Housing Market

Texas housing market news

First Phase of Cole Ranch Taking Shape in Denton

The first phase of the Cole Ranch development is taking shape in the southwest side of Denton. Hillwood Communities has been working on the project that will turn the former Hunter Ranch and Cole Rach in to a huge 3200-acre master-planned development with roughly 6000 homes. The initial plat of phase I of the project shows over 600 homes on tap. Those homes should be arriving as available inventory in early 2024. "Preliminary plans call for 663 single family lots, 48 townhome lots, 1 multifamily lot, 7 mixed-use regional lots, and 1 light industrial lot. [...]

New Home Sales Rise in December, But Headwinds Mounting

New home sales were a bit better than expected in December. The Census Bureau reported new home sales at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 811,000 units. Previous months were revised lower. The median price of new home came in at $377,700. The average price of new construction contracted in December was $457,300. New home sales are still suffering from supply constraints. Completed inventory remains very low while the number of units technically for sale remains very high. Looking at unadjusted numbers out of the 408,000 homes "for sale" at the end of December [...]

North Texas Real Estate Shatters Records, Before The Fed Pulls the Rug

North Texas real estate shattered a number of records as we closed out the year. December saw record home prices in December as the Federal Reserve continued to pump asset prices. Available home inventory in the Dallas-Fort Worth area dipped to new record lows. Investors, speculators and other home buyers were busy fighting over the dwindling pool of properties available for for sale. The number of homes for sale in North Texas slipped to roughly 11,400 in December. There would be about 30,000 homes for sale in the DFW area under normal conditions. At the [...]

Denton County Home Sales Slide Again As Inventory Double Dips

Denton County home sales are drying up as fast as the inventory. Closings in Denton County fell 7 percent last month. Pending sales were just slightly lower compared to the same time a year ago. The problem continues to be sky high prices and super low inventory. The median price of a home in Denton County hit a record high $415,000 last month. Average home prices fell slightly to $477,978, but they are still 21.5 percent higher than the same time a year ago. The number of homes for sale fell for a 4th consecutive [...]

October New Home Sales Below Expectations

New home sales came in lighter than expected for October. The previous three months were also revised lower. Census numbers showed October new home sales at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 745,000 units. Months of supply rose slightly to 6.3, but up 80 percent from last year. If supply is so abundant, why aren't new homes selling like hotcakes? The answer lies in the real unadjusted data. The Census Bureau puts a lot of seasonally adjusted optimism into their figures. Headline Census estimates for new home sales get repeated by major media all [...]

Seasonality Returning to the Denton County Housing Market

Seasonality is returning to the Denton County housing market. Home sales fell for a fourth consecutive month in October. Closed sales were down 15 percent. Pending sales fell 9 percent from the same time a year ago. Home prices in Denton County are still overheated. Median prices were up 17.3 percent. The average price of a Denton County home was 22.6 percent higher compared to last year. While prices remained off their record highs seen in August, prices on a per square foot basis set new records. The median of $186 per square foot was [...]

Zillow Puts the Brakes on Cash Offers for Remainder of Year

Zillow has hit the pause button on buying homes in the U.S. Zillow reportedly has halted cash purchases of homes through the remainder of the year. Citing labor and supply shortages, the company says it just can't keep up with demand as it works through a backlog of homes it has to close on, renovate and sell. Zillow's chief operating officer phrased it like this. “We’re operating within a labor-and supply-constrained economy inside a competitive real estate market, especially in the construction, renovation and closing spaces.” Interestingly, other iBuyers like Opendoor, Offerpad and Redfin have [...]

North Texas Home Sales Continue To Soften

North Texas home sales continue to soften. September sales data reflect a 9 percent slide in closings in Denton County. The DFW area experienced a 5 percent slide in home sales last month according to NTREIS Trends data. Pending sales in Denton County were flat to just slightly negative last month. The broader Dallas-Fort Worth area saw a 3 percent decline in September sales contracts. With the Federal Reserve expected to announce a taper of their huge asset purchase program ($120 billion per month) things have been a little wobbly in the markets. After marching [...]

New Home Sales Rise Slightly In August to 740,000 SAAR

New home sales for August posted at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 740,000 units. That was slightly better than expectations. New home sales were 1.5 percent higher for the month, but still down 24.3 percent from August of last year. The median price of a new home in August was $390,900. The average price checked in at $443,200. Census figures showed 6.1 months of new home inventory. Unadjusted figures show 6.2 months of supply. Anyone shopping for a new home understands those headline figures are complete bullocks. Looking into the composition of new [...]

Average Denton County Home Costs More Than Half a Million

Denton County home prices shattered records last month. The median price of a home in the area hit $410,000, up 22.4 percent from the same time a year ago. The average price of a Denton County home hit $506,957, shattering the previous high set in June. The new average home price above half a $million was 29.7 percent higher than August of 2020. Average prices for new construction and resale properties hit new records last month as inventory remained in the basement. The number of homes available for sale in Denton County dipped slightly from [...]

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