Denton County New Homes

Fed Policy Errors Slam North Texas Housing Market

The Fed Policy errors continue to slam the north Texas housing market. Home affordability remains near historic lows, and inflation is still percolating through the U.S. economy. This is despite two rate cuts from the Powell Fed in the second half of 2024. Mortgage interest rates are up nearly a full percentage point since the Fed's ill-advised 50-basis-point cut in September. The yield on the 10-year Treasury is up roughly 115 basis points. The December unemployment report made it clear inflation is still a thing. The U.S. economy is still humming along with inflated asset [...]

Denton County Housing Market Perks Up

Denton County's housing market perked up in November. Post-election enthusiasm and renewed animal spirits helped push home sales up 10 percent. Median home prices jumped 2.2 percent year-over-year in November. Average prices rose even more, but the disconnect in the market continued. Wealthy property owners continue to skew the overall picture of the North Texas housing market. Area land prices are still grossly inflated. The housing market isn't nearly as healthy as many agents would have you believe. The jump in sales activity is certainly welcome, but it would be foolish (spelled intellectually dishonest) to [...]

Corinth Developments Add Hundreds of New Homes

New Corinth developments are bringing hundreds of new homes to the Lake Cities area. 2024 has seen continued infill development within Denton County and across North Texas. This is not surprising with the huge demand for affordable homes. Meritage Homes continues to finish out the Ashford Park development along Lake Sharon Blvd. Before those homes are are all sold there will be other developments in Corinth to fill demand for housing. Oak Ridge Park The community of Oak Ridge Park will be going up just across the street along Lake Sharon. This 58-acre development at [...]

North TX Housing Affordability Gets Crushed

North Texas housing affordability got crushed in October. The temporary relief of lower mortgage rates was just that. Mortgage rates bounced significantly following the Federal Reserve's September rate cut. Real market rates for traditional U.S. mortgages remain near the 7 percent mark following the election. The combination of real mortgage rates and continued high prices has proven to be a major challenge for the North Texas housing market. As rates and expectations cooled into the September FOMC meeting, available home inventory was beginnig to shrink. Denton County home sales jumped 10 percent from the previous [...]

Something’s Gotta Give – Home Prices or Mortgage Rates

Something's gotta give in terms of mortgage rates or home prices. While many agents and loan officers were cheering a 50 basis point rate cut from the Federal Reserve in September, the bond markets smelled a rat. Mortgage rates responded by actually rising by a half point since the Fed's announcement. This halted recent improvement in sales activity. It will also have an effect on home prices now that forward expectations are receiving a dose of reality. The reality is that inflation isn't dead, not by a long shot. Some real estate industry practitioners were [...]

Sharp Rebound in North Texas Home Inventory

North Texas home inventory has experienced a sharp rebound in 2024. The savagely unhealthy housing market and a buyers' strike have helped to replenish available housing stock this year. The key has been a dramatic turnaround in existing home inventory. Across the DFW area, existing home supply has rebounded sharply this year. Here's a county-level summary of the resale inventory increases in the Dallas-Fort Worth area through July 2024: Dallas County - Up 63.6% Year-over-Year (3.6 months of supply) Tarrant County - Up 59.1% (3.5 months of supply) Collin County - Up 69.6% (3.9 months [...]

Denton County Home Sales Hit 11-Year Low

Denton County home sales slid to an 11-year low in June. Closed sales continued to stagnate with mortgage rates still hovering near seven percent. Home prices were near all-time highs. The confusing mix of housing unaffordability pushed more more buyers to the sidelines. Closings were 14 percent lower year-over year. Average home prices in Denton County moved up 4.1 percent to $589,000 in June. Pending contracts slid 13 percent year-over-year in June. With sluggish sales, available home inventory perked up significantly last month. Months of supply in Denton County shot up 36 percent from a [...]

Inventory & Affordability Issues Affecting Real Estate Market

Denton County's real estate market continues to struggle with inventory & affordability issues. While higher than last year, closed sales in North Texas were still hovering near a decade-low in January. Pending home sales in North Texas moved higher for the month, but pending sales contracts were still 10 percent lower-year over year in January. The temporary relief in mortgage rates during the last few months of 2023 translated into additional activity for the housing market. So far in 2024 housing activity remains sluggish. Mortgage rates are bouncing around between 6.5 and 7 percent. Inflation [...]

Denton County “Home” Prices Finish 2023 Where They Started

Denton County home prices finished out the year right where they started. A strong start to 2023 saw prices and sales activity continue to move higher into the summer. That's when the Denton County housing market essentially stalled out. A subsequent rise in mortgage rates to the eight percent mark brought a double-dip in the market and another round of softness. The Yellen pump and the Powell pivot helped to lower rates slightly over the last two months of the year and prevent the market from sliding further. The official stats for Denton County in [...]

What’s Going On With New Home Sales

The Census Bureau reported new home sales for November at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 590,000 units. That was well below expectations. The median new home price was $434,700 according to Census estimates. The average new home price was $488,900. The inventory of new homes rose to 9.2 months of supply. That put inventory at the highest levels of the year, and back to where it stood in November 2022. But there's a catch. This is November data. The November Census estimate on new home sales doesn't capture the capitulation from Janet (Treasury) [...]

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