city by population, is drawing new residents at a rate of more than 1,000 people each week — leading a cohort of U.S. cities experiencing rapid population growth.
New developments in the area are contributing to that growth. Among them is Skanska USA's $151 million, 35-story, mixed-use office tower that, when complete, will house Bank of America as its anchor tenant. The completion of Japanese HVAC manufacturer Daikin's $417 million, 4.2-million-square-foot factory complex near Houston is expected to be a boon for the city. The campus will create 4,000 jobs and is expected to generate $4 billion for the local economy. It also sparked Broad-Ocean Motor Co., one of Daikin's key Chinese suppliers, to announce plans to construct its own plant near that complex.
The metro's River Oaks District has been another strong point for the local economy. The mixed-use development is readying for its next phase – a 455,000-square-foot expansion including office, retail, residential and hotel space, according to the Journal.
Houston is becoming more "dwellable" by adding more new housing units than it did residents in 2016, according to CityLab, though analysts worry the market could lose its reputation as one that has been traditionally affordable. The median home sales prices spiked 45% and 47% in Harris and Galveston counties, respectively, from the market’s trough to Q4 2016, according to Houston Agent Magazine. Wages dropped 8% in Harris County and inched up only 1% in Galveston County during that time. The two counties cover Houston and surrounding areas