While home sales declined for the 14th consecutive month in May, the latest market update from the Houston Association of REALTORS® suggests that the worst of the slowdown could be behind us.

Single-family home sales decreased by 10.4% year over year, with all segments other than the sub-$100,000 range experiencing declines. However, the annual decrease from May 2022 to May 2023 was the smallest year-over-year decline seen since June 2022 (when sales were down 7.6% year over year). Home sales are also down 1.3% from May 2019, the last year before the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Houston housing has been in negative territory for 14 months, however this latest report showed a notable easing in declines and may be a bellwether of improving market conditions ahead,” said Cathy Treviño, HAR’s 2023 chair. “Unfortunately, there still are looming influences out there that remain out of our control, including interest rates, a possible deepening of inflation or a drift toward recession. Any one of those could slam the brakes on home sales.”

The price of single-family homes also fell for the fourth time since 2020 in May, with the average price in Houston falling 1.6% to $431,378. Consequently, the overall dollar volume of property has fallen 12.7% year over year.

Amid declines in home sales, the Houston rental market experienced high demand in May.