Here’s something that could ease the tensions of Dallas-Fort Worth real estate agents: Inventory is growing.
Of course, market conditions — higher interest rates and inflation — are at play, but it was one bright spot in the Texas Realtors’ second-quarter housing report.
In comparing quarters, the report indicated that months of inventory stood at 1.8 months compared to 1.1 in 2021. Active listings (16,455) were up 48.7 percent from a year ago.
Statewide, the inventory number was even better, standing at 2.1 compared to 1.3 in Q2 2021. It’s the first time inventory has increased year-over-year since Q3 2019, and the first time it’s been above two months since Q3 2020.
🏘️ Texas Housing Quarterly Report | PDF
“Housing inventory levels are finally on the rise in many areas of the state — something we haven’t seen for several years — but home prices continue to rise,” Russell Berry, chairman of Texas Realtors, said in a statement.
We could see further changes in inventories and prices in the coming months. The Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate by 0.75 percent on Wednesday, which mostly impacts homeowners who are refinancing or signing up for a new loan.
The increase was the fourth of what could be seven bumps in 2022, Clare Losey, an assistant research economist at the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University, told Bankrate.com.
“Such increases diminish purchase affordability, making it even harder for lower-income and first-time buyers to purchase a home.”
According to the report, the statewide median price of $357,388 represents a 19.1 percent increase compared to the same quarter last year. Nearly half of the 108,390 homes sold in Texas were in the $200,000-$399,000 price range. Closed sales declined 5.6 percent.
In the D-FW market, the median price was up 21.4 percent compared to the same quarter last year. Days on market were 54, three less than Q2 2021, and closed sales were down 6.6 percent.
“If inventory continues to steadily increase and home sales price appreciation begins to slow, we could be moving towards a pre-pandemic environment,” Jim Gaines, a research economist with the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University, said.
As Seth Fowler of Williams Trew Real Estate in Fort Worth put it recently: “It is and will still continue to be a very strong seller’s market. But the signs are there for some normalcy and balance in the real estate market.”
What is the Texas Association of Realtors: This organization is an advocate for Realtors and private-property rights.
Report review: The Texas Quarterly Housing Report is a reliable rabbit hole. In big chunky-style graphics, Texas Realtors lines up well-organized snapshots of 25 markets throughout Texas. The data used in the report comes from the Texas Realtors Data Relevance Project, a partnership between the Texas Association of Realtors and local Realtor associations throughout the state. The analysis is provided through a research agreement with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇
Clarification: In a previous version of this post, the inventory number was not made clear. Inventory is the measure of the length of time current inventory would take to sell.
