In May, home sales maintained a healthy pace despite climbing housing prices and mortgage interest rates. And, due partly to an increase in new listings, housing inventory reached its highest level of the year, according to a new report from the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR).

The HAR May 2022 Market Update revealed that single-family home sales fell by 0.9% last month, marking the second monthly year-over-year decline with 9,627 units sold compared to 9,714 a year earlier. However, on a year-to-date basis, the market is running 4.4% ahead of 2021’s record-setting volume.

The $500,000 to $1 million housing segment led the way in sales for the month, registering a 38.3% year-over-year sales volume gain. The luxury market (homes priced at $1 million and above) was next with a 30.2% spike, followed by the $250,000 to $500,000 market with a 10.7% increase.

Mortgage rates are still on the rise. As of June 7, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 6.059%, the report noted.

Buyers pushed Houston home prices to a new record high in May. The average price of a single-family home rose 14.3% to $440,670, while the median price jumped 16% to $351,000.

The average price for a single-family home in Houston first broke the $400,000 mark in March.

“Conditions appear to be calming a bit across the Houston housing market, so we are not seeing the frenetic pace of buying we did a couple of months ago with dozens of competing offers on new listings,” said HAR Chair Jennifer Wauhob. “New listings increased 9% in May, helping boost inventory to its highest level of the year, so hopefully, we can begin to see signs of normalcy in terms of supply, demand and pricing in the months ahead.”