In This Week’s “The EDGE” • Houston Home Sales Increase Again in May • Houston Market Movements • Governmental Affairs Update • Calling All 40 and Under Rising Stars • Special Savings on Real Estate Education Courses “The Edge” is a weekly tool for managers to use to inform their agents and stay current and up-to-date with important real estate industry issues. Brought to you by the HAR Communications Department.
Houston Home Sales Increase Again in May HAR released May 2018 MLS statistics last week. Here are some key take-aways in case you missed the report: The Houston real estate market held to positive territory in May as 8,157 single-family homes sold versus 8,078 a year earlier. That represents a one percent increase. Single-family home prices set new records with median price up 3.4 percent to $243,000 and average price up 1.3 percent to $305,511. Inventory reached a 4.0-months supply, the highest level since last August and the same as the national level reported by NAR. Leasing activity slowed as single-family home rentals fell 1.8 percent year-over-year while rentals of townhomes and condominiums dropped 22.6 percent. For more detailed information, please visit the HAR Online Newsroom for this and all other HAR news releases.
Houston Market Movements In the Houston region, for the week The Federal Reserve recently increased the federal funds rate by 0.25 percent, marking the second rate hike this year and seventh since late 2015. Two more 0.25 percent increases are expected by the end of the year. The 30-year mortgage rate did not increase, yet Fed action can have an indirect effect on the housing market. Buyers often react by trying to lock in at the current rate ahead of assumed future higher rates. Educating consumers that the Fed rate and mortgage rates are not the same can help curb panic buying. In the Houston region, for the week ending June 10: • New Listings decreased 2.3% to 3,348 • Pending Sales increased 19.7% to 2,301 • Closed Sales increased 3.4% to 1,751
Governmental Affairs Update Conroe City Council Runoff – Saturday, June 30 Early Voting is Monday, June 18 – Wednesday, June 27 Harris County August 25 Bond Election Community Engagement Meetings on YOUR WATERSHED Check out the Harris County Floor Warning System – they now have added inundation mapping! www.harriscountyfws.org HAR Endorsed Candidate is Raymond McDonald for Conroe City Council Place 4
Calling All 40 and Under Rising Stars Are you a young rising real estate star or do you have one on your brokerage team? This year marks the 9th Annual YPN 20 under 40 Rising Stars in Real Estate awards. This prestigious honor is awarded to 20 HAR members 40 years of age or younger who demonstrate excellence in the areas of sales, leadership and community involvement. More information and an application are available HERE. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, August 1, 2018. You may only receive this honor once. Awards will be presented during a red carpet-style luncheon on Thursday, October 4 at Bayou City Event Center.
Special Savings on Real Estate Education Courses Enjoy 40% off all real estate education courses and packages this Wednesday, June 20, courtesy of the Houston Association of REALTORS® and The CE Shop. This discount is available site-wide for one day only! Don’t miss out on your chance to save big on all Pre-Licensing, Post-Licensing and Continuing Education. Shop now at https://haor.theceshop.com and enter SUMMER40 at checkout for your discount! Special Savings on Real Estate Education Courses