Houston's May Numbers: Pending Sales Hit a 4-Year High

By Sonit Seth

As a real estate professional and entrepreneur, Sonit provides his clients with comprehensive real estate services, including buying and selling properties.

Hi I’m Sonit Seth with the Seth Edge Group, your edge in real estate. The numbers for May just came out, and at a glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Houston market cooled off. Total property sales across all property types came in at 10,088, down about 3% from a year ago, and active listings were essentially flat year-over-year. But the headline number this month isn’t the closings. It’s what’s sitting under them.

Pending sales are where the real story is. Contract activity rose almost 6% year-over-year, and that’s the number worth paying attention to. More Houston buyers signed contracts in May than in any month since May 2022.

Closings reflect deals that came together weeks ago. Pending sales reflect what buyers are doing right now, and right now they’re moving forward. When you see contracts climbing even as closings dip, it tells me buyers are still confident and still active in this market.

The luxury segment is outpacing everything. Sales of homes priced at $1 million and above increased over 10% year-over-year, the strongest performance of any price category this month. That matters because the luxury end of the market is the most sensitive to interest rates, and yet it’s the part holding up best. Higher rates simply haven't slowed Houston's high-end buyers the way you might expect, which says something about the underlying demand here.

Texas leads the country in corporate headquarters. A recent report from the Greater Houston Partnership puts Texas at the top of the nation for Fortune 500 company headquarters. Houston itself ranks as the number two metro in the country for those headquarters.

That’s not just a point of pride. Corporate headquarters mean jobs, and they mean companies are investing in this region for the long term. A strong job market is the foundation which everything else in real estate sits on.

Put it together and the picture is steady. Sales numbers that keep improving underneath the surface, a luxury market shrugging off rate pressure, and a job market anchored by Fortune 500 companies that keep choosing Houston. That combination points to a market that should stay stable moving forward.

If you have any questions about these numbers or want to talk through what they mean for your specific situation, I’d be happy to help. Call or text me at 713-252-3670, email me at sonit@sethedge.com, or visit sethedge.com. Whether you’re thinking about buying, selling, or just keeping an eye on the market, I’m always glad to be a resource.