Montgomery County Homes sales grew by 3.5 percent for the year setting a new record for sales and keeping overall sales in positive territory despite a lull in activity in November and December, according to records from Houston Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.
Overall sales for 2018 eclipsed the previous record year for sales. Total sales in 2017 were 9,821; for 2018 sales grew to the new record for Montgomery County of 10,166.
Many other indicators were positive for the year, including:
- New Listings - up 0.9 percent;
- Total Dollar Volume - up 6.2 percent;
- Days on Market - down 3.3 percent.
The positive sales echoed the generally upbeat economic forecast for Montgomery County offered Thursday by Ted C. Jones, PhD., chief economist and senior vice president for Stewart Title, at The Woodlands Country Club.
The local and national economy, he said, were on a roll. "I have never seen a more fundamentally sound economy that what we have in the United States right now," he said.
It is a direct result of two things: the tax cuts (which helped 90 percent of people, Dr. Jones said); and the Trump administration's push to deregulate (mainly rescinding the Obama-era executive orders.)
Montgomery County is even stronger, with job growth of 9,300 jobs in the last 12 months - representing a rate of growth more than double the national average. "We are even outperforming Austin; isn't that kinda cool?" Furthermore, Dr. Jones doesn't see job growth receding.
The most significant growth in home sales took place in Southeast Montgomery County, with sales shooting up 14.8 percent, from 1,568 in 2017 to 1,800 in 2018.
Meanwhile, Conroe and Northeast Montgomery County posted the strongest gains in median price, jumping from $196,000 in 2017 to $220,000 in 2018 - a surge of 12.2 percent.
Finally, southeast Montgomery County showed the strongest improvement in average days on Market, with the number of days dropping from 73 in December to 64 in 2018 a reduction of 12.2 percent.
