“December saw sales retreat, but the pull back was more a sign of supply constraints than an indication of a weakened demand for housing.” — NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun

Overall, there were fewer new listings, closings and showings during the week of Jan. 11-17 compared to the second week of January 2021, the report said.

While multifamily starts surged 13.7% compared to November, the pace of new single-family housing construction slid 2.3%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

December housing sales fell lower than they have since the start of the pandemic, a new Redfin report found.

“While lean existing home inventory and solid buyer demand are supporting the need for new construction, the combination of ongoing increases for building materials, worsening skilled labor shortages and higher mortgage rates point to declines for housing affordability in 2022.” — NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke

“MBA expects solid growth in purchase activity this year, as demographic drivers and the strong economy support housing demand,. However, the strength in growth will be dependent on housing inventory growing more rapidly to meet demand.” — Mortgage Bankers Association associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting Joel Kan

The Houston area set annual records for single-family home sales, average sale price, and total sales dollar volume in 2021.

Despite the record low number of homes for sale, prices and pending sales continue to rise.

Housing prices continue to exacerbate ongoing affordability challenges, as home appreciation continued to accelerate in November.

With most consumers still in holiday mode during the final week of 2021, new Houston listings fell short of last year’s numbers for a second consecutive week.

The low number of active single-family home listings in December was yet another reflection of the record-setting pace of home-buying in Houston leading up to the holidays.

At the same time, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.33%, its highest level since April 2021, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Inflation concerns are influencing plans for homebuyers and sellers, according to a recent Redfin survey.

Housing affordability fell to its lowest level since 2008 in October as home prices rose 19.6% from last year.

Phoenix, followed by Tampa, Fla., and Miami, claimed the largest price gains among the 20 metro areas in the index. according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index. 

Texas gained more residents than any other state between July 2020 and July 2021, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau data.