According to recent numbers from the Houston Association of Realtors, home sales in the city showed a nearly 6% decline last month, the first year-over-year drop since March. Theories about why it happened range from the market leveling off to effects from Hurricane Harvey which pushed numerous closings back. The year 2017 currently stands as a record as buyers closed on more single-family homes in September 2017 than in any other September on record.

"With tight inventory, rising interest rates and families focused on back-to-school, it wasn't a huge surprise to see market activity slow down at this time," said Kenya Burrell-VanWormer, the association's chair. "The Houston economy is strong. As we head into the fall months, it will definitely take a healthy supply of homes and some pricing moderation to keep prospective buyers engaged in the market."

Though it varies by neighborhood, the market has started to shift to one that's slightly more favorable to buyers, said Alex Doubet, CEO of Door, a Dallas-based real estate firm with operations across the state. "I liken it to, we've been going 95 in a 75 miles per hour zone. Now we're going 85 in a 75 miles per hour zone," Doubet said.

Buyers last month closed on 6,548 single-family homes at a median price of $232,500, the association said Wednesday in a monthly report. The median price among those homes was $232,500 -- flat from a year earlier.

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