Despite declining oil prices and slow job growth, the Houston housing market for June posted the highest number of single family home transactions on record. In a report from blog.chron.com, the high volume defied the US market trends.
In a recent report from the Houston Association of Realtors, the sales of single family houses for June increased by 4.1 percent or 7,935 units sold. The numbers for June was higher compared to February, April and May of 2015. The June 2015 stats were still high even after the Association revised its figures for May showing a 4.3 percent decline instead of the 6.6 percent earlier reported.
Even the median home price for the period was also a record, as the price of a home went for $225,000 in June.
According to HAR Chairperson Nancy Furst, "I think it speaks very well for the health of our real estate market when you have a month in which sales are up, rentals are up, inventory is going and you're comparing it all to the record year of 2014."
She added, "We still expect normalization in the marketplace this year, and that may well mean these alternating up and down sales months, but the bottom line appears to be that there is no lack of interest in housing in Houston, Texas."
Positive as the outlook may be, there may be long term issues that may loom in the horizon. According to a report from the houstonchronicle.com , several factors may have contributed to the record numbers of June but the 'lag effect' of the energy industry in the state's overall economy may rear its ugly head in the near future.
According to Texas A&M Real Estate Center economist Jim Gaines, "They haven't faced the reality yet of $50 oil."This refers to the price paid for a barrel of crude oil produced in the US, which can dampen the overall economy as many industries would be affected should there be a continued decline in oil prices.