Our North Texas housing market continued to sizzle in May, with sales up 23% over last May. A total of 9,197 homes sold, the most ever in one month. The median sales price was up 11% in May, now up 10% year-to-date, reflecting buyers’ ability to afford more house with the same mortgage payment (lower interest rates locked in earlier in the spring). Buyers also recognized that the housing recovery is for real, removing a lot of fear of a relapse in prices. There also continues to be a lot of pent-up demand still not satisfied, so the expectation is that there will continue to be a healthy increase in sales into the second half of the year and beyond, even with the recent spike in mortgage interest rates. Rates on 30-year conventional loans rose from 3.5% on May 22nd to 4.5% on June 22nd, the largest one-month increase in over a decade. Buyers still on the fence will now find a good reason to get the home search underway.
Nationwide, a large segment of home buyers is made up of “boomerang” buyers, approximately 5 million of these, so named because they are rebounding from having lost their homes in the 2007-2012 meltdown. These buyers have restored their credit, obtained new jobs and strengthened their financial statements. Another large and growing segment of buyers is the “echo boomer”, the offspring of the baby boomer, ages 18-31. There are 80 million of these people. With 30 the average age of a buyer today, there are a lot of future buyers in the pipeline. And, of course we have an increasing life expectancy (from age 70 in 1970 to age 79 in 2015), immigration and normal population growth to contend with.
This means we need to ramp up new home construction. We need 1.6 million new home starts each year to keep up with demand. The last 5 years saw an average of 600,000 home starts, up from essentially zero at the height of the financial crisis. It may take 5-7 years to get back to a normal level of inventory. So, it’s a good time to be a homeowner. And for renters, it’s a good time to consider home ownership.
Here are the details for single family homes and condo/townhome sales in selected areas. For a more comprehensive look at any one market, give me a call at my Allie Beth Allman office or on my cell, 214-563-8540. Scroll down for the “Sales by Price Category” info. DOM is short for Days on Market.
Overall Market (North Texas):
May 13 vs 12: Sales up 23%, med price up 11%, DOM 54, down 23%.
YTD vs 12: Sales up 21%, med price up 10%, DOM 64, down 22%.
Uptown, Downtown and Turtle Creek (Condos and Townhomes):
May 13 vs 12: Sales up 78%, med price up 19%, DOM 67, down 33%.
YTD vs 12: Sales up 50%, med price up 16%, DOM 70, down 36%.
Highland Park and University Park, Bluffview, Devonshire and Greenway Parks:
May 13 vs 12: Sales down 9%, med price up 1%, DOM 47, down 20%.
YTD vs 12: Sales down 10%, med price up 9%, DOM 62, down 18%.
East Dallas (incl M’s and Lakewood):
May 13 vs 12: Sales up 27%, med price up 11%, DOM 39, down 50%.
YTD vs 12: Sales up 21%, med price up 9%, DOM 54, down 37%.
North Dallas (South of LBJ):
May 13 vs 12: Sales up 44%, med price up 8%, DOM 50, down 47%.
YTD vs 12: Sales up 45%, med price up 19%, DOM 59, down 42%.
Far North Dallas (incl Addison and to Park Blvd in Plano):
May 13 vs 12: Sales up 39%, med price up 13%, DOM 56, up 14%.
YTD vs 12: Sales up 33%, med price up 15%, DOM 60, down 17%.
Northwest Dallas:
May 13 vs 12: Sales up 81%, med price up 17%, DOM 38, down 36%.
YTD vs 12: Sales up 27%, med price up 18%, DOM 47, down 41%.
Northeast Dallas (incl Lake Highlands):
May 13 vs 12: Sales up 39%, med price up 8%, DOM 38, down 21%.
YTD vs 12: Sales up 20%, med price up 5%, DOM 53, down 22%.
Plano:
May 13 vs 12: Sales up 34%, med price up 9%, DOM 34, down 26%.
YTD vs 12: Sales up 33%, med price up 6%, DOM 51, down 29%.
Frisco:
May 13 vs 12: Sales up 23%, med price up 10%, DOM 49, down 30%.
YTD vs 12: Sales up 26%, med price up 10%, DOM 49, down 28%.
Richardson:
May 13 vs 12: Sales up 9%, med price up 11%, DOM 27, down 45%.
YTD vs 12: Sales up 24%, med price up 6%, DOM 41, down 39%.
Southlake:
May 13 vs 12: Sales up 73%, med price up 1%, DOM 60, up 5%.
YTD vs 12: Sales up 39%, med price up 11%, DOM 69, down 7%.
Coppell
May 13 vs 12: Sales up 25%, med price up 4%, DOM 27, down 53%.
YTD vs 12: Sales up 31%, med price up 11%, DOM 39, down 41%.
Allen:
May 13 vs 12: Sales up 4%, med price up 25%, DOM 31, down 40%.
YTD vs 12: Sales up 17%, med price up 24%, DOM 44, down 36%.
Rockwall (incl Heath):
May 13 vs 12: Sales up 14%, med price down 8%, DOM 58, down 23%.
YTD vs 12: Sales up 31%, med price up 3%, DOM 70, down 20%.
Las Colinas and Kessler Park: Call Me!
Here is a look at Single Family home sales by price category for YTD 2013 vs 2012:
$200-299K (19.8% of sales): up 33%, 4 months inventory
$300-399K (9.3% of sales): up 54%, 4 months inventory
$400-499K (4.1% of sales): up 47%, 5 months inventory
$500-599K (2.4% of sales): up 60%, 6 months inventory
$600-699K (1.1% of sales): up 44%, 8 months inventory
$700-799K (0.7% of sales): up 54%, 8 months inventory
$800-899K (0.5% of sales): up 56%, 9 months inventory
$900-999K (0.3% of sales): up 27%, 10 months inventory
$1MM and up (1.1% of sales): up 19%, 14 months inventory
Here is a look at Condos and Townhomes sales by price category for YTD 2013 vs 2012.
$200-299K (19.8% of sales): 351 units vs 256 units year ago, 4 months inventory
$300-399K (7.7% of sales): 190 units vs 81 units year ago, 4 months inventory
$400-499K (3.5% of sales): 79 units vs 67 units year ago, 6 months inventory
$500-599K (1.8% of sales): 40 units vs 28 units year ago, 6 months inventory
$600-699K (0.4% of sales): 9 units vs 5 units year ago, 15 months inventory
$700-799K (0.7% of sales): 17 units vs 4 units year ago, 5 months inventory
$800-899K (0.5% of sales): 11 units vs 5 units year ago, 4 months inventory
$900-999K (0.1% of sales): 3 units vs 1 unit year ago, 25 months inventory
$1MM + (0.8% of sales): 18 units vs 8 units year ago, 15 months inventory
Bob Edmonson, Allie Beth Allman & Associates, 214-563-8540
(See my interview on Channel 8 news regarding the “frustrated buyer” at
http://www.wfaa.com/home/Homebuyers-realtors-report-increasingly-crowded-housing-market-211504151.html )