It is no secret that Houston’s economy just keeps pumping, throughout the region both transplants and locals are discovering that buying a home makes sense. Understandably, housing supply has been extremely tight throughout the year. All this growth has driven single-family home sales in the Houston area to the lowest recorded inventory levels. Ever. According to the latest Houston Association of Realtors monthly report, single-family home sales hit a record 73,232 closings in 2013, up an astounding 17.4% over 2012 (itself a very active year). Here’s a look at some statistical highlights from 2013:

  • The Houston Area recorded 86,000 new jobs created, plenty of those new workers seem to have bought houses.
  • The Houston Area median home price was $180,000 in 2013, up 9.4% over the previous year.
  • The Houston Area average home price was a record-setting $265,017, up 10.3% from the previous average of $240,326 a year ago.
  • Single-family home inventory hit a record low of 2.6 months, meaning that’s how long it would take for the Houston Area to sell every home listed given the current rate of sales. That’s less than the 3.7 months from 2012 and 5.8 months from 2011. A more “balanced” or “typical” market would usually hover around 6 months. This is absolutely a seller’s market.
  • Total volume of home sales jumped 30.2% to $20.89 billion dollars.