Sales have still gone on a slump…
The latest Texas Realtors’ Texas Quarterly Housing Report noted that house availability in Texas went up by almost 41% - an equivalent of 125,398 houses for sale – in the second quarter of the year. The report also showed a slight increase in statewide median prices (0.6%) compared to the same period last year. The median house price in all of Texas is pegged at $345,000.
But there has been a slump in sales, according to the report. There were only 93,417 units sold, which is 3% lower compared to the same period in 2023.
“Interest rates are a big part of the story,” Jef Conn, chairman of Texas Realtors, said. “With today’s higher rates, some buyers are sitting on the sidelines and hoping rates or home prices come down.”
Even in markets with an increased supply of homes for sale, some sellers are holding out for the higher prices they saw during the pandemic, the Texas Realtors chair noted.
“Homeowners who want to sell quickly will want to make sure their home is in good condition and priced competitively,” Conn explained.
The report noted that house prices in 22 cities in Texas went up, but down in four. Odessa had the biggest increase in median prices at 11.7%, followed by Abilene (11.2%), San Angelo (8.4%), and Midland (6%). On the other hand, the following cities recorded a slight decline in their median prices: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (-3.2%), Lubbock (-4.1%), San Antonio (-1.3%), and Texarkana (-2.5%).
The report also stated that months of inventory – a statistic that measures how long it would take to sell the homes currently listed in the market at the current pace of sales – had increased from 3.1 months at the end of the second quarter last year to 4.6 months in the second quarter this year. This marks the highest months-of-inventory number in the past eight years, stated the report.
On the other hand, Odessa was the only market where months of inventory declined and the only Texas area to register a decrease in listings compared to a year ago, the report also stated.
“Statewide, homes spent the same number of days on the market compared to the second quarter of last year. However, days on the market increased in 20 metro areas and decreased in six,” the report noted.
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