Inwood, Acres Homes continue steady growth so far in 2023

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

Home sales have steadily been declining in Houston, with sales dipping more than 18 percent year-over-year last month and more than 22 percent year-todate in the Greater Houston region. And many local zip codes have not been immune to the trend that has continued so far in the first quarter of 2023.

Only the 77091 zip code, which includes much of Greater Inwood and Acres Homes as well as part of Independence Heights, was the only local market to show year-over-year March growth according to the data, and is also the only area currently ahead of its 2022 pace through the end of the month. Every other code showed a yearover-year dip of at least 24 percent in March and is behind its pace from last year.

77018

The area including much of Garden Oaks, Oak Forest, Central Northwest, and much of Independence Heights experienced a 26.2 percent year-overyear decrease in March sales, with 62 homes sold last month compared to 84 in March 2022.

Year-to-date, the 133 sales represents a 32.1 percent downturn from the 196 sold in the same time span in 2022.

Pricing wise, March home price here dipped 2.5 percent year-over-year to $632,915 and median price was up slightly (1.2 percent) to $502,450. Through the end of the month, average homes cost 11.3 percent more ($658,585) compared to 2022, while median price has been up 8.5 percent so far this year to $509,900.

77091

Just to the north, a zip code encompassing much of Greater Inwood and Acres Homes as well as part of Independence Heights was the only one to see even a slight year-over-year jump in March home sales. There were 34 homes closed on in this area last month, up slightly from the 32 that were sold the previous March. As a result, the area is now basically in line with its 2022 pace through the end of the month with its 77 sales, a tick up from 76 through the same period last year.

On a pricing front, the 13.9 spike in average home price (up to $333,674) was the secondbiggest jump in the area while median home price jumped 20.3 percent to $354,900 – the biggest rise among local zip codes.

Year-to-date, the average buyer has paid 7.7 percent more for a house here ($327,604) so far in 2023, and the median price is up 16.4 percent to $349,000 through the end of March.

77092

In the zip code including the western edge of the Central Northwest neighborhood as well as Langwood and Kempwood, was both the fewest number of homes sold last month as well as the area’s largest year-over-year

March percentage dip. There were 15 homes sold in this area last month, down 66.7 percent from the 45 sales last March. It’s also the area where the fewest total homes (38) have been sold so far this year, 55.3 percent behind last year’s mark of 85 sales in the same span. Average March home price here rose slightly (3.7 percent) year-over-year to $341,407, while March median price jumped 14 percent year-overyear to $366,000. Homes have cost the average buyer 6.7 percent more ($345,253) through the end of the month, while the median price has spiked 8.8 percent up to $348,000.

77008

Moving down to the Greater Heights, there were 79 homes sold in this zip code last month

– a 24.8 percent dip from the 105 sales in March 2022, according to HAR. As a result of the year-over-year March sales dip, the area is now 37.2 percent behind last year’s pace – there have been 174 sales in this zip code through the end of the month, as opposed to 277 through the same period in 2022.

On the pricing front, the average March price for a home in this area was down 4.6 percent – the second local zip code to see a dip – to $676,557 last month, while year-over-year median price remained stagnant at $610,000. To this point of the year, the average home has cost $681,656 – an 8 percent increase from the same point last year – and the median year-to-date home price has gone up 8.2 percent ($595,000) compared to the same period last year.

77009

On the eastern edge of the Heights, the zip code encompassing the Woodland Heights, Sunset Heights, and the Northside area, March home sales were down 38.6 percent yearover-year, with 35 homes coming off the market compared to 57 in the same month last year. Year-to-date, agents have closed on 87 homes – a 37.4 percent dip from the same time period last year.

Pricing-wise, average March home price was up 9.6 percent to $607,077 while median price spiked up 13.8 percent to $535,000. Through the end of the month, median price is up 10 percent to $495,000, while the average cost for a house here has gone up 18.3 percent ($611,403) compared to the same time in 2022.

77007

On the southern edge of the area, the zip code including Rice Military and Washington Avenue saw the largest decline in total homes sold, with 40 fewer sales (61) than last month’s figure of 101 homes sold. Meanwhile, the 39.6 percent decline was the second-largest percentage drop among local zip codes according to HAR data. On a year-to-date basis, there have been exactly half as many houses sold in this zip code (143) compared to the same point last year.

Along with the decreased sales here last month, accompanying it was a 30.5 percent year-overyear monthly spike in average home price up to $782,002 as well as a 21.5 percent spike in median home price – which finished the month at $586,700.

Year-to-date, the average buyer has paid 18.3 percent more for a house here ($710,929) while year-to-date median home price is up 15.2 percent to $570,000.