Despite shrinking inventory, homebuying activity in Houston continued its record pace in January, according to the latest Market Update from the Houston Association of Realtors.

Sales of single-family homes in January were up 27.7% year over year, marking the eighth straight months of positive sales.

Once again, the luxury housing segment registered the strongest sales activity during the first month of the new year, while mid-range homes also drove brisk sales.

Sales of homes priced at $750,000 and above were up a whopping 73.9% from January 2020, sales of homes priced between $500,000 and $750,000 climbed 70.4% year over year and sales of homes priced between $250,000 and $500,000 — which comprise the market’s biggest share of sales — rose 61.9% from the previous year.

Along with sales, prices were also up in January. The single-family home average price climbed 12.5% to a high of $326,063, while the median price increased 12.1% to $263,500 — another high for the month of January.

With sales of all property types up 27.5% year over year, total dollar volume in January surged 42.8% to $2.3 billion.

Meanwhile, inventory continued to decline in January, with new listings down 13.6% from the previous year, bringing single-family home inventory down to a 1.8-month supply compared to 3.3 months a year earlier.

“The Houston real estate market carried the momentum of 2020 into the new year, however we believe that the current pace of sales is unsustainable without an infusion of new listings into the marketplace,” said HAR Chairman Richard Miranda in a press release. “It’s our hope that as we move out of the winter months, more sellers will begin to put their homes on the market and help boost inventory to pre-pandemic levels.”