Housing prices in Fort Worth cooled in August as the supply of new homes climbed higher.
A sharp increase in Cowtown’s housing inventory in August resulted in lower home prices that month. However, decades-high mortgage rates are erasing much of the cost savings that typically arise following a supply increase, according to Bart Calahan, 2023 president of the Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors and an agent at Roots Real Estate Co.
“Until mortgage rates start to come down, buyers are going to continue to be limited in their price range and therefore their options,” he said, per the Fort Worth Report.
The median home listing price in Fort Worth was $352,000 in August 2023, marking a 5.1% decrease from the year prior, according to housing data from Realtor.com. Meanwhile, the median home price in Fort Worth clocked in at about $338,000, a more than 4.3% decrease year over year.
The ramp-up in available listings should be pleasing to buyers, regardless of comparisons to a year ago, said RE/MAX president and CEO Nick Bailey.
“More listings mean more options, and that’s a plus for buyers who haven’t been able to find the right home yet — and for potential buyers who’ve been reluctant to start looking,” Bailey said in a September news release. “With new listings emerging, sales ticking up, and prices stabilizing, there were several things to like in the August results.”
However, with mortgage rates hovering at multi-decade highs, housing affordability has been pushed farther out of reach for many interested or would-be-homebuyers.
According to mortgage rate data provided by Freddie Mac, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 7.18% as of August 31, and the average rate for a 15-year fixed mortgage was 6.55%. Since the end of August, data shows that a 30-year mortgage has risen to 7.49%, and a 15-year mortgage has jumped to 6.78%.
Fort Worth is not the only market in North Texas to log a decrease in housing prices. Dallas also saw a bit of a dip compared to the year before. The latest RE/MAX National Housing Report claims Dallas’ close-to-list price ratio in August was down by 1.2 percentage points year over year.
“Inventory increased slightly in August in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, and home prices are starting to catch their breath as we saw a small decline in prices from July to August,” said Todd Luong, a real estate agent with RE/MAX DFW Associates. “Overall, homes priced below the median price range are still selling relatively quickly, as affordability remains an issue for many people.”
Housing prices in Fort Worth and Dallas are both trending lower, but Fort Worth is outpacing Dallas in terms of the price cooldown, according to Steve Young, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Associates of Arlington.
“We’re down a little bit from Dallas right under $400,000, maybe around $375,000, for the median home sale price,” said Young, according to the FWR.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Dallas has one of the worst housing shortages in the country, at least according to an analysis by the Bank of America Institute. One of the city’s more unfortunate aspects is its difficult-to-navigate and delay-prone development process, which often results in long permit cycles and frustration among developers in the building community.
For homebuilders to keep up with the city’s considerable housing demand, Dallas’ Development Services Department (DSD) would need to prevent any long-term permit delays or approval setbacks. As it stands, supply cannot keep up with demand in Dallas.
Still, as more inventory hits the market, housing prices should continue to fall, according to Young. However, falling prices also lead to increased interest and greater competition.
“Right now, the market is still in the seller’s favor, so when I work with a buyer, I have to tell them to be ready, things may get rough. But it’s gotten a little better, depending on where you’re buying,” Young said, per the FWR.
