The residential real estate market in North Texas slowed in May, with the average home sale taking 22 days longer than last year.
Homes in Dallas-Fort Worth spent an average of 37 days on the market before being sold, a nearly 142% increase from the 15 days reported in May 2022, according to the Re/Max National Housing Report for May 2023.
“With the vast majority of homeowners having a mortgage rate under 5% — and a good chunk of those are under 3.5% — we’re not seeing as much move-up activity as usual,” Nick Bailey, president and CEO of RE/MAX, said in the report. “That means fewer available listings for buyers to choose from — and most likely some continuing bumpiness in the market.”
Not only are Dallas-area homes spending longer on the market, but they are also fetching a smaller amount from buyers when sold.
A Dallas Housing Market Report from Rocket Homes shows that the median sale price of a home in Dallas proper during May 2023 was $227,500, down about $100,000, or 30.5%, from the year before.
As buyers battle against higher mortgage rates and the tightening credit environment, Todd Luong of Re/Max DFW Associates suggested to the Dallas Business Journal that the U.S. real estate market is in a tough place for would-be homebuyers right now.
The median price of Dallas-Fort Worth homes sold in May 2023 was $402,000 compared to $427,881 in May 2022, a 4.5% decrease year over year, the DBJ reported.
“With a median home price of $402,000, Dallas-Fort Worth is still a comparatively affordable option for people relocating from more expensive parts of the country,” Luong said, per the DBJ. “As homebuyers adapt to the ‘new normal’ of higher interest rates, median sold prices have steadily increased since February. However, median sold prices are still lower than the peak in June 2022.”
While home sales are down 18.7% from last May, robust demand and low inventory have helped raise the median sales price in the U.S. by 3.2% month over month to $423,000, RE/MAX said in the report.
Dallas’ close-to-list price ratio in May 2023 — calculated by dividing the average value of the sales price by the list price for each transaction — was 98.7%, down from 104.7% a year before.
“When the number is above 100%, the home closed for more than the list price. If it’s less than 100%, the home sold for less than the list price,” according to the report.
This places the city of Dallas at No.2 for most considerable YOY decrease, behind San Francisco at 104% (111.5% for the previous year).
Hartford, Connecticut, reported the highest close-to-list price ratio at 105%, followed by a three-way tie between Burlington, Vermont; Manchester, New Hampshire; and San Francisco, California.
While the residential real estate market in DFW slowed year over year, Luong suggested that the substantial leverage held by sellers could drive home prices higher in the coming months.
“There are buyers right now who are calling me and asking me to help them buy a home in Plano, but I have no inventory to show them,” Luong said, reported the DBJ. “Sellers still have a tremendous advantage right now, creating a challenging situation for buyers. It would not be surprising to see further upward pressure on home prices in the near future.”
