2015 represented a huge hit for the Texas real estate market. In fact, according to the Texas Association of REALTORS, home sales and prices broke records last year all over the Lone Star State. More than 309,000 properties changed hands, at a median annual price of $195,000, the highest ever. This trend continued into the first quarter of 2016. It brought the inventory of homes at an all-time low of 2.8 months. This means that, if no new homes come on the market, it would take less than three months to deplete the state’s supply of homes currently for sale.
“Despite the economic downturn in some parts of the state, home sales continue to be strong, indicating the enduring demand of Texas real estate,” Leslie Rouda Smith, chairman of the Texas Association of REALTORS, said in a statement. “Housing inventory remains extremely limited in Texas. Low housing inventory combined with rising property values is making housing affordability a challenge, not just in Texas’s metro areas but across the state. This could become a larger problem if there is not greater balance between supply and demand in the future.”
Things are the same in the Dallas – Fort Worth – Arlington metro area, as the rising demand and lack of inventory push prices higher and higher. The region has seen 20,206 single family homes change hands in the first quarter of 2016. Ir represents an increase of 14.3% year over year. Also on the rise is the median home price, which went up 8.6% compared to Q1 2015, to $215,000.
As a result of the intense activity, the metro area’s inventory of homes has dropped to 1.9 months. However, the chances of the region’s supply to run out are slim. Recently, Dallas – Fort Worth has surpassed its chief rival, Houston, becoming the top single-family housing market for new homes. In the first quarter of 2016, Dallas reported 28,878 housing starts.
Right now, Dallas-area home prices are more than 25% higher than they were before the last recession, according to Case-Shiller. With more than 80,000 people moving to North Dallas each year, these values should continue to rise. For those homeowners with no plans to sell their homes, it might just be the perfect time to refinance.
