Heavy sales volume in Houston’s high-end homes paired with limited inventory in mid-range homes helped drive up pricing overall in January, the Houston Association of REALTORS® reported this week.

Sales volume increased 52.2% year over year among properties priced at $1 million or more,  HAR’s January Market Update showed. Volume increased in other pricing categories, too, but the percentages were smaller than in the $1 million category. Overall volume was $2.91 billion in January, compared to $2.27 billion the same month last year.

The average price of a single-family home in Greater Houston rose to $377,000, compared to $325,000 in January 2021. The median price increased to $310,000. It was $263,000 last year.

Housing inventory dropped year over year, from 1.7 months of inventory in January 2021 to just 1.4 months this year. Nationally, inventory sits at 1.8 months, which is considered low. 

“The Houston housing market staged an impressive start to 2022, but that pace of sales is unsustainable without dramatic and immediate improvement in inventory,” said HAR Chair Jennifer Wauhob with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene. “There simply aren’t enough homes out there for consumers to buy right now, and the steady rise in home prices plus increasing mortgage rates create a perfect storm in terms of affordability.”