League City home shoppers have more houses to choose from and more room to negotiate after single-family sales across Greater Houston fell 11.5% in August, according to the Houston Association of Realtors' (HAR) monthly housing update.
The decline comes as mortgage rates climb toward 7% and the number of homes on the market hits record levels. For League City buyers and sellers, the shift means more choices, longer timelines and new pressure on household budgets.
More homes, fewer sales
The Houston metro area had more than five months of housing inventory in August, and homes took nearly two months to sell, KHOU reported. Active listings across the metro reached 35,920, a record high and a 2.2% increase from a year ago, according to Realtor.com data compiled by Eddie Weir's Houston market tracker.
The median sale price for the region fell to $330,000, according to Community Impact. KHOU described median and average prices as "essentially unchanged" from a year earlier. The HAR's primary report was not publicly available to reconcile the two characterizations.
Compared to 2019, single-family home sales across Greater Houston have dropped 20.1%, according to HAR data.
League City snapshot
League City's market tells a slightly different story. The median sale price stood at $375,650 as of Aug. 31, with an average home value of $373,552 and 550 active listings, according to Zillow. Homes went to pending in about 29 days, faster than the Houston-area average.
Those Zillow figures measure days to pending, not days to close, so the two timelines are not directly comparable.
Rates squeeze budgets
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate stood at 6.95% for the week of Sept. 17, according to Freddie Mac data tracked by Eddie Weir's Houston market page. The Federal Reserve's quarter-point increase to its benchmark rate pushed borrowing costs higher, and KHOU reported another increase is anticipated.
On a $400,000 home, that quarter-point bump adds roughly $60 per month, according to KHOU. Over a 30-year loan, the difference totals about $21,000.
"To one, $60 may not be a big deal; to another, that may take them out of the market," James McLaughlin, a real estate agent with HomeRock Realty near The Woodlands, told KHOU.
Some sellers are also hesitating. Homeowners locked into lower rates are reluctant to sell and take on a new mortgage near 7%, according to KHOU.
What the industry says
HAR Chair Theresa Hill of Compass RE Texas said Sept. 16, in a statement reported by Community Impact, that buyers now have more options and more time to make decisions, while sellers benefit from relatively stable prices. She called it a healthier environment for consumers.
The rental market offers a parallel trend. Rental units available in Greater Houston jumped nearly 5% year over year in August, and average rents dipped slightly, according to HAR data Community Impact reported.
HAR typically releases its next monthly report in mid-October, when September data will show whether the sales slowdown continued.
