Dallas-Fort Worth saw the largest spike in home sales prices in the nation, according to a new study, with home prices up 39.5% over last year.  The jump brought the current median home sales price in DFW to $362,782 in April, according to the latest Re/Max National Housing Report.

Todd Luong, a real estate agent with RE/MAX DFW Associates, called the increase "astonishing."    Breaking it down in some of the popular suburbs north of DFW shows Frisco increased 36.6% over one year ago, McKinney rose 34.2%, and Little Elm climbed 33.9% over one year ago, Luong said.  Luong said that population and job growth are pushing home prices higher across North Texas.  "Corporate relocations have been the primary driver for all this," he said in an email. "During these past 10 years, office space in Dallas-Fort Worth has increased by over 55 million square feet, and only New York City has had more office space growth.  "During the same 10 years, industrial space in Dallas-Fort Worth grew by 230 million square feet. All this growth means more jobs, and more jobs mean more people are moving here."

The high price growth affects longtime homeowners and current and recent home buyers and sellers, Luong noted.  He said that appraisal districts have increased 2022 market values significantly across North Texas. On average, he said that home appraisals across Dallas County are up 25% compared to previous years.  "I have never had so many people asking me for help with protesting their property taxes than this year," Luong said. "I hope there can be property tax relief for homeowners in the future. Otherwise, some people may not be able to afford to live in their current neighborhood anymore. I have clients who have already expressed this concern." 

• Dallas Business Journal, May 18, 2022

KEY POINTS

• • * Builder sentiment jumped a striking 21 points in June to 58, the largest monthly increase ever in the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.
  • * Any reading above 50 indicates a positive market. In April, it plunged a record 42 points to 30.
  • * Of the index's three components, current sales conditions jumped 21 points to 63. Sales expectations in the next six months rose 22 points to 68. Buyer traffic more than doubled from May to June, from 22 to 43.

A faster than expected turnaround in demand following a sharp drop-off at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, has the nation's homebuilders bullish on their business again.

Builder sentiment jumped a striking 21 points in June to 58, the largest monthly increase ever in the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. Any reading above 50 indicates a positive market. In April, it plunged a record 42 points to 30.

"As the nation reopens, housing is well-positioned to lead the economy forward," said NAHB Chairman Dean Mon, a homebuilder and developer from Shrewsbury, New Jersey. "Inventory is tight, mortgage applications are increasing, interest rates are low and confidence is rising."

• CNBC, June 16, 2020

How dramatic will home recovery sales be in coming months?

As more Americans jump back into the housing market, competition for limited inventory is increasing among prospective homebuyers.  Many major cities around the U.S. experienced an uptick in interest, creating bidding wars for available properties, according to real estate brokerage firm Redfin.  Nearly 50 percent of Redfin offers faced competition in May, up from 43.9 percent in April.  Meanwhile, the number of listings on the market was 18.9 percent lower than the same period last year.  "Bidding wars also jumped in May because homebuyers felt they were starting to get more clarity around where the economy was headed, with cities around the nation lifting stay-at-home orders," Redfin lead economist Taylor Marr said in a statement. "This gave house hunters more confidence to compete."

Single-family homes were more likely to have multiple competitive offers when compared with condos and townhouses. As previously reported by FOX Business, the pandemic has caused prospective buyers to value space and private property more than they may have in the past.  Homes priced below $500,000 are in the highest demand, Redfin agents said.  The metro area that experienced the highest amount of competition was Boston, followed by Dallas and Washington, D.C. 

• Fox Business, June 16, 2020

In Dallas County, home sales by real estate agents fell more than 12 percent in January from the same month in 2018. Sales were down almost 13 percent in Denton County and down 10.5 percent year-over-year in Collin County. The smallest sales decline was in Tarrant County — 8.5 percent — where a larger inventory of more affordable houses on the market has made purchase activity stronger. Real estate agents are scrambling to adjust to the downshift in the local home market. "We are being realistic with our sellers, telling them you need to price your house at what it will sell for," said Cathy Mitchell, 2019 president of the MetroTex Association of Realtors. "I think this market correction is good for us." There was about a four-month supply of houses on the market in North Texas at the end of January.

• Dallas Morning News, January 16, 2019

A flood of North Texas houses hitting the market in January means it will take longer to sell a Dallas-Fort Worth home. The number of houses up for sale in Dallas County rose more than 43 percent in January compared with a year earlier, according to the latest numbers from the MetroTex Association of Realtors. Home listings were also up by more than 42 percent in Denton County and were 37 percent higher than a year ago in Collin County.

