Temperatures dropped in August along with home sales in Houston, and while Houstonians welcomed the break from extreme heat, home sellers became anxious as market times increased.
 
While the market shift in August may have come as a surprise to some sellers, after 17 years of selling real estate, I want to remind everyone that the housing market typically cools in Houston as parents prepare to send the kids back to school and everyone comes back from vacation.
 
As families shifted their focus on back-to-school activities, there was little time to focus on buying a home, even if we weren’t also facing rising interest rates. As the housing market normalizes after a post pandemic frenzy, August was back to the status quo in relation to the housing market.
 
Hang on to your seats, though! As we finish the Labor Day weekend, or what some people label as the last weekend of summer, we should see the Fall season pick up. Yes– there is a Fall season for home sales, and it typically starts after Labor Day weekend. According to Homelight, homes listed in September typically sell for more money.
 
While inventory levels have been creeping up in most markets, and we have a 2-3 months’ supply of homes for sale verses a 1 month’s supply that we saw at the beginning of Summer, it is still a Seller’s Market, just a much tamer Seller’s Market.
 
Although interest rates are higher, home prices are leveling out, so buyers do not have to compete against multiple offers and be forced to overpay for homes in most cases. There are still some homes that are exceptional that buyers are willing to pay above the market prices for, but I highly advise buyers to approach overpaying in this market. The last time I saw that happen in 2013-2015, those same buyers were upside down in their homes for at least 4 years.
 
Overall, this is a much calmer market for buyers to buy a home in, and it is still a reasonable market for sellers to sell.