By: Meagan Falcon, Patch Staff
The Texas new homes market, particularly in Austin, appears to be “normalizing,” according to a December report from HomesUSA.com.
AUSTIN, TX — The Texas new homes market, particularly in Austin, appears to be “normalizing,” as new home prices remain near record highs and Days on Market hover near record lows, according to a December report from HomesUSA.com.
The Dallas-based company, which analyzes new home sales and days on market reports monthly, said overall sales data stabilized statewide last month. The 3-month moving averages of statewide new home listings and pending sales also were higher in November.
Across the Lone Star State, new home listings increased from 14,260 in October to 14,599 last month. Pending sales increased from 4,151 in October to 4,692 in November.
The average Days on Market for a new home in Texas was 54 days – up one day in November from the record low the company reported in October, the report states.
While new home prices were slightly higher statewide in November as the 3-month moving average of new home sale prices hit $422,199 versus $419,341 in October, it was one of the smallest month-over-month price increases since June.
In November, median sales price rose 29.7 percent to $470,000 — a record for the month of November in the Austin Metro, according to a Dec. 16 report by the Austin Board of Realtors.
Officials said the sales dollar volume rose 20.5 percent to $1,882,296,166. New listings in Austin increased 6.7 percent to 2,950 as active listings ticked down 2.2 percent to 2,768.
“Texas’ new homes market is normalizing,” said Ben Caballero, CEO of HomesUSA.com and world record holder for most home sales. “The good news for buyers is we see more new homes coming onto the market. The good news for Texas builders is that both total sales and sales activity remains incredibly robust,” Caballero explained.
Caballero notes that statewide, based on November’s 3-month moving average of MLS data, Texas new homes sales were 3,113 versus 3,061 in October.
In three of the state’s four largest new home markets – Houston, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Austin – total sales were up last month.
In November, 53 percent of the 3,215 closed listings in the Austin Metro —1,694 homes —sold between $250,000 and $500,000, today’s typical price range for first-time and first-time move-up homebuyers, the ABoR report said.
Across the Austin-Round Rock MSA, closed listings dipped 4.9 percent to 3,215 across the area. This occurred even as the housing market remains on track for a record-breaking year, with closed listings outpacing 2020 by 3.1 percent last month.
This data indicates that despite a fast-paced market and record-low inventory, opportunity still exists to find the right home, the ABoR said.
“We have all seen the headlines about our housing market and the Austin Board of Realtors knows that it is competitive, however, when you dig a little deeper, you can see that there is plenty of opportunity and our market is still readily accessible for homebuyers across all price levels,” Susan Horton, 2021 ABoR president, said. “This doesn’t mean there isn’t work to be done to ensure everyone has equal opportunity to find a home here, but it does demonstrate that by working with a licensed realtor, homebuyers and renters can find something that works for their budget and housing needs.”
Only San Antonio showed lower new home sales. Still, Caballero cautioned that new homes are selling so fast that many are not being entered into the MLS (Multiple Listing Service), which remains the most reliable and timely source of sales activity.
“Builders have more buyers than they have homes, and when you have a waiting list of transaction-ready buyers, builders don’t have a reason to enter them into the MLS,” he added, “and that the MLS data indicates the market is becoming more balanced.”