HAR’s May 2023 MLS Market Update reported on the Houston housing market’s 14th consecutive month of negative home sales, noting that the decrease in volume was the smallest in almost a year. That and moderating declines in other market readings may be an indication that the worst of the housing sales slowdown is over, provided there are no further hikes in mortgage interest rates – a major deterrent to home purchases in Houston and across the country through the latter half of 2022 and all of 2023. The report generated media coverage from mid- to late June in the following news outlets:

  • Bellaire Essentials
  • Community Impact Newspaper
  • CultureMap Houston
  • Examiner Newspapers
  • Houston Agent Magazine
  • Houston Business Journal (online and print editions)
  • Houston Chronicle (online and print editions)
  • Houston Community Newspapers
  • Houston Public Media/KUHF 88.7 FM
  • KHOU-TV/11 News
  • KPRC-TV/Local 2
  • KRIV-TV/FOX 26 News
  • KTRH/NewsRadio 740
  • KTRK-TV/ABC 13
  • PaperCity
  • Realty News Report (RNR)
  • The Real Deal

The Houston Business Journal published a story on June 30 about HAR’s Most Expensive Homes Listed in May report, noting that the No. 1 property listed was the former home of late Pennzoil president Bill Liedtke. It went on to report, “the cream of the crop in Houston luxury home sales last month were slightly less expensive than those of prior months while being larger on average.”

On July 6, HAR board member Daniela Sumbera participated in a live interview in Spanish on 45/Univision Houston. The topic was the popularity of rental housing throughout Houston while the sale market remains soft as a result of consumer jitters over interest rates and inflation.

Houston Agent Magazine published HAR’s June FRESH Report on July 7, reporting that new listings had fallen while active listings continue to climb. That same day, it published HAR’s Weekly Activity Snapshot (WAS), reporting gains in new and pending listings.

On July 13, RISMedia covered HAR’s June Housing Market Update, reporting on a 12.8 percent year-over-year decline in single-family home sales.

Community Impact Newspaper covered HAR’s June Rental Market Update in a story published on July 20. The headline emphasized an 18.4 percent increase in new listings. Houston Agent published its own story about the rental market with a headline that read: “Houston Rental Market Strong in June.”

On July 21, Houston Agent Magazine covered HAR’s Week 28 Weekly Activity Snapshot (WAS) with an article titled “Property Showings Increase in Houston as New and Closed Listings Drop.” The story included a reprint of the WAS.

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These stories and more are available in the HAR Online Newsroom at www.har.com/content/newsroom as well as in HARConnect.