Existing Home Sales Reach Highest Annual Pace in 11 Years!
Existing Home Sales Reach Highest Annual Pace in 11 Years!
Some National & Texas Real Estate Market Highlights:
Existing home sales are currently at an annual pace of 5.81 million, the highest pace since December 2006.
The inventory of existing homes for sale has dropped year-over-year for the last 30 consecutive months and is now at a 3.4-month supply.
The Texas months of inventory (MOI) for existing homes fell below 3.4 months, declining in every major MSA. Resale inventories contracted for the fourth consecutive month in Houston, pulling the MOI below the statewide level—a trend that began prior to Hurricane Harvey. Fort Worth, Dallas, and Austin maintained exceptionally low inventories at 1.9, 2.1, and 2.1 months, respectively. In San Antonio, the MOI dropped below 3.2 months after four months of positive increases.
The Texas new home months of inventory (MOI) fell below 5.2 months after reaching a six-year high in August. The MOI in Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio hovered around 4.7 months but have displayed varying trends. Austin and San Antonio maintained 15.4 and 5.7 percent YTD growth but have declined steadily since June. In contrast, the Dallas MOI trended upward, reaching its highest level since 2011. The Houston MOI, which is historically higher than the other MSAs, settled just above the statewide level at 5.3 months. Overall, this year’s new home inventory expansion decelerated, heightening supply pressures in the resale market.
Nationally, homes sold in average of 40 days, with 44% selling in less than a month!
The Texas existing home days on market remained historically low at 54 days but has ticked up slightly since July. Demand for resale homes in the Texas Urban Triangle persisted below the state level, but the Houston and San Antonio DOM hovered nearby at 51 and 50 days, respectively. Dallas and Fort Worth observed intense resale demand with DOM settling at 35 and 34 days, respectively. The Austin DOM balanced at 45 days, slightly above year ago levels.
NAR’s Chief Economist Lawrence Yun had this to say: “Faster economic growth in recent quarters, the booming stock market and continuous job gains are fueling substantial demand for buying a home as 2017 comes to an end.”
Bottom Line:
If you have been thinking about buying or selling a home, now may be a good time. If you would like to explore your options, complete the GET IN TOUCH form on this page and a Real Estate Advisor | REALTOR® from Martin Real Estate Advisors | United Real Estate will contact you for a no-obligation review of and discussion about your specification situation!
Content credit to Ray Martin, Texas A&M Real Estate Center & Keeping Current Matters.