The wave of properties hitting the market comes at a time when home sales in the area are declining and price increases have evaporated. At the end of last month, there were almost 22,000 houses listed for sale with North Texas real estate agents — the largest January inventory in six years. More than 10,000 additional home listings hit the market in January alone. Real estate agents are warning sellers not to expect a quick sale like the market was seeing few years ago. "You can't expect to get 30 offers in 30 minutes," said Cathy Mitchell, 2019 president of the MetroTex Association of Realtors. "It's a market correction — we couldn't be sustainable the way the market was."

• Dallas Morning News, February 16,2019

No Real Estate Transfer Tax

Texas is one of a handful of states that does not have a transfer tax when a seller sells their home. Dallas is one of the few cities in the nation that does not have a city transfer tax. Several years ago the voters in the state of Texas passed a constitutional amendment that disallowed any such taxes in the future. So not only do some 40 states have a transfer tax, the cities as well have an additional transfer tax. Another reason so many are moving to Texas. See below the city and state transfer tax on a home sale of $500,000 in selected northern cities.

2019 - Real Estate Transfer Tax

Based on a $500,000 Sales Price

Dallas-area home prices grew less than 5 percent in August from a year earlier, according to the latest nationwide comparison.  It was the first time in almost six years that Dallas-area home appreciation has been at such a low level in the closely-watched Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Home Price Index.  "Following reports that home sales are flat to down, price gains are beginning to moderate," S&P's David M. Blitzer said in the report. "The seasonally adjusted monthly data show that 10 cities experienced declining prices.  Other housing data tell a similar story: prices and sales of new single family homes are weakening, housing starts are mixed and residential fixed investment is down in the last three quarters."

Home prices in North Texas have cooled in 2018 after years of double-digit percentage annual gains. Still, Dallas-area prices are about 45 percent higher than a decade ago, before the economic downturn and housing crash.  "There are no signs that the current weakness will become a repeat of the crisis," Blitzer said. "Without a collapse in housing finance like the one seen 12 years ago, a crash in home prices is unlikely." 

The slowdown in home price growth may be good news for potential buyers who have struggled to find homes they can afford.  "It's more welcome news for would-be homebuyers, who must be breathing a collective sigh of relief that home price growth finally has slowed," Skylar Olsen, Zillow's director of economic research, said in a statement. "Softening appreciation after the rapid growth of just a few months earlier is a sign that fierce competition is dying down.  Potential buyers who were intimidated during the heat of the market may find the breathing space now to make a calm, considered decision about whether to lock in a mortgage before rates rise further."

• Dallas Morning News October 31, 2018

Dallas-area home prices are rated as less likely to fall in a new risk assessment study. The Dallas area ranks as "low" in risk of a price meltdown in a new study by Arch Mortgage Insurance. That translates to about a 12 percent chance of seeing a price decrease by 24 months from now, according to the North Carolina-based company. Texas is still considered the country's most overheated housing market. Arch Mortgage estimates that home values in the state are more than 30 percent greater than they should be based on market fundamentals.  "Texas is likely to become riskier going forward since affordability continues to deteriorate at a rapid rate and it is easier to build there than in most states," the report said. "Among larger metros, Houston (22 percent) was the riskiest." Dallas-area home prices are currently at record levels. But the rate of home price appreciation has slowed significantly this year. Through the first eight months of 2018, median North Texas home sales prices are up about 5 percent.  Even with the higher prices, Arch Mortgage in its quarterly report ranked Fort Worth as the best market in the country for millennials to buy houses and get jobs. But they'd better not wait too long, the analysts said.

• Dallas Morning News, October 3, 2018

The number of "For Sale" signs is growing in North Texas' housing market.  The Dallas-Fort Worth area has had one of the biggest increases in the country in the number of homes listed for sale, according to Realtor.com. D-FW ranked eighth among the 10 major U.S. markets with the greatest increase in home listings in September, up 14 percent from the same period a year ago, according to Realtor.com.  Local real estate market numbers show that almost 26,000 preowned single-family homes were listed for sale in August with North Texas real estate agents. That's the highest volume in six years.  Nationwide, home inventories are at a 5-year high, according to Realtor.com.  "After years of record-breaking inventory declines, September's almost flat inventory signals a big change in the real estate market," Danielle Hale, chief economist for Realtor.com, said in the report. "Would-be buyers who had been waiting for a bigger selection of homes for sale may finally see more listings materialize.

• Dallas Morning News, October 3, 2018