It’s always a good idea to consider the market when buying a new home. In the past year, Houston’s housing market has made incredible strides. In fact, the Houston real estate market set new records in 2018 despite uncertainty across the region when the year began. And now, after a slower winter, the market is bouncing back as we enter into Spring.

Houston Association of Realtor’s February report suggests the market has enough activity to be “emerging from the winter doldrums.” Single-family home sales priced between $150,000 and $750,000 rose and available inventory grew as the spring buying season begins. Among the monthly report findings:

Single-family home sales of 5,280 units were basically unchanged from a year ago but indicate the three-month slide in sales has ended.

By housing segment, the middle market -- homes priced $500,000 to $750,000 -- increased 7.5 percent compared to the same period a year ago. Homes priced less than $100,000 fell by 21 percent and those $100,000 to $150,000 dropped 16 percent. High-end housing over $750,000 fell 8 percent.

Total dollar volume rose 3.1 percent to $1.76 billion and the median home price rose increased nearly 3 percent, to $232,900.

Inventory has a 3.7 month supply, up from 3.1 months a year ago and slightly below the national average of 3.9 months.

Leased properties performed very well, with single-family home rentals up 26.5 percent and the average rent up 0.8 percent to $1,733.

Townhome and condo leasing also surged, by 27 percent, with the average rent up 1.9 percent to $1,548.

In other news, mortgage rates have continued to fall after surging last November. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.31 percent with an average 0.4 point for the week ending March 14, 2019, down from last week when it averaged 4.41 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.44 percent.