by Calculated Risk on 1/13/2021 12:19:00 PM

From the HAR: The Houston Housing Market Defies a Pandemic to Set New Records in 2020

Not even a devastating global pandemic could stop the Houston real estate market from shattering records as it crossed the finish line for the 2020 calendar year. Single-family home sales surpassed 2019’s record volume by more than 10 percent, even as the supply of homes withered to the lowest levels of all time.
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According to HAR’s 2020 annual market report, single-family home sales rose 10.5 percent to 96,151. Sales of all property types for the year totaled 115,523. That represents an 11.6-percent increase over 2019’s record volume and marks only the second time in history that total property sales broke the 100,000 level. Total dollar volume for 2020 shot up 18.1 percent to a record-breaking $35.3 billion.
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December single-family home sales jumped 25.5 percent year-over-year with 9,652 units sold; Total December property sales increased 27.2 percent to 11,572 units;
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Total active listings, or the total number of available properties, fell 28.6 percent from a year earlier to 26,821.
emphasis added

Inventory declined 28.6% year-over-year from 37,574 in December 2019 to 26,821 in December 2020.   This is just 1.9 months of supply.

Note that the closed sales in December were for contracts that were mostly signed in October and November.