For a time, it looked as if 2020, thanks to COVID-19 would be a devastating year for the economy locally, including home sales and prices.
But low interest rates, and high demand for housing in Montgomery County created a rebound that is astonishing in many ways. For 2020, total home sales in Montgomery County jumped nearly 19 percent over 2019. Furthermore, December marked the seventh-straight month of sales for 2020 outpacing the previous year, reflecting a remarkable comeback from declining sales in April and May due to COVID-19. In May in Montgomery County existing home sales were down 23 percent; by December they were at 36 percent higher than the previous December.
While this is positive news for sellers, in some price ranges competition is increasing for buyers, leading to multiple offers in some of the areas in Montgomery County with highest demand.
Total home sales in Montgomery County in December jumped from 961 last December to 1,308 this year, an increase of 36 percent, according to MLS data from the Houston Association of Realtors. Once again, Montgomery County outperformed Houston, which saw an increase year over year for December of 25 percent.
The greatest demand for housing in Montgomery County is within the $200,000 to $250,000 price range, representing nearly a fourth of all homes sold. In December, sales in that category increased nearly 28 percent over last year, growing from 198 last December to 274 this December. The greatest percentage increase in homes sold occurred in the $1 million-plus range in December, with sales jumping 65 percent from 11 homes sold last December to 31 homes this December.
The demand for homes is creating pressure on inventory and causing supply of homes on the market to
dwindle, which could be exerting upward pressure on prices. The median sales price for Montgomery County homes in December was $289,000, a 9 percent increase over last December.
The pace of home sales in some areas is threatening to outpace supply. In The Woodlands, for example, price ranges below $1 million all are considered to represent a seller's market, which means condition favor sellers over buyers. According to real estate economics, a sellers' market exists when the inventory of existing homes is six months or less - meaning at the current pace of sales, it would take less than six months to sell all the available homes on the market.
