Last month, new homes in Dallas Fort-Worth saw their values drop roughly $10,000 on average.
According to the latest New Home Sales Report from HomesUSA, in September the three-month moving average of new home prices in North Texas was $502,686, down from $512,934 the previous month.
Austin and San Antonio also experienced falling prices last month, with Austin’s three-month moving average price falling over $14,000 from $555,927 in August to $541,563 in September. San Antonio experienced a more subtle drop, seeing average new home prices decrease by less than $6,000 to $400,473 in September from $406,099 in August.
Among large metro areas, Houston bucked the trend, with prices experiencing a slight bump of around $3,000, rising to $429,225 compared to $426,115 one month prior.
Despite the recent pullback in prices in three of the four metro areas, all of them have increased substantially over the past two years. Houston has seen prices surge 23%, Austin 29%, San Antonio 33%, and Dallas-Fort Worth an incredible 34% over the past 24 months.
Along with lower prices in September, Dallas-Fort Worth also experienced a slight reduction in homes sold. New home sales in the region fell to 1,144 versus 1,149 houses sold in August.
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, builders in Dallas-Fort Worth are attempting to incentivize would-be homebuyers with creative and attractive pricing, financing, and perks. Real estate agents are receiving more lucrative commissions and bonuses to help motivate activity in the market.
According to Ben Caballero, CEO and founder of HomesUSA.com, “With inventory increasing, and the pace of new home sales stabilizing, Dallas builders are implementing multiple strategies to avoid price reductions.”
With mortgage rates climbing and demand reducing, homebuilders are slowing the pace of new projects. In the most recent three-month period, housing starts in Dallas-Fort Worth plunged by more than a third.
Despite falling values and fewer units sold, the number of listings in Dallas-Fort Worth actually rose last month. The three-month moving average of active new home listings reported to the Multiple Listings Service (MLS) was 6,249 in September, up from 5,581 in August.
Houston, Austin, and San Antonio all similarly experienced an uptick in new active listings over the same period.
While elevated interest rates challenge the industry, near-term prospects for Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio remain promising. Local MLS data reveal pending new home sales increased across the state to 4,412 last month, up from 4,308 in August.
Zooming in on Dallas-Fort Worth, pending sales rose slightly to 1,659 in September, up from 1,619 the month prior. Houston, Austin, and San Antonio similarly experienced small bumps.
While “pending” does not imply a closed deal, it does mean that a seller has accepted an offer from a prospective buyer — a positive leading indicator for the market.
