Home sales fell in three of four Bay Area ZIP codes in September, with one dropping nearly 20% from a year earlier, according to Community Impact Newspaper.

A fourth ZIP code posted an increase. The Oct. 7 report, by reporter Haley Velasco, tracked four local ZIP codes but did not publish specific sales counts or name which areas gained or lost ground.

The Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) reported a similar trend regionwide. Single-family home sales across the Greater Houston area fell 11.5% year-over-year in August, the most recent month with regional data, according to Community Impact. HAR's August update showed 7,100 single-family closings, a median price of $330,000 and homes averaging 54 days on the market.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate stood at 7.03% as of Sept. 24, up from 6.30% a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey cited by HAR.

Days on market in the Bay Area varied in September. Two ZIP codes saw homes sell faster than a year ago. Two saw longer wait times. Median sale prices over the 12 months ending in August showed a similar split: two ZIP codes gained value and two lost it.

Most Bay Area homes that closed in September were priced between $200,000 and $399,999. The next-largest group fell between $400,000 and $599,999.

Across the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area, the median list price in September sat at $353,995, down 1.7% from a year earlier, with active listings up 5.3%, according to Realtor.com's September housing report.

"Inventory is improving and more sellers are adjusting prices, yet the decline in pending sales makes clear that affordability remains a central constraint as the fall season gets underway," Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale said in the Sept. 30 report.

Theresa Hill, HAR chair and a Compass RE Texas agent, said in a Sept. 16 statement on the August data that buyers "have more options and more time to make decisions" while sellers "continue to benefit from relatively stable prices."

Compared to 2019, the Greater Houston market has seen a 20.1% overall decline in single-family home sales, according to HAR data. HAR's September monthly report covering the same period as the Bay Area data is typically released in mid-October.