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Many Houston homes are selling for $20K over asking price: what's causing the home-buying bonanza

One realtor says we’re still seeing historically low interest rates, record low supply, really high demand and a shift in work/home life because of the pandemic.

HOUSTON — When Annie McCormick found her dream home for sale in Galveston, she decided to put her house in Kingwood on the market and move to the coast. 

“I thought it was going to be slow like it was a year ago,” she said.

She was wrong.

McCormick hired Kingwood realtor Kim Fazzino and put her house on the market for $275,000. She said Fazzino told her it would sell in two days.

It took three.

“We decided to put it online that Thursday night,” McCormick said. “On Sunday, we had two offers, and it sold.”

McCormick got the exact list price on her home.

In Katy, Amanda Hill wanted to move her family to Fulshear. They listed their home for $470,000.

“We had 13 offers on the house in 2-and-a-half, 3 days,” she said. “The whole weekend was crazy.”

Hill sold for about $20,000 over list price.

“If you can sell right now, now is the time to sell,” Hill said. “Prices are skyrocketing. They’re going up and up and up and up.”

If you’re curious to know what your house may be worth, click here to check.

The Houston Association of Realtors is calling the housing market a “buying bonanza.”

“Homes are selling for over list price, and when I say that, I don’t just mean a couple thousand dollars over list,” said Jennifer Wauhob, chair-elect of HAR and a realtor with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene. “They’re selling for $20,000 and $30,000 over list price.”

Wauhob points to four simple reasons. She says we’re still seeing historically low interest rates, record low supply, really high demand and a shift in work/home life because of the pandemic.

The low supply is specific to houses priced under $250,000. Sales of high-end homes have exploded and that’s shooting up the average price of a single-family home in Houston to $370,847.

Wauhob said the positive sales are 10 months in and counting. She has no idea when the market will change.

“If any of us had a crystal ball, we would know exactly when to buy and exactly when to sell,” Wauhob said. “There’s nothing that indicates a slowdown is coming anytime soon.”

Since it’s a seller’s market, HAR has some suggestions for buyers.

  • Find a good realtor
  • Make sure you have a pre-approved loan
  • Act quickly because houses are selling fast
  • Be prepared to make multiple offers on different houses

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