While the winter months are usually a slow season for the Dallas real estate market, buyers didn’t seem to get the message.
With record-low levels of housing supply and buyers seeking out deals before rates go up in 2017, Realtor.com is reporting that Dallas maintained its second-place rank as one of the hottest markets in the nation. And homes on the market are moving quickly, as national figures for December show homes flying off the market 5 percent faster over last year, even as prices remain at record highs.
“We saw evidence of a stronger-than-normal off-season in September and October due to pent-up demand and surging interest from first-time buyers,” said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Realtor.com. “Since the election, demand seems to have intensified, possibly in reaction to a jump in mortgage rates. Now buyers seem to feel a sense of urgency as they face the threat of rates that may approach multi-year highs in the months ahead. The downside to this strong fall is that 2017 will begin with a new low volume of available homes for sale.”
In Dallas, the median age of listings in December came to 58, up from 51 in November. Nationally, the median age of properties on realtor.com is expected to be 88 days. The median list price, which typically declines in the fall and winter, remains level at $250,000 – 9 percent higher than one year ago and a record high for December.
The intense demand for homes has created record-low levels of for-sale housing inventory. The December trend continues the sharp double-digit decline observed last month, further intensifying the supply shortage. The total inventory on the market is now at a new low, remaining substantially lower than one year ago. While nearly 300,000 new listings will enter the market in December, buyers will grab them off the shelves in record time.
Key Statistics:
- Median age of inventory is estimated to end at 88 days, down 5 percent from last year and up seven percent from last month.
- Median listing price for December should reach a record high of $250,000, a 9 percent increase year-over-year and flat month-over-month.
- Listing inventory in December should show a 7 percent decrease over November. Additionally, inventory should show a decrease of 11 percent year-over-year.
- Realtor.com’s Hottest Markets receive 1.5 to 2.6 times the number of views per listing compared to the national average. In terms of supply, these markets are seeing inventory move 22-40 days more quickly than the rest of the U.S. The hottest markets are also seeing inventory movement stay constant instead of the typical December slow down. The median age remains unchanged for the hottest markets on average from November.
