Texas Home Sales Jump, Inventory Drops to All-Time Low

Texas home sales rose significantly in the first quarter of 2016, while housing inventory fell to an all-time low, according to the 2016-Q1 Texas Quarterly Housing Report released today by the Texas Association of REALTORS®.

“Despite the economic downturn in some parts of the state, home sales continue to be strong, indicating the enduring demand of Texas real estate,” said Leslie Rouda Smith, chairman of the Texas Association of REALTORS®. “Our state continues to be a hub for relocation activity, business development and job growth.”

According to the report, 65,265 homes were sold in Texas in the first quarter of 2016, a 7.8% increase from the same quarter of 2015. Home prices continued to rise as well, with the median price for Texas homes increasing 5.4% year-over-year to $195,000.

Jim Gaines, Ph.D., economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, added, “The Texas economy is experiencing a cooling-off period after a five-year boom, so the Texas housing market’s strong gains despite the current uneasiness in the state economy are remarkable. It will be interesting to see how Texas real estate activity performs in the next two quarters, typically the strongest quarters for home sales every year. That performance will show the full strength of the Texas housing market in 2016.”

Housing inventory fell to an all-time low of 2.8 months in 2016-Q1, a decline of 0.6 months from the first quarter of 2015. The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University estimates that a monthly housing inventory between 6.0 and 6.5 months is a level at which the supply and demand for homes are balanced.

Active listings also fell sharply in 2016-Q1, dropping 11.9 % year-over-year to 74,276 active listings. Texas homes also continued to spend less time on the market. In 2016-Q1, Texas homes spent an average of 64 days on the market, a decrease of three days compared to the same quarter of the prior year.

Chairman Smith concluded, “Housing inventory remains extremely limited in Texas. Low housing inventory combined with rising property values is making housing affordability a challenge, not just in Texas’s metro areas but across the state. This could become a larger problem if there is not greater balance between supply and demand in the future.”

About the Texas Quarterly Housing Report

Data for the Texas Quarterly Housing Report is provided by the Data Relevance Project, a partnership among local REALTOR® associations and their MLSs, the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, and the Texas Association of REALTORS®. The report provides quarterly real estate sales data from a statewide perspective and for 25 metropolitan statistical areas in Texas. It is scheduled for release by the Texas Association of REALTORS® on the following dates each year (or the next business day): Feb. 1, May 1, Aug. 1, and Nov. 1. To view the report in its entirety, visit texasrealestate.com.

About the Texas Association of REALTORS®

With more than 100,000 members, the Texas Association of REALTORS® is a professional membership organization that represents all aspects of real estate in Texas. We advocate on behalf of Texas REALTORS® and private-property owners to keep homeownership affordable, protect private-property rights, and promote public policies that benefit homeowners. Visit texasrealestate.com to learn more.

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