May 09, 2018 — Austin
Texas home sales and prices experienced strong growth during the first quarter of 2018, while housing inventory and active listings declined, according to the 2018-Q1 Texas Quarterly Housing Report released today by the Texas REALTORS®.
“The momentum from the end of 2017 has moved into 2018, as Texas homes continue to be in high demand,” said Kaki Lybbert, chairman of the Texas REALTORS®. “This strong activity we’ve seen in home sales volume during the first quarter of 2018 is setting the stage for a strong summer selling season for Texas real estate.”
The 70,292 Texas homes sold in the first quarter this year represents an increase of 2.2 percent compared to the first quarter of 2017. Additionally, the median price increased 5.7 percent in the same time frame to $224,500. Among all homes sold in the first quarter, 29.1 percent were priced at $300,000 or higher, which is 1.9 percentage points more than in 2017. Meanwhile, sales of homes priced $299,000 and below saw a 1.7 percentage point decrease compared to the same quarter last year.
Dr. Jim Gaines, chief economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, commented, “Although home sales activity for the first quarter in 2018 continues to keep a positive pace from previous years, the rate at which these increases are occurring is beginning to slow as inventory becomes tighter. The second and third quarters of the year are typically the busiest and most competitive in the Texas real estate market, and this summer is shaping up to be no different.”
Active listings decreased 2.9 percent year-over-year to 93,151 listings in the first quarter of 2018. Texas homes spent an average of 66 days on the market during the same time frame, two days more than last year.
Monthly housing inventory in Texas decreased 0.2 months from 2017-Q1 to 3.3 months of inventory. According to the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, a market balanced between supply and demand has between 6.0 and 6.5 months of inventory.
Chairman Lybbert concluded, “While we continue to see an increased shortage of housing inventory, it is encouraging to see the economic growth in Texas lead to a surge in home sales activity, which bodes well for the summer season. However, if housing inventory continues to decrease while prices rise, we may continue to see affordability challenges across the state.”