Despite soaring prices and evaporating inventory, the Houston real estate market completed its second month of the new year in positive territory. 

According to the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR) February 2022 Market Update, single-family home sales totaled 7,372 last month, a 22.9% jump from the previous year. 

Homes priced between $250,000 and $500,000 led the way in sales for the month, registering an 80.1% year-over-year gain. The $500,000 to $1 million housing segment ranked second, surging 72.3%, followed by the luxury market (homes priced at $1 million and above), which rose 33.5%.

Houston’s home prices in February reached an all-time high as the average price of a single-family home spiked 13.4% to $395,871, while the median price increased 19.3% to $328,000, the report revealed. 

Sales of all property types jumped 25.6% for a total dollar volume of $3.5 billion.

“Last year’s freeze may have distorted the February sales figures, but the fact remains that home sales throughout Houston continue to trend upward despite the challenges posed by limited inventory, record-setting pricing and rising interest rates,” said Jennifer Wauhob, HAR Chair, in a press release. “We are watching closely to see how the local housing market may be affected this month by surging oil prices and some of the other economic fallout of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.” 

Pending sales last month rose 23.6% from one year prior, while active listings fell 10.7%. Inventory of single-family homes slid to a 1.3 months supply, slightly lower than the national average supply of 1.6 months, according to the latest report from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).