But there are signs of sizzling sales cooling
Home sales in the Lone Star State remained hot through the summer and the market is set for another record-breaking year.
Texas Association of Realtors’ newly-released quarterly market report for Q3 2018 shows 95,225 sales in the three months, up 4.4% from a year earlier.
The median price also increased 4.4% to $235,000 with around 36% of sales in the below-$200K sector and 31.6% in the $200K-299K range.
"The record-breaking home-sales activity this summer in Texas is an example of the strong economy, job growth and quality of life in our great state that keeps driving demand for home ownership," said Kaki Lybbert, chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors. "At the current rate that home sales and active listings are increasing, we are trending towards another record-breaking year in Texas real estate."
Active listings were up 4.7% year-over-year to 111,144, while inventory was still constrained at 3.7 months. Average days on the market was 52.
Normalization ahead?
The hot Texas market may be starting to cool according to Jim Gaines, Ph.D., chief economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
"Our market remains extremely strong but is still slowly moving toward normalization. Median home prices and home sales are up, but the rate of increase statewide is beginning to slow compared to prior years. With inventory levels for homes priced under $150,000 remaining low, we're seeing a concerted effort from homebuilders to build lower-cost housing to fit the entry-level homebuyers' market."
