While Greater Houston real estate saw an 8% year-over-year boost in new inventory a week earlier, the positivity was fleeting, as new listings fell 18.4% during the first week in October, according to the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) weekly activity snapshot.

Real estate agents entered 2,505 properties into the HAR Multiple Listing Service (MLS) during the week ended Oct. 4, compared to 3,071 a year earlier. Nevertheless, new listings overall continue to trend ahead of 2020 levels.

Pending listings continued their early autumn up-and-down pattern for the Houston housing market. Listings that went under contract totaled 2,404, down from last year’s 2,760, a 12.9% year-over-year decline.

Fewer property listings were withdrawn from the MLS during week 39 than during the same week in 2020. A total of 1,268 homes went from active to off-market status, a 30.1% decrease.

Like Texas temperatures, the housing market remains hot but did cool slightly as October made its debut. Closed sales of homes totaled 2,760, down 2.6% from last year’s 2,833.

Showings drew fewer homebuyers than during the same week last year. Year-over-year traffic at Houston-area property showings fell 21% for a total of 32,325, compared to 40,927 the same week in 2020. In addition, HAR.com listing views decreased 11.4% from last year.

For more information about the housing segment — that includes data on sales volume for townhome, condominium and single-family home sales, among others —real estate professionals can visit HAR.com mobile apps.