Texas home sales declined slightly in the third quarter of 2017, the first time that Texas home sales have declined on a quarterly basis since the second quarter of 2012, the Texas Association of Realtors said Friday.
In the third quarter of 2017, Texas home sales volume declined 0.3% year-over-year to 91,401 home sales. The median price for Texas homes increased 5.6% in the same time frame to $225,000.
“As anticipated, the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey has had a significant impact on our state’s housing market this fall, as many Texans were forced to postpone their goals of buying or selling a home in order to deal with devastation in their homes and communities,” said Vicki Fullerton, chairman of TAR. “Declines in local market home sales across the state in the third quarter were largely concentrated in regions impacted by Harvey, including the Houston area and local markets along the Texas coast.”
The price distribution of Texas homes sold in the third quarter of 2017 showed that less than half, or 44.5%, of the homes sold during this time frame were priced under $150,000, or the price threshold that the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University cites as affordable for entry-level Texas homebuyers. This is a decrease of 0.7 percentage points from 2016-Q3.
Jim Gaines, Ph.D., chief economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, commented, “Historically, Texas home sales volume is highest in the second and third quarter each year. However, shortages in housing stock fueled by population growth and increasing labor and lot shortages continue to put constraints on the Texas housing market.”
Monthly housing inventory in Texas increased 0.2 months from 2016-Q3 to 4.0 months of inventory. Statewide housing stock remains well below the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University’s benchmark of 6 to 6.5 months of inventory as a balanced housing market.
Active listings increased 7.4% year-over-year to 109,961.
