In the first quarter, home sales weren’t able to match the frenetic pace of pandemic-era activity — but when compared to a so-called “normal” year, the current market doesn’t look so bad.

The Houston Association of REALTORS® two-tiered market analysis for March shows once again that Houston real estate levels track ahead of 2019 but behind 2022. Year over year, single-family home sales were down 18.3%, but compared to March 2019, sales were up 13%.

“Houston real estate is continuing to work its way back to normalcy with more new listings hitting the market and prices easing,” said Cathy Treviño, chair of HAR. “Inflation and interest rates are still causing angst, but once consumer confidence is finally restored, we will see home sales pick up and probably return to the seasonal cycles that prevailed before the pandemic.”

There’s also some good news for buyers: single-family home prices have fallen for the second time since spring 2020. The median price in March dropped 3% to $325,000, while the average price remained relatively flat at $408,647. That’s a huge drop from the historic highs of $353,995 in June 2022 and $438,313 in May 2022, respectively.

Supply continues to grow during this time of slower sales activity, giving a bit more choice to prospective homebuyers. In March, inventory grew to a 2.7-month supply — higher than the national average of 2.6 months.