by Calculated Risk on 8/12/2020 12:38:00 PM

From the HAR: July Home Sales Across Houston Reach Record Territory

A continued surge in closings from homes that went under contract after the lifting of COVID-19 stay-at-home measures propelled Houston real estate into record territory in July – surpassing June’s stronger-than-expected performance. However, a dwindling supply of homes caused by the burst of homebuying and home sellers holding back amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis will make it difficult to keep up with the strong buyer demand.

According to the latest Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) Market Update, 10,975 single-family homes sold in July compared to 8,921 a year earlier. That translated to a 23.0 percent increase. That is a record sales volume for a single month and marks the first time that figure has surpassed 10,000.
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Sales of all property types totaled 13,043 – another record high – up 25.0 percent from July 2019. Total dollar volume for the month leapt 33.8 percent to $4.1 billion. Consumers also sent lease properties into positive territory in July.
emphasis added

Inventory declined 19.4% year-over-year from 44,722 in July 2019 to 36,055 in July 2020.

Note that the closed sales in July were for contracts that were mostly signed in May and June.