Texas Home Sales, Median Price Show Steady Increase For Third Quarter 

AUSTIN, Texas – Texas home sales and median price experienced steady increases during the third quarter of 2019, according to the 2019-Q3 Texas Quarterly Housing Report released today by Texas Realtors.

“Texas ended the summer selling season with continued growth in home sales and median price in most of the major markets,” said Tray Bates, chairman of Texas Realtors. “Our housing market remains healthy due to strong demand and steady increases in housing inventory.”

During the third quarter of this year, 100,733 homes were sold in Texas, an increase of 6.4% compared to the third quarter of 2018. Statewide, the median price increased 4.3% to $245,000.

Of all the homes sold within the third quarter, 33.4% were priced from $200,000 to $299,999, the highest share of sales among all price-class distributions.

Homes priced from $100,000 to $199,999 represented the second-highest share of sales with 26.9%.

Jim Gaines, Ph.D., chief economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, commented, “The Texas housing market continued to spur strong demand during the third quarter. Based on sales activity, we saw prices, months of inventory and active listings all experience significant growth in most of the markets across the state. During the remainder of the year, we expect attractive interest rates to incentivize homebuyers. In addition, new home construction will continue to pick up in markets such as Houston and Dallas, leading to an increase in housing inventory availability.”  

There were 111,013 active listings in the third quarter, a 3.5% increase from the third quarter in 2018. Texas homes spent an average of 54 days on the market during the third quarter this year, which is two days longer than the same period last year.

Statewide, housing inventory increased to 3.8 months of inventory, an increase of 0.1 months from 2018-Q3. 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 Bates concluded, “Real estate transactions are based on individual needs of the buyer or seller versus the overall market condition. Currently, the Texas housing market has significant opportunities available for homebuyers. However, tight inventory can make negotiating tricky, and if done incorrectly, can create a disadvantage for either party. By working with a Texas Realtor, both buyers and sellers can ensure that they’re provided with tools to successfully navigate a real estate transaction.”

Data for the Texas Quarterly Housing Report is provided by the Data Relevance Project, a partnership among local REALTOR® associations and their MLSs, and Texas REALTORS®, with analysis by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M.

The report provides quarterly real estate sales data for Texas and 25 metropolitan statistical areas in Texas. The Texas Real Estate Year-in-Review Report in February is released in lieu of the Q4 report each year.

For more information visit texasrealestate.com to learn more.