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HOUSTON (May 13, 2020) The Houston real estate market's strong start to the new year was abruptly interrupted in April as the full impact of the coronavirus outbreak was felt across Texas and the rest of the country. Stay-at-home directives and social distancing weighed on the market as Realtors began transitioning to virtual open houses and virtual property showings that enabled consumers to safely and conveniently market and tour homes on HAR.com.

Prior to April, home sales had been outpacing 2019's record volume as consumers took advantage of historically low interest rates. Despite the slowdown in April, year-to-date sales are still running 1.4 percent ahead of last year's level.

Homes in every pricing category suffered losses, with the steepest declines at the low and high ends of the market. Leases of single-family homes also took a hit.

According to the latest monthly Market Update from the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR), 6,199 single-family homes sold in April compared to 7,666 a year earlier, representing a 19.1 percent decline and ending a nine-month run of positive sales. Pricing, however, showed little impact. The single-family home median price (the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less) rose 2.4 percent to $251,000, the highest price ever for an April. The average price was statistically flat at $310,331.

Sales of all property types totaled 7,192, down 21.6 percent from April 2019. Total dollar volume for the month fell 20.4 percent to slightly more than $2.1 billion.

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