Texas New Home Sales Are Up, Prices Down, Sales Pace Improves
DALLAS, TX — (Marketwired – Nov 27, 2017) – Texas new home sales are up, prices are down, and they sold a little faster in October, according to HomesUSA.com® New Homes Sales Index and other data released today. The Index is 12-month rolling average of the Days on Market for new homes listed in the local Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) for the four largest Texas markets, including Houston, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Austin and San Antonio.
The pace of new home sales improved in all of these markets but Houston, according to the HomesUSA.com Index for October. The Days on Market averages were down from September in Dallas-Ft. Worth, Austin and San Antonio.
In Houston — the largest new home market in Texas — the average Days on Market for new homes increased from 134.51 days in September to 134.57 days in October. In Dallas-Fort Worth, the Days on Market decreased from 123.06 days in September to 122.65 days in October. The Days on Market in Austin had the greatest decrease of the four markets, dropping from 112.21 days in September to 111.44 days in October. San Antonio’s new home sales pace also quickened slightly, as the Days on Market decreased from 106.17 days in September to 106.06 days in October.
Ben Caballero, owner of HomesUSA.com and the number one real estate agent in the U.S., notes the Texas data he released today is largely in alignment with the Commerce Department’s announcement today on New Home Sales for October, which reported new home sales were up 6.2 percent nationally from September. He also notes that we may be seeing signs of the impact of Hurricane Harvey seep into Houston’s housing numbers.
“As we head into the winter, we have yet to see the seasonal impact on new home sales, but we may be seeing some signs of Hurricane Harvey’s impact in Houston,” said Caballero. “For builders and buyers, it looks like a merry holiday season. New home sales are continuing at a record pace, and buyers are benefiting from new home prices that are a little lower,” he added.
New home prices drop
A holiday gift for buyers has come early in the form of new homes as prices improved in October in Texas, dropping from $363,269 in September to $362,164, according to data compiled by HomeUSA.com. [see Chart 1 below]
In Houston, the average new home sales price dropped from $363,657 in September to $362,006 in October. In Dallas-Ft. Worth, the average price dropped from $383,905 in September to $383,112 in October. In Austin, the average price dropped from $379,922 in September to $378,444 in October. And in San Antonio, the average price in October is $291,320, down from $291,778 in September.
New Home Sales Up in All Four Major Markets
In all four of the Texas major housing markets, new home sales continue to show record strength. The rolling 12-month average of home sales in these markets increased from 3,226 in September to 3,249 in October. That’s according to data compiled by HomesUSA.com from local MLS and trade associations, including the Houston Association of REALTORS®, North Texas Real Estate Information Systems, San Antonio Board of REALTORS® and the Austin Board of REALTORS®.
According to HomesUSA.com, based on a 12-month rolling average, Houston posted new homes sales of 1,166 for October, up from 1,156 in September. Dallas-Ft. Worth posted sales of 1,085 in October, up from 1,076 in August.
Austin posted sales of 557 for October, up from 554 in September. San Antonio posted higher sales by the slightest margin: New homes sales were 440 in October, up from 439 in September. [see Chart 2 below]
Understanding the new “Days on Market” Index
Caballero notes the average Days on Market for New Homes “is about 65 days higher for new homes than for existing or ‘pre-owned’ homes.”
Why? “There’s a huge difference between selling a new home and a pre-owned or existing home,” Caballero explained. “New homes are often listed for sale during the early stages of construction. This early market exposure allows buyers the opportunity to customize the home. Plus, by placing more inventory on the market, as it is being built, expands the inventory of available homes, and that’s especially helpful for buyers and agents in a tight housing market.”
Caballero adds, “So there really is no apples-to-apples comparison for the Days on Market for new homes under construction with existing homes.” [see Chart 3 below]
The HomesUSA.com New Home Sales Index is a first of its kind index to track new home sales. Created by Caballero, who was named “Most Innovative Real Estate Agent” by real estate news firm Inman News, the index is an analysis by HomesUSA.com of sales of homes listed in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio local Multiple Listing Services (MLS). [see Chart 4 below]
1Prior month DOM numbers are subject to adjustment
Please note that the monthly data is based on information reported to the MLS that may be incomplete or subject to further revision by the MLS. While licensed real estate professionals are required to report closed sales to their local MLS in Texas within 72 hours of a closed sale, not all sales, unfortunately, are reported promptly and some are reported more than 30 days later. This late reporting causes the prior month’s reported index number to change to include newly reported sales. Only the prior month index number is impacted and that number, once adjusted, is the final and correct index number.